Photoshop For Beginners

Ladies and Gentleman, for a very long time the Pro Products we’ve created here at Retutpro have been aimed at those who are a tad more familiar with Photoshop. It’s time we started catering for those who want to break into the world of Photography and, more importantly, the world of professional retouching. This isn’t just a new product we’re introducing. It’s a whole course on how to get into Photoshop and master it!

This Pro Tutorial is catered for the beginner, as well as for those who want a real thorough refresher in Photoshop functionality! In this Pro Tutorial, we’ll be looking into all the essential elements that retouchers use to create those visually striking images, and, once you’ve practiced and learned to understand the function of all these different elements, apply it to your own work!

This tutorial is a step-by-step guide on our workflow and how we use all the elements. It’s an investment into your photoshop and retouching career as you can always consult this training to either brush-up or recall something you might have forgotten or overlooked!

So Why Photoshop?

The world has transitioned from analog to digital photography. And in the same way, Photoshop has also replaced the traditional darkroom which photographers used to develop their images. Photoshop can be applied in various ways, including, but not limited, to creating minor adjustments, designing and full image manipulation. It’s important to understand that Photoshop is all about your own personal creative approach.

Included in your Pro Tutorial – 3 Hours Step by Step guide

• Includes Latest Videos On Photoshop CC
• 3 Hours Of HD Video Content Available for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
• Learn Photoshop Essentials For Photographers & Retouchers
• Learn To Customize Photoshop Interface & Workspace
• Learn To Setup New Documents With Essential Settings
• Learn To Setup Layers + Masks & How They Work
• Learn To Setup Adjustment Layers & How They Work
• Learn Blending Modes & How To Use Them
• Learn The Basic Tools & What You Really Need
• Learn To Use Photoshop Menus & Filters
• Learn To Use Liquify Tool & Shortcut’s
• Learn & Master The Pen Tool – FINALLY!
• Learn All The Other Tools For Photoshop
• Learn Colour Profiles & Setting Your Photoshop Documents
• Learn To Setup A Wacom Tablet – To Maximize Workflow

Chapter 1 – Setup Photoshop / Getting Started

1 . Photoshop – What and How?

Photoshop is an image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe System Inc. So, in simpler terms, it’s a very popular editing software used by photographer to edit or retouch images.

2.  Understand Photoshop Layout

This is literally the absolute start to Photoshop. This lesson will focus on setting up Photoshop and your layout, including colour themes. This is of course, essential in easing your workflow. By navigating to the “Window” drop-down menu, you will find all the essential menus that you need to set up your layout. Among the most essentials, you’ll find options, tools and workspace panels.

3. Modifying The Photoshop Workspace

This is where we’ll focus on the workspace and the tool panel. We’ll discuss why we use the panels the way we do in order for you to understand our workspace.

4. Photoshop Menu Run Through

In this section, we’ll focus on why we have the menu and what is available in the menu. The menu bar is located in the top of the screen and this is the space where you adjust aspects like keyboard shortcuts, apply filters, etc. You’ll become more familiar with the menu bar as the course progresses.

5. Getting Started

We’ll cover opening an existing and creating a new document in both Photoshop CS6 and CC. Creating a new document includes canvas size, resolution, colour mode, etc. To open an existing document you can simply drop it into photoshop, open it from the file menu or the icon at the bottom of your screen

6. Tools & Most Important Tools

In this section, I explain the most important tools to keep or use in your toolbar. Some of the most important tools I use in my workflow.

7. Different working techniques

Here I discuss the different working techniques that we use. This segment focuses on the importance of working with the layers and how you can access these layers from different areas to create the same effect.

 Chapter 2 – Layers & Masks

8. Layers – What and How?

Layers form the backbone of the image you’re constructing. Layers are stacked on top of each other and the blending modes determine how the layers react to each other.

9. Layer Styles & Layer Options

Opening up your normal pixel layer gives you a variety of choices of layer styles. All the effects you choose will be visible under your layer. Here you will find:

• blending options to set your layer.
• Different styles to enhance layer
• Refinement tools

10. Blending Modes

Blending modes allow you to set how the different layers react to each other. Stacking the layers on-top of each other will block out the layers underneath. Changing the blending mode will create a different effect with how the top and bottom layers react.

11. Layer Masks – What & How

Masks are simple pixel areas that are visible or hidden on certain layers. For example; if you’ve applied a layer with a certain effect and you either want to reduce the effect or only reveal a certain part of the layer, applying a mask makes this possible. There are many techniques using tools to create effects before or after applying a mask. Two simple way to use masks:

• Applying a mask keeps the effect visible and areas can be brushed out.
• Inverting the mask hides the effect and areas can be brushed in.

12. Adjustment Layers

Adjustment layers are layers where you can apply different effects to your image. There are several different adjustment layers that adjust various aspects of your image, for example, colour, brightness, colour balance, etc.

13. Smart Objects 

A smart object allows you to make changes to your image without overwriting the original image data and giving you the opportunity to make non-destructive changes to the layer.

14. More Panels

Before we move over to the next chapter we’ll just cover some of the other panels that form part of our workflow They include panels like History, Colour Ranges, etc.

 Chapter 3 – Photoshop Tools

All the Photoshop Tools are covered in short lessons, making it easier for you to go back to the individual lessons. Every tool you select brings up an option bar located underneath the menu bars at the top. These options help you to customize and refine the specific tool. Keyboard shortcuts are especially handy for the different Photoshop Tools.

• Lesson 15. Move tool
• Lesson 16. Marquee Tool
• Lesson 17. Lasso Tool
• Lesson 18. Quick Selection & Magic wand Tool
• Lesson 19. Clone Stamp Tool and Healing Brush Tool
• Lesson 20. Crop Tool
• Lesson 21. Eyedropper tool, Colour Sample Tool and Red Eye Tool
• Lesson 22. Brush Tool and Pen Tool
• Lesson 23. Eraser, Blur and Smudge tool
• Lesson 24. Gradient Tool
• Lesson 25. Type Tool
• Lesson 26. Pen Tool
• Lesson 27. Path Selection and Shape Tool
• Lesson 28. Final Tools

Chapter 4 – Other Tools

29. Keyboard Shortcut’s & Right Click Options

We include a PDF document with all the keyboard shortcuts in the Pro Product download. Keyboard shortcuts play an important part in creating a conducive workflow. Though you might not need or learn them all, getting to know the shortcut keys for you most essential elements will help you in the long run.

30. Transform & Puppet Warp Tool

Transform selections on your image. There are a variety of options with different effects

31. Colour Ranges

Colour Range helps to make selections based on the colour tones in an image. This can be used to quickly create selections.

32. Liquify Tool 

This tool allows you to set anchor points and adjust them directly on your image. it allows you to warp the image to make changes.

33. Filters / 3d Party Plugins

Filters are effects that you can apply to a selected layer. External or 3rd part plugins is software that adds more filters to your selection.

34. Adobe Bridge

It’s a digital asset management app developed by Adobe Systems. It’s an awesome tool for making pre-adjustment before heading into Photoshop.

35. Saving Files

• Saving Photoshop Files (Over 3GB Files – Large PSD Files)
• Saving For The Web
• Saving JPEG & PNG

36. Colour Profiles

A very important aspect of Photoshop is setting up your colour profiles before you actually start using Photoshop for retouching or graphic designing.

Bonus Lesson: 

Additional to this course we’ve also added a list of bonus tutorials that would compliment this course as well as a lesson that will focus on the Wacom Pen Tablet and how to set it up.