A Tutorial on Adobe Photoshop for iMac

Adobe Photoshop can create layers that allow for fine-tuning of images.

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful graphics and photo editing tool available for professionals and consumer hobbyists alike. The program is capable of nearly any sort of graphic editing imaginable, making the software extremely versatile for experienced users and somewhat intimidating for amateur users. A basic understanding of the software, in addition to simple tutorials, can open up the possibilities of Photoshop to any user.

Instructions

1. Start a new Photoshop project by selecting "File" from the top menu bar and scrolling down to "New." After selecting "New," you will come to a screen that allows you to choose the resolution of your new project, the "dots-per-inch," or DPI, as well as the color spectrum in which you want to sample (B&W, RGB or CMYK).

2. Import image files by selecting "File" and scrolling down to the "Open" menu option. Adobe Photoshop is able to open nearly any image file type, including RAW images taken by professional cameras. You can save your image file as an Adobe Photoshop file to avoid altering the actual image.

3. Insert new layers into your project file by navigating to the "Layer" menu, scrolling down to "New" and selecting "Layer." You can turn any part of your image file into a layer, which makes editing individual aspects of an image much easier. For example, if you wanted to edit only the skin tones of a person's face in your image, you would select the face with the "lasso" tool, copy the selection and paste the copied section into a new layer.

4. Undo changes to your Photoshop image by using the History task bar. The History task bar typically sits to the right of your workspace and notes every change you make to a project. If you don't like a change, you can click the preceding history point in the History window pane to revert the project back to that point in the edit. The History panel documents every change made during your current image-editing session, from opening to closing.

5. Modify the color, brightness, contrast, saturation and lighting aspects of your Photoshop project by selecting "Image" from the menu bar, scrolling down to "Modify" and selecting the aspect that you want to change. For example, if you want to de-saturate the image to create a black and white palette, you would select the "Hue/Saturation" option and move the saturation adjustment bar to the left.

6. Save your Photoshop project file by selecting "File" from the main menu and scrolling to "Save." Photoshop files can be saved as the ".PSD" file extension for future editing or exported as any number of image file types. You can adjust the quality of the export file to fit any image file size restrictions you may encounter.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice with sample images to learn all of the features of Adobe Photoshop. If the software seems overwhelming, be patient; dedicated practice will move you up the learning curve quickly.

References

• Adobe: Photoshop Tutorials