Getting Comfortable with Photoshop

Mar 12, 2024 - Apr 23, 2024 7:00 - 8:00 pm | Category: Workshop

This class will not make you a Photoshop expert, but at the end you will become more comfortable with using Photoshop and be able to more closely realize you vision for your photography using some of the essential tools

Reason for the class

I have been teaching Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for about ten years. A frequent comment I’ve heard is, “I don’t use Photoshop.” Everyone has their reasons for not using it. Some don’t use it because they think they don’t need it ( they are probably wrong about that). Others have tried it but quickly give up because Photoshop can be intimidating.

I should get the biggest bang for my buck, and you should, too.

If you have an Adobe subscription to the Photography plan, which gives you Lightroom Classic, then you also have a subscription to Photoshop. Also included in your subscription are other things Adobe, but I won’t go into them now.

Photoshop was introduced in 1992 and has become more powerful and feature-rich with every release. Photoshop is many things to many people. It is used by Photographers, Graphic Designers, Digital Artists, Web Designers, User Interface and Experience Designers, and others. Like Lightroom Classic, this is professional-level software. There are features in Photoshop that, as photographers, you will never use. But there are also features in Photoshop that I can’t do without as a photographer.

This is a 6-week class designed to get you comfortable using one of the most mature and powerful image editing platforms ever developed. I have sometimes given a one-day class on Photoshop, but I’ve learned over the years that there is too much information to cover in a single 3- or 4-hour session. I think the slower pace will benefit everyone by breaking it into 6, 1-hour sessions.

This class will not make you a Photoshop expert. Still, in the end, you will become more comfortable using Photoshop and more closely realize your vision for your photography using some of the essential tools.

Class Overview

User Interface

You see this when you open Photoshop, which could initially be confusing. We’ll cover the basics parts, and then you’ll learn to customize it to your needs so it doesn’t look cluttered with stuff you don’t need.

Removing distractions

This is one of the main reasons to use Photoshop these days. Although Lightroom Classic is far better than it used to be, the tools in Photoshop are superior. We’ll mainly cover Generative Fill, Remove Tool, and Clone Stamp but also touch on Content Aware tools.

Layers

Using layers is like putting a transparent film over your image to work on specific things that don’t permanently affect the underlying base layer. We’ll cover creating layers using layer adjustments, layer masks, and blend modes.

Curves

Curves are one of the earliest adjustments introduced to Photoshop and remain one of the most powerful. It is the basis for other adjustments: Levels, Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, etc. Curves is also available in Lightroom Classic and operates similarly, so what is covered here applies to both programs.

Other Adjustments

In addition to Curves adjustments, we’ll cover Solid Color, Gradient, Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Vibrance, Hue/Saturation, and others.

Plugins

One of the great things about Adobe is that they open up their products to 3rd party development in the form of plugins. Plugins are programs written to enhance the features of Photoshop or perhaps add a feature that Photoshop doesn’t do or do well. Some of you may already be using plugins with Lightroom Classic, but initiating the plugin from Photoshop is often a better approach than going directly from Lightroom Classic; you usually have more flexibility.

__Ed Judge

P.S.   I will also set up a recurring Zoom meeting a couple of times a week at different times to answer questions.