Photoshop Tips and Tricks for Beginners 2022
Photoshop is a great program, packed with all kinds of advanced tools and features to keep the world of professional photography going. Regardless of your level of experience with the program, however, there are some short, friendly tips that you can take advantage of to improve your Photoshop experience.
In 2016, Photoshop clocks 26 years since the Photoshop miracle came into our lives. Even if you have never used the program, you can deny the effect this image enhancement software has had on our lives. After all, the term Photoshop has become so integrated into our virtual lives that we’ve even turned it into a verb to explain all the altered photos… even if the results can be a little ridiculous at times.
It used to only seem like a tricky secret weapon for graphic designers, now almost anyone with access to a PC can master this tool with almost the same ease as creating a website with no code.
From removing imperfections to adding stunning design elements, anyone can learn the basics of Photoshop. Here are some of our favorite easy tips and tricks for Photoshop beginners:
- Transform: Resize, rotate, flip, or distort an image!
- Change the unit of measure
- Magnetic Lasso Tool
- Magic wand
- Custom Shape Tool
- Adjustment Layers
- Layer styles
- Healing brush
- Dodge tools
- Fade away
- Use paste instead
- Store documents up to 20x faster
- Straighten an image quickly
- Remove fringes on cropped objects
- Defog landscape photos
- Insert dummy text
- Quickly export individual layers
- Switch Fonts
- More undo
Note: All shortcuts in this article are intended for PC and Mac users.
Table of Contents
Transform: Resize, rotate, flip, or distort an image!
Click Edit > click Transform > and choose the desired action.
Or try these keyboard shortcuts to make the lifestyle even easier:
Press Ctrl + T on the keyboard and a bounding box will appear on the image indicating transformation. That means you can now resize your image. The best way to do this is to place the cursor on one of the rectangular corners of the box and then drag the corner while holding down the Shift key. When you’re done, just hit enter and you’re done.
To flip the image vertically or horizontally, press Ctrl + T and right-click. A pop-up window will appear with some options to rotate and flip the image. Select the desired action and press Enter when you are done.
To distort or skew an image, press Ctrl + T and place the cursor on the corner you want to distort. Press Ctrl while holding the mouse on a corner of the image you want to transform and drag it to the desired point, press Enter at the end to activate.
Change unit of measure
A short and quick way to switch between the units of measurement you are working with is to place your cursor on one of the rulers in the grid (press Ctrl+R to show or hide the rulers) and right-click and choose a new unit from the context menu. You will discover a wide range of units from centimeters to pixels, going from millimeters, points, or even percentages.
Magnetic Lasso Tool
The Lasso tool, clearly visible in your Photoshop tools panel, is a man’s gift for photo editing.
With this simple selection tool, you can trace and outline the exact part of an image you are trying to edit, then separate it from the rest of your image to perform certain actions. For example, you can choose a product and separate it from the background. The magnetic lasso is nearly foolproof, detecting the edges of an object, so it works best if you have a strong contrast between an object and the sharp-edged background.
To access the magnetic lasso, hold down the mouse button on the lasso device until a drop-down menu appears. The magnetic lasso is the last one with a small magnet on the icon. Select it, then go to the image and place the mouse over the edge of the part to be edited. Click once with the mouse, release, and simply hover over the edges of the object you want to select (similar to what you do with scissors while cutting something).
The Magic Wand Tool
The magic wand is another selection tool; perfect for when you are working with a background that is more monotonous and consistent (such as a solid color or a light blue sky).
The Magic Wand tool is usually used to switch backgrounds or huge blocks of color. To use it, choose the Magic Wand tool from the toolbox and click on the part of the image you need to select. Make sure you have enabled the “add to selection” option in the top bar (square icon) so that you can proceed to change the colors and tones of your choice.
Custom Shape Tool
Did you know that in addition to editing photos, you can easily add shapes and design elements to your Photoshop creations? The toolbox contains all the basic shapes you want, such as a square, a line, a circle, an ellipse, etc., as well as several extended options. The Custom Shape tool is easy to spot in the options bar, represented by an icon that resembles a puzzle piece.
Access even more shapes by clicking the small arrow on the right side of the panel again. If you are looking for banners, bubbles, or arrows of any kind, this is the tool for you.
Adjustment Layers
A truly beautiful photo often has more to it than meets the eye. This is what makes the Adjustment Layers tool so important. The Adjustment Levels tool lets you adjust the color and hue of the image by adding a top layer. The best thing about this feature is that by adding that extra layer, you can completely undo your edits while leaving the rest of the photo intact. You’ll find the adjustment layers at the bottom of the Layers panel (a black and white circle icon).
Layer styles
This is an easy and gentle way to add some spice to your image. Layer styles are special effects that can be quickly applied to individual photo layers. All you need to do is double-click on a layer and select the desired effect.
You can choose from a variety of functions, add a stroke or glow, drop a shadow, and much more with just one click. Be careful not to overdo it. These effects often look cheap if overused.
Healing brush
Probably the tool Photoshop is most famous for, this tool was created to remove life’s little imperfections. The Spot Header Brush is that magical tool we wish we had during our awkward teens for getting pimples out of any image. Just place the brush over the area you need to “fix”, check if the brush is slightly larger than the defect, and click. Photoshop Automatically colors the opposite side of the retouched area in the correct color for your perfect image.
Dodge tools
The Dodge tool brightens pixels wherever you use it. In other words, it is the best Photoshop tool to get rid of “eyestrain”. Set the Dodge tool to a soft brush, go to the Range setting in the menu bar’s drop-down list and choose Highlights, set the exposure to about 20%. Then apply gently to the eye contour. Remember not to overdo it or your model will start to look like an alien. A few simple scams should get the job done.
Fade away
Sometimes all you want from Photoshop is to get some of the best lines out of it. This is where the Blur tool comes in. This simple tool works wonders to eliminate small wrinkles by quickly fading them. Use the Blur tool to smooth out small imperfections, such as wrinkles around the eyes or inside the mouth, and simply blur the background. Again, be nice, and don’t forget to overdo it or you’ll ruin it instead of improving your image.
Use map instead
By default, when you paste into a new layer, it will be in the center of the current image or selection, but you can get around this using the Shift button and Ctrl + V (Cmd + V on a Mac). This keeps the selection’s original position and works between images.
Save files up to 20x faster
In Preferences, select File Handling and check the Disable PSD and PSB file compression box. Your tiered files won’t be compressed — and take up significantly more disk space — but saving them can be significantly faster.
Straighten an image quickly
Using the Ruler tool (hidden behind the Eyedropper tool), drag a line across the horizon or other reference point that should be straight horizontally or vertically. Then select Image, Image Rotation, and Random, and Photoshop selects the specified value.
Remove borders on cropped objects
When you cut and paste something into a current image, you may (depending on your choice) see a colored border of pixels around it. Don’t panic – use the Matting option in the Layer menu to access various tools to help you clean up those pixels.
Defog landscape photos
Here is a very useful new feature added in the latest Photoshop update. Choose Filter then Camera Raw Filter, open the Effects panel, and now there is a Dehaze slider that reduces the blur effect you get when shooting expansive landscape photos.
Insert dummy text
Many users use Photoshop to create layouts for websites and published pages, and if you want to fill an area with some dummy text, you don’t want to overload your arms with typing – instead, select Paste Lorem Ipsum from the Type menu…
Quickly export individual layers
Photoshop offers several export options, and if you want to quickly export individual layers of a project without saving it, try right-clicking or ctrl/Cmd + click in the layers panel. Use the Preferences, an Export option to set the quick export format.
Switch between sources
Photoshop doesn’t have the most user-friendly text editing interface, but this quick tip can make life easier: With some text selected in a layer, click the font selection drop-down in the toolbar and use the up and down cursor keys to view each source.
More undo
Ctrl + Z undoes the last action (Cmd + Z on a Mac), but you can also press Alt to go back extra steps. Set the undo threshold in Preferences and Performance (under History States), although the higher you go, the more system resources the program will require.
How can I improve my Photoshop skills?
I’ll show you some tips to improve your Photoshop skills
There is nothing better than playing with the tool in case you need to learn it. Bert Monroy mentions this constantly on his podcasts and I agree. I think the best way to study is to try to mimic images and effects that we like. Here I will list some tips to improve your Photoshop skills, but they can also be applied in different tools.
1 – Start with something
I know this may seem obvious, but you want something like some drawings, sketches, or an image rather than just a blank page. Otherwise, you will get the same effects every time you try to design something. Grab ideas on sites like Flickr, there are great Photoshop groups.
2 – Don’t be disappointed
Don’t be disappointed if your image or effect isn’t always what you need it to be, keep working. This sometimes happens. When I start drawing, I often get annoyed because my design doesn’t always match what I had in mind. However, it seems that once I have all the elements in my design, it’s less work to make it look like what I need.
3 – Try to mimic the effects you like.
Whenever I find an image with an effect I like, I save it and try to create that effect in Photoshop.
4 – Read the tutorials before you start creating your design.
We usually go straight to Photoshop and try to figure out a way to create the effect, it’s exceptional, but we’ll save some time if we get some pointers or approaches to doing this before working in Photoshop. There are great websites where you can discover ways to create all kinds of effects, from golden text to glittering effects.
- pixel2life. of
- good tutorials. of
- psdtuts. of
- Veerle
- 100 Photoshop Tutorials
5 – Learn to use masks.
I know this may sound extraordinary, but there are some users who don’t understand the way to use masks. So stop deleting parts of your image and start masking them. There is a cool video showing us how to study masks
6 – Play with the filters
You can do all kinds of effects with it, from blur to light effects. The most fascinating factor is that if you mix filters, you always get a new result, just like Render Clouds.
7 – Spend time acquiring knowledge of layer styles
Layer Style is one of Photoshop’s most useful features. You can create amazing text effects without using filters or even touching the font.
8 – Brush motor
Frankly, I wasn’t very interested in this roster until a few months ago after shooting a shooting star. After that second, I really can’t stop using it. You can create sparks, stars, clouds, and an unlimited number of shapes. You could make your brush random or uniform, with different colors and opacities, and I could go on and on because the possibilities are endless.
9 – Listen and watch podcasts
I think podcasts are an excellent way to study Photoshop. Pixel Perfect with Bert Monroy is a podcast not to be missed if you need to learn Photoshop and Illustrator.
10 – Share what you have learned with everyone
I think when we study something there is nothing wrong with sharing our skills. Aside from the reality that you can help others, you can sell your paintings or even make money by writing tutorials.
Can I learn Photoshop myself?
Adobe Photoshop is an effective program for innovative thinkers, for people who have a special interest in graphic design. Or should I say the curious ones who are always ready to amuse others with whatever they do?
Photoshop serves as a tool that allows you to bring your fantasy to life, no matter how crazy.
Learning Photoshop or other similar software takes a lot of practice to flow with it. I’m advocating just going with Photoshop except joining a course for the same. The reason I say this is that Photoshop is all about practice, the more you practice, the more you learn. In addition, you can get continuous help from YouTube videos. There are many tutorials for beginners on this channel.
So start installing Adobe Photoshop and start experimenting.
Happy studying!!.
You might want to know about other graphics design software like CorelDraw and Inkscape, we have some posts here that could help. Click here to know about CorelDraw or here to know about Inkscape
Here are some commonly used shortcut keys for Adobe Photoshop:
- Ctrl+N – Create a new document
- Ctrl+O – Open an existing document
- Ctrl+S – Save the current document
- Ctrl+Z – Undo the last action
- Ctrl+Shift+Z – Redo the last action
- Ctrl+T – Transform selected layer or object
- Ctrl+Shift+N – Create a new layer
- Ctrl+E – Merge selected layers
- Ctrl+Shift+E – Merge all visible layers
- Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S – Save for web and devices
- Ctrl+J – Duplicate selected layer
- Ctrl+Alt+G – Create a clipping mask
- Ctrl+Shift+I – Invert selection
- Ctrl+Shift+U – Desaturate (remove color) from selected layer or object
- Ctrl+Shift+A – Deselect all
These are just a few of the many shortcut keys available in Adobe Photoshop. Learning and using these shortcuts can help improve your productivity and speed up your workflow. You can find a full list of shortcut keys for Photoshop on Adobe’s website or by using the “Keyboard Shortcuts” option under the “Edit” menu in the software.
Conclusion
Photoshop is a great program that’s packed with all kinds of advanced tools and features to keep the world of professional photography, I will advise if you want to be a professional photographer or Graphic Designer Photoshop is a must-know tool for you. Thanks for reading, please don’t forget to share.
