Photoshop it is, without a doubt, one of the tools that have most influenced the way in which humans conceive and create art.
Today, over 90% of creative professionals (including the overwhelming majority of photographers) use Photoshop in their workflows.
Despite this, for many years I was a Photoshop loser. The first time I was messing around with this tool I felt pretty lost, I guess like most first time users. The concept of “layers” had me completely confused, which is why I tried to avoid it for a while.
As a photographer, I spent a lot of time thinking “Well, we already have Lightroom, which is a program much more focused on photography, right?”. Until you discover the incredible potential that Photoshop hides for photography, you are not aware of what you are missing. I speak from my own experience.
Digital editing and developing
Photoshop and Lightroom are two photo editing tools, from the same house, Adobe, but very different from each other.
Lightroom is a specific tool for photography. It is not used for anything else (in principle). Photoshop is a tool that serves both photographers and other creative professionals: graphic designers, architects, advertisers, editors, layout designers, etc.
That said, the possibilities that Photoshop offers you at the photography level are not replaced by Lightroom. They are two complementary tools in that sense.
Lightroom allows you to organize your photographic catalog, your library let’s say, and it also helps you to digitally “reveal” your photos, something essential in the workflow of every photographer.
On a photographic level, Photoshop allows you to do things that go a little beyond simple digital development. Thanks to its flexibility, with Photoshop you can bring incredible improvements to your photos that very few programs offer you.
It is true that there are many alternative tools on the market today: Gimp, Affinity Photo, PhotoWorks, among others. But the level of integration that Photoshop offers me with the other tools I use (for example Lightroom), as well as its popularity and the ease of locating resources and content related to it, make it my favorite tool for photo editing.
In my humble journey as a photographer, as I discovered the photographic capabilities of Photoshop, it became an essential part of my workflow. Today, after more than 10 years of INTENSIVE use, I just can’t do without it anymore.
photoshop tutorials
Having said that, I would like to contribute even a little to satisfy that desire that many of you have to get your hands on Photoshop and start taking advantage of it in your photographs.
The possibilities that Photoshop offers in terms of photo processing and retouching are immense, but for that you need to find the right initiation tutorial.
YouTube is full of Photoshop video tutorials, the problem is that most of them have one or more of the following drawbacks:
- They are in English.
- They are too old.
- They are too complex and assume that you already know how to use Photoshop.
- They are recorded with horrible sound, techno music in the background and lights.
If you are looking for a good video tutorial to start familiarizing yourself with Photoshop, today I bring you 5 videos that will help you take your first steps with this fabulous program.
1. Photoshop Basics Tutorial
To start at the beginning. The most basic concepts, tools, keyboard shortcuts, work areas, etc.
2. Perfect Image Crop Tutorial in Adobe Photoshop CS6
Most crop in Photoshop in a rudimentary way that seems to work but you can see from the detail that it’s not perfect. In this tutorial they explain a more effective as well as simple method to achieve a much cleaner result when cutting.
3. Change the color of the eyes in Photoshop, HD
Very useful video tutorial that in a few minutes will teach you how to change the color of the eyes in a portrait to the color you want.
4. Photoshop Multiple Exposure Tutorial
Taking yourself in a single photograph 3, 4 or even 10 times is one of the easiest exercises. Here Felipe explains it to us in his easy and clear Spanish, step by step. Also, he gives you ideas of different applications of this effect.
5. Effects for Portraits Photoshop Tutorial in Spanish
Another video tutorial in which Andrei offers us some adjustments that will completely change the way people will appreciate our portrait photos.
version differences
Through these videos you will have realized the different versions of Photoshop. Don’t worry, most of the tutorials and settings are identical in all versions. The company that produces Photoshop, Adobe, releases a new version every so often in an attempt to improve functionality and user interface, but generally most things remain the same.
How to get Photoshop?
Few programs have achieved the fame and utility of Photoshop at the same time. That made it one of the most expensive programs for the average user for a while. In the past they charged you around 800 or 1000 Euros for the program. An exorbitant price, although you paid it once and you already had it forever.
Currently, Adobe has changed the way of charging it, going from a single payment to a recurring subscription. For about 12 Euros per month they offer you Adobe Photoshop along with Adobe Lightroom. The price is very far, it must be recognized, although it is also true that it is based on a subscription. So the day you stop paying for it, it stops working.
I don’t know if this way of “charging” the Photoshop user is better or worse. Well, for the one who sells it, Adobe, I say it will be better, otherwise they wouldn’t have changed their model. That said, I also have to say that lowering the price to about 12 Euros per month has allowed many to access this Suite of tools, users who otherwise, not being able to afford 1000 Euros for software, were condemned to rummage through the pirate forums in search of an illegal download link that, in addition to doing a lot of damage to the economy and to Adobe, ended up doing a lot of damage to the user’s computer by infecting it with viruses and Trojans, which the user didn’t even repair most of the time.
Learn Photoshop
If you are interested in learning Photoshop more in depth and want to give this tool a boost, I would like to introduce you to our platform MasterClasses Mario’s MasterClasses, this time dedicated to Photoshop.
Photoshop for Photographers I and II
Addressing a program as complex and extensive as Photoshop in a single MasterClass was not going to be easy, so we decided to create two different MasterClasses:
Photoshop For Photographers I: This is an introductory MasterClass to learn Photoshop. If you have never had experience using this program, this is the MasterClass you should start with. In it I explain the basics of this tool, I teach you how to use it for the first time, how to familiarize yourself with the menu, the toolbar, the workspace, the basic functions.
The objective of this first part is to begin to feel “comfortable” in front of the Photoshop interface and prepare the ground for the fun part, part II with the Photoshop tutorials.
This first part is essential for those who have not used Photoshop before.
Photoshop For Photographers II: In this part we fully delve into the subject, with a series of advanced techniques and tricks that you can apply to your photos thanks to the spectacular creative potential of Photoshop. Things like: making precise selections using the “color range” technique, how to correct dark circles in your portraits, how to fix a blurry photo, how to change the color of a piece of clothing to the color you want (without affecting the rest of the frame ), how to erase those horrible power lines that make your city photos ugly, how to blur the background, tricks to improve your portraits, how to colorize old photos with one click, correct distortions, reveal RAW photos, and many more advanced techniques.
To enjoy these two MasterClasses with Photoshop tutorials, you can activate your subscription to Mario’s MasterClasses, which will give you access to our entire catalog of photography MasterClasses (including future ones).
Alternatively, if you wish, you can purchase access to the Photoshop MasterClass individually for 9.97 EUR. This includes both parts 1 and 2 (from here).
I know that it is a MasterClass that many of you have been waiting for, so I hope you find it useful.
I hope you have found these Photoshop tutorials useful. Please, if so, share it with those who may be interested in starting to test this tool.