Photoshop Terms and Basics

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Introducing Photoshop • Photoshop is image editing software.

• Photoshop is the industry standard of image editing.

• An image-editing program is software that lets you

manipulate a digital image and then save it with

the changes you have made.

• Using Photoshop, you can: o Modify images in a variety of ways

o Refine colors and contrast

o Remove flaws in images

o Combine digital photographs, text, and other artwork

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Digital Images • A digital image is a photograph or drawing in

electronic form o a digital image can be displayed on a computer monitor or the LCD

screen of a camera or mobile device.

• Most digital images taken with a digital camera are

jpeg files (bitmap graphics.)

• A bitmap graphic (or raster graphic) consists of

closely spaced rows of pixels, the smallest element

in a digital image.

• Resolution is the measure of pixels per inch (ppi), or

the level of detail in an image.

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Image enhanced in Photoshop

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Starting Photoshop • When you start Photoshop for the first time, it opens

with the default workspace displayed.

• In subsequent sessions, restarting Photoshop will

display the workspace and settings that were in

effect when you exited your last session.

• The workspace includes every element of the

Photoshop program window, such as the

Document window, panels, and other elements.

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The Photoshop workspace

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The Toolbar and Panels • The Tools panel contains tools for selecting portions

of an image, adding text, adding brushstrokes,

creating vector images such as geometric shapes,

and modifying pixels in bitmap images.

• The options bar includes the controls, or options, for

the current tool.

• The Document window displays the current file.

• Panels consist of groups of related tools.

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Using the Toolbar • The Tools panel appears on the left side of the window.

• The triangle on the lower-right corner of a tool on the

Tools panel indicates that there are additional tools,

called a tool group, hidden beneath the tool you see on

the panel.

• You select a tool on the Tools panel by clicking it with

the mouse.

• Some tools also have shortcut keys assigned.

• Many tools on the Tools panel let you modify the default

options using the options bar, which appears beneath

the Application bar in the Photoshop window.

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Using tools in Photoshop • Example of the eraser tool settings

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Photoshop Panels • Panels are located on the right side of the screen

• You can manipulate panels in the following ways: o Rearrange panels

o Open panels that do not appear by default

o Increase work area by hiding and collapsing panels

o Float panels

o Stack panels

• You can display and close panels at will.

• You can minimize and temporarily hide panels to

save real estate on your screen.

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Working with Panels

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Moving a panel group

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Getting Help in Photoshop Photoshop Support Center – from the Help menu

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Saving files in Photoshop • Options for saving files in Photoshop:

o Save with the same name and overwrite the original file.

o Save with a new name but the same format.

o Save with a new name and a new format.

• It’s wise to save often.

• It’s a good idea to preserve original files for reuse or

backtracking in case of mistakes.

• Have a naming scheme for originals and revisions.

• Files may be saved as Photoshop Documents

(PSD’s), JPGs or Tifs.

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Exiting Photoshop • Exiting Photoshop saves system resources as you

work in other programs.

• Photoshop will prompt you to save any modified

files.

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