Welcome to Photoshop Essentials, where everyone can learn Photoshop! We offer fun, exclusive, step-by-step tutorials for all skill levels, and all written with beginners in mind. From Photoshop Basics to Photo Editing and Retouching, Photo Effects, Text Effects and more!
Check out our latest Photoshop tutorials below. Or download our tutorials as PDFs and get exclusive bonus content!
Speed up your workflow with this essential list of tips, tricks and shortcuts for navigating images in Photoshop! Covers basic image navigation commands, the Zoom Tool, Hand Tool, the Rotate View Tool and more!
Learn how the Rotate View Tool in Photoshop lets you easily rotate the view of an image, or of all open images at once, as you work! And take advantage of Photoshop’s “spring-loaded” tools for the best results!
Learn how to use Overscroll in Photoshop to pan or scroll an image even when the image is already zoomed out to fit on screen.
Learn how Photoshop’s Navigator panel makes it easy to zoom and pan images, and why it’s perfect for navigating your images when you’re zoomed in!
From Photoshop’s tools and panels to document windows, workspaces, screen modes, and more! Everything you need to know about the interface in Photoshop CC!
Tired of Photoshop’s interface cluttering up your screen? Learn how to maximize your work area using Screen Modes and other interface tricks in Photoshop!
Learn how workspaces in Photoshop let us customize the interface to better match the way we work. And, how to create and save your own custom workspaces!
Tired of seeing only one image at a time in Photoshop? Learn how multi-document layouts make it easy to view and arrange multiple open images on your screen at once!
Photoshop lets us view our open images as either tabbed documents or floating windows. Learn how each display style works, how to switch between them, and how to set them up using Photoshop’s Preferences!
Why choose a single eye color when you can choose every color at once! Learn step-by-step how to easily give someone rainbow colored eyes with Photoshop! Video + Text.
Learn how to create fun and interesting designs and patterns from a single image in Photoshop simply by flipping, rotating and mirroring it, and experimenting with different layer blend modes!
Learn how to work with panels in Photoshop. You’ll learn how to show and hide panels, change panel layouts, how to restore the default layout, and more! Part of our Photoshop Interface series.
Learn how to make selections using Photoshop’s selection tools! You’ll learn how to use the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee Tools, the Magic Wand Tool, the Quick Selection Tool, the Color Range command, the Pen Tool, Focus Area, and more!
Learn the many ways of getting your images into Photoshop with Chapter 2 of our Photoshop training series! Includes how to open images from Lightroom, Camera Raw, Adobe Bridge and more!
Ready to learn Adobe Photoshop? Start here! In Getting Started with Photoshop, the first chapter in our Photoshop Basics training series, we start right from the beginning. These lessons cover everything you need to know before jumping into Photoshop!
Learn how to quickly reset Photoshop’s Toolbar (Tools panel) back to its default tool layout, and how to reset Photoshop’s tools to their default settings in the Options Bar, using the improved Reset All Tools command in Photoshop CC.
Learn all about the Photoshop interface and its features. Topics include the Document window, the Toolbar, the Options Bar, Menu Bar, and Panels. Also covers Workspaces, as well as the new Search feature. For Photoshop CC and CS6.
The most common cause of sudden performance issues with Photoshop is a corrupted Preferences file. Learn how to easily delete and reset the Photoshop Preferences to their defaults. We learn how to restore the Preferences in Photoshop CC and in earlier versions of Photoshop.
Learn how to improve Photoshop’s performance, customize the interface, save backups of your work, and more with the important options you need to know about in the Photoshop Preferences! Covers both Photoshop CC and CS6.
Using Photoshop as part of the larger Creative Cloud or Creative Suite? Learn how to synchronize Photoshop’s color settings with your other Adobe apps, like Illustrator and InDesign, to keep the colors in your images accurate and consistent.
Open your images to a greatly expanded world of color with one simple but important change to the Color Settings in Photoshop. Learn about color spaces, working spaces, the default sRGB color space, and why Adobe RGB is a better choice.
Learn all about Adobe Bridge and how to use Bridge to find, organize and preview your images. Topics include the Bridge interface and panels, Full Screen Previews and Review Mode, applying star ratings, adding keywords and copyright information, filtering images, and more!
Learn how to download photos from your digital camera or memory card to your computer using Adobe Bridge and its Photo Downloader app. Preview and select images, save a backup of your files, add copyright information, and more! For Adobe Bridge CC and CS6.
Learn how to install Adobe Bridge, a powerful file browser that makes it easy to find your images and open them into Photoshop!
Knowing how to get your images into Photoshop is important, but so is knowing how to close them. Learn how to close a single image or multiple images at once, how to close images with unsaved changes, and how to close an image and return to Adobe Bridge.
If you’re a photographer, you’ll want to do your initial image editing work not in Photoshop but in Camera Raw. Learn how to easily open raw files, as well as JPEG and TIFF images, directly into Camera Raw.
Is Adobe Bridge opening certain types of files in the wrong program? Learn how to easily fix it and set Photoshop as your app of choice using the File Type Associations options in the Bridge Preferences!
Learn how Adobe Bridge, the free file browser included with Photoshop and with all Creative Cloud subscriptions, makes it easy to find our images and open them into Photoshop!
Learn how to easily fill a shape with an image using clipping masks in Photoshop! Step by step, perfect for beginners!
New Super Tutorial! Learn step by step how to create a fun 80s retro text effect in Photoshop using layer styles and custom gradients!
**Now with video!** Learn how to easily turn any photo into a black and white pencil sketch, then learn how to colorize it, first using the photo’s original colors, then with a single color, and then with a gradient!
Learn how the power of clipping masks make it easy to create one of Photoshop’s most popular and classic effects – placing an image inside text! Now fully updated for Photoshop CS6 and CC!
Learn how focus stacking in Photoshop can bring your entire scene or subject into sharp focus by blending the depth of field from multiple images!
Learn how to easily create a custom sparkle brush from scratch in Photoshop, then how to use the brush to add a magical sparkle trail to your photo! Now updated and expanded for Photoshop CC and CS6.
Learn step-by-step how to create the illusion of sunlight shining through trees with Photoshop! Now for Photoshop CC and CS6.
Too many different colors in a photo can distract the viewer and lessen the impact of your image. Learn how to easily unify colors to fit a mood or theme with Photoshop!
In the previous tutorial, we learned a quick way to brighten underexposed images. This time, learn how the same basic technique can instantly darken an overexposed photo!
Need to brighten dark, underexposed images quickly and without a lot of hassle? Learn how adjustment layers and blend modes in Photoshop can do the job instantly!
Learn a fast and easy way to lighten and brighten someone’s eyes in a photo using nothing more than a simple adjustment layer, a blend mode and a brush!
Our complete guide to transforming your color photos into stunning black and white images using a Black & White adjustment layer in Photoshop.
Learn the basics of layer masks in Photoshop and how to use a layer mask to show or hide different parts of a layer.
In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to easily turn any photo into its own decorative background or border! Now for Photoshop CC and CS6!
Think the Crop Tool is only for cropping images? Learn how it can also be used to quickly add more canvas and a border around your photos!
Learn a good way, a better way and the best way to rotate and straighten images in Photoshop. Part 2 of our complete series on cropping images.
Learn step-by-step how to easily brighten the skies in your photos by adding a rainbow! For Photoshop CC 2019 and earlier.
Adobe has completely redesigned the New Document dialog box in Photoshop CC 2017, but the original, legacy version is still around. Learn how to easily switch between the two versions, and how the legacy version works!
Learn all about the hidden Recent Files workspace in Photoshop CC and how it can help us when viewing and selecting our recently-opened files!
The Start workspace is a great feature in Photoshop, but not everyone will want to use it. Learn how to disable the Start workspace while still being able to create new documents and open your images!
Learn all about the updated Start workspace in Photoshop CC and how it lets us create new documents, open images and re-open our recent files, all from one convenient screen!
Learn how to easily make Adobe Photoshop your default app for viewing and editing images in Windows 10!