Beginner Photoshop Course with Sherry Penner

This course is for those who learn best from person to person instruction. This is a beginner class, I will assume everyone has very little experience with Photoshop. Class will be hosted over Zoom, you will need to have a desktop or laptop computer, Zoom App, and subscription to Adobe Photoshop Classic.

Dates: Saturdays on March 1st, 8th and 15th, from 10am to 12pm.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction to Photoshop Interface

Workspace Overview: Understanding the layout, including the menu bar, toolbars, and panels.
Customizing the Workspace: How to move, dock, and arrange panels.
Navigating the Canvas: Zooming, panning, and using rulers and guides.
Opening Files: JPEG, PNG, PSD, and how to open and save projects.

2. Basic Tools Overview

Move Tool: Moving objects or layers.
Selection Tools:
- Marquee Tool (Rectangular, Elliptical)
- Lasso Tools (Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, Magnetic Lasso)
- Quick Selection and Magic Wand Tool
Crop Tool: How to crop images.
Eyedropper Tool: Picking colors.
Brush Tool: Basic brush strokes and custom brushes.
Eraser Tool: Basic erasing.
Text Tool: Adding and formatting text.

3. Working with Layers

Understanding Layers: How layers work and why they are essential.
Creating, Deleting, and Arranging Layers.
Layer Masks: Introduction to masking and non-destructive editing.
Blending Modes: Basic overview of different blending modes like Multiply, Screen, Overlay, etc.
Opacity and Fill: Adjusting transparency in layers.

4. Image Adjustments

Brightness/Contrast: Simple adjustments for exposure.
Levels & Curves: Fine-tuning shadows, highlights, and mid-tones.
Hue/Saturation: Adjusting colors in an image.
Color Balance: Correcting colors.
Black & White: Converting color images to black and white.
Exposure: Adjusting exposure, offset, and gamma correction.

5. Retouching Techniques

Healing Brush & Spot Healing Brush: Removing blemishes or unwanted objects.
Clone Stamp Tool: Duplicating pixels.
Patch Tool: Replacing a selected area with another part of the image.
Dodge & Burn Tools: Lightening or darkening areas.

6. Selections and Masking

Refining Selections: Using Select and Mask.
Feathering and Smoothing selections for soft edges.
Quick Mask Mode: Creating more precise selections.
Layer Masks vs Clipping Masks: Non-destructive editing techniques.

7. Basic Filters and Effects

Blur Filters: Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, etc.
Sharpen Filters: Unsharp Mask, Smart Sharpen.
Other Filters: Noise reduction, Liquify for reshaping.

8. Text and Typography

Adding and Formatting Text: Font size, color, and type options.
Text on a Path: Creating text that follows a shape or line.
Blending Text: Text effects, such as shadows and outlines.

9. Transformations and Scaling

Free Transform: Scaling, rotating, skewing, and warping objects.
Content-Aware Scale: Resizing images intelligently without distortion.
Perspective Warp: Adjusting perspectives.

10. Saving and Exporting

Saving as PSD: Preserving layers for future editing.
Exporting for Web: Optimizing images for online use (JPEG, PNG, GIF).
Saving for Print: Exporting high-resolution images for print (TIFF, PDF).
Quick Export as PNG for fast sharing.

11. Basic Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl/Cmd + Z: Undo.
B: Brush Tool.
V: Move Tool.
M: Marquee Selection.
L: Lasso Tool.
E: Eraser Tool.
T: Text Tool.
Ctrl/Cmd + T: Free Transform.

12. Bonus Tips

Non-Destructive Editing: Using adjustment layers, smart objects, and layer masks to make edits without permanently altering the original image.
History Panel: Going back to earlier steps without losing work.
Using Presets: Applying default filters, gradients, and brushes for quick editing.
Some basic tips on using the new AI features built in to Photoshop.

Included will be the images you will need to work on as we go along, any presets we will be using and a pdf of the course outline.

I will require a minimum of 3 people and a max of 10 people for this course. Full Payment is required to register, if the minimum of 3 people is not filled by the registration deadline: Feb 28th, 2025, your registration fee will be fully refunded.

Cancellations: if you choose to cancel your registration you have up to February 24th for a full refund. After February 24th: 50% of the registration fee will be refunded up to February 28th. No Refunds after February 28th on cancellations or missed classes.

Cost of the course is $299 + GST, to register fill out the form below and I will contact you for payment.