chapter 9 - Introduction to Photoshop

Learn the fundamentals of photoshop

Learn the fundamentals of photo editing and retouching using Adobe Photoshop, including layers, masks, healing tools, and AI-powered features.

What You’ll Learn in This chapter

Photoshop for Photographers

This chapter introduces Adobe Photoshop as a powerful photo editing and retouching tool. You’ll learn how Photoshop works using layers, how to make non-destructive edits, clean up images, and use modern AI tools like Generative Fill.

By the end of this chapter, you will understand:

• What Photoshop is and how it differs from Lightroom
• How Photoshop’s layer-based editing system works
• How to crop and reframe images to improve composition
• How to use adjustment layers for non-destructive edits
• How to remove blemishes using the Spot Healing and Healing Brush tools
• How Photoshop brushes work (size, hardness, opacity, and flow)
• How to use layer masks for selective editing
• How to invert masks to apply adjustments precisely
• How to use Photoshop’s AI Generative Fill to remove or replace elements in an image

chapter 9 Downloads

These are the digital notes and resources for this chapter.

Download them before watching the lessons so you can follow along and reinforce what you’re learning.

Save these to your computer for easy reference as you practice.

🎥 chapter 9 Videos

These Chapter 9 video lessons will guide you through the key concepts and techniques for this part of the course.

Take notes as you watch, and don’t worry about mastering everything all at once. You’ll build confidence through practice as you move through each lesson.

chapter 9 task

This task helps you practice basic Photoshop editing and retouching techniques while keeping your images natural and non-destructive.

Your goals this week are to:

  • Open and organize an image in Photoshop

  • Use the Crop Tool to improve composition

  • Apply at least two adjustment layers

  • Perform basic cleanup using Spot Healing and Healing Brush tools

  • Use brushes with controlled opacity and softness

  • Apply a layer mask to limit an edit to specific areas

  • Experiment with Generative Fill for cleanup or creative use

Next chapter

When you're ready, continue on to the next chapter.