How to retouch photos with Photoshop

Photoshop is the most famous photo editing software in the world, even those who have never turned on a computer in their life know this. But how can you fully exploit its potential to make your photos more beautiful and professional? It would take a whole book to explain it (and maybe even that wouldn't be enough!) But, if you don't have too many pretensions and you are a beginner with the world of photo editing, maybe I can give you some basic information on how to retouch photos with Photoshop using the most practical and intuitive tools available to the Adobe home program. You will see, you will be impressed by the results that can be obtained with very few mouse strokes.

In the next paragraphs, in addition to illustrating the functioning of the desktop version of Photoshop, I will also tell you about its Web counterpart and its countless free apps for smartphones and tablets, made available by Adobe itself, which integrate some functions that have made Photoshop famous on PC. I am sure that, following my instructions carefully and scrupulously, you will have no problem in completing your photo editing work.

So, are you ready to get started? Yup? Well: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs, try to understand the functioning of the various tools integrated in Photoshop and, more importantly, put in place the "tips" that I will give you. Now there is nothing left for me to do, except wish you good reading and, above all, have fun!

Retouch photos with Photoshop on smartphones and tablets

Retouch photos with Photoshop on computer

Let's start this guide by taking a closer look how to retouch with Photoshop on computer, using both the desktop version of the program and the web version.

Adobe Photoshop CC (Windows/macOS)

As you probably already know, the Adobe Photoshop CC it is aimed above all at professionals who work in the world of graphics and photo editing and, for this reason, it is not free. However, know that it is possible to test its functionality thanks to the 7-day trial version available on the Adobe website. At the end of the trial, then, to continue using the program, you must subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan, which starts from 12,19 euro / month. If you need clarification in this regard, read my guide on the subject.

The first thing you need to do to retouch photos with Photoshop is to start the program and import the photo you want to edit into it. Then open the menu Fillet (top), select the item Apri ... and choose the shot you want to retouch. Then you can use the Photoshop menus located at the top to call up specific functions of the program, take tools from the toolbar located on the left or, again, work on the layers using the appropriate panel located on the right.

I'll give you some practical examples that can help you better understand the use of Photoshop. Let's say you want to correct a shot that has brightness and / or color problems. To automatically fix these defects, open the menu Image and click (one at a time) on the items Automatic tone, Automatic contrast e Automatic color: almost as if by magic, the program will automatically correct the defects you have found by applying the most suitable filters.

Alternatively, you can manually act on the parameters in question by selecting them from the menu Image> Adjustments, which is located at the top.

Settled the first appearances, I would say to also see how remove wrinkles and skin imperfections (e.g. moles, pimples, etc.) in the people portrayed in the photos. To carry out this mission, complicated only in appearance, you can rely on the tool Spot Healing Brush present in the toolbar located on the left side of the screen (by right clicking on the patch, patch or eye icon, if this is not already visible).

By selecting this tool and gently wiping it on wrinkles or skin imperfections (like a normal coloring brush), you will see your photos improve all of a sudden. This is because the Spot Healing Brush fills intelligently selected portions of photos, taking as fill the parts of the image adjacent to the one you are working on.

Would you like to change the color of your eyes or hair? This too is very easy, despite what is commonly believed. If you want change eye color in a photo using Photoshop, select the tool elliptical selection (appears by right clicking on the rectangular marquee tool) and draw a circle with the mouse that includes the pupil of the first eye.

When done, press and hold the button Shift computer keyboard and also selects the pupil of the second eye. Then go to the menu Image> Adjustments> Hue / Saturation and use the scroll bar Hue to assign the color that suits you best to the eyes.

If you want change hair color of a person in Photoshop, on the other hand, you have to select him lasso tool from the toolbar located in the left part of the window and try to trace the shape of the hair, so as to include them all in a selection. when done, click on the button Refine Edge at the top right and move the various values ​​so that the selection is as precise as possible.

Once this is done, select the item Create copied layer from the menu Level> New to create a layer containing only the hair and go to the menu Image> Adjustments> Hue / Saturation to change the hair color as you previously did with the eyes. when done, select the hair level in the box Layers located at the bottom right and carries theopacity of the latter to 60-70%. All done! If any of the steps aren't clear to you, check out my specific guide on how to change hair color with Photoshop.

If you want, you can too cut out a photo to remove its background or to move a subject from one image to another. To do this, just use Photoshop's selection tools and quick masks, as I have already explained to you extensively in the deepening on how to cut out with Photoshop.

These of course are only a small part of Photoshop's countless features. If you want to deepen them all in detail, I suggest you read all the articles that are grouped in the Photoshop section of my site and, if possible, also take a look at the official program guide. You will see that with a little training you will be able to become a true master of photo editing!

Adobe Photoshop Express Editor (Online)

As I mentioned earlier, it is also possible to use one online version of Photoshop, which is free and usable on virtually any browser with Adobe Flash Player enabled. I am obviously referring to Photoshop Express Editor, a free web application developed by Adobe itself that allows you to retouch only images in JPEG format. For obvious reasons, it doesn't allow you to use the same features as its desktop counterpart, but it can still come in handy.

To use it, connected to its main page and presses the buttons UPLOAD PHOTO e Upload. Then select the image you want to work on and choose one of the tools available to retouch it.

On the left, in the section BASIC, the basic photo editing tools are grouped, such as the one that allows you to crop (Crop & Rotate), scale back (Resize) and correct red eyes (Red-eye). In the section ADJUSTMENTS instead, the tools with which to modify image parameters are grouped, such as white balance (White level), brightness (Highlight) and sharpness (Sharpen). There is no shortage of tools with which to pixelate the photo (Pixelate) or distort it (Distort), grouped in the section EFFECTS.

After selecting one of the tools from those available, help yourself with the previews that appear at the top to adjust the degree of intensity with which to apply each of them to the photo and, when you have achieved the desired result, press the buttons Done e Save to save the output image locally. For more information on using Photoshop online, please read the guide I linked to you.

Retouch photos with Photoshop on smartphones and tablets

For some years now, Photoshop can also be used on smartphones and tablets thanks to some free applications that allow you to take advantage of some photo editing tools that are very reminiscent of those included in its famous desktop version. Let me explain the characteristics of each of them.

• Adobe Photoshop Express (Android / iOS / Windows 10 Mobile) - this is an app that allows you to retouch the main parameters of your shots in a rather easy and fast way, such as brightness and contrast and, thanks to its ad hoc function, allows also to make photo collages.
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC (Android / iOS) - allows you to take photos in DNG format and work on RAW files (as long as you have subscribed to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan). The functions that allow you to take pictures in RAW, DNG or HDR format are also available only on some supported devices (eg Galaxy S8 / S8 + and later, Google Pixel / Pixel XL and later, iPhone 6s / 6s Plus and later, etc.).
• Photoshop Sketch (Android / iOS) - allows you to create digital drawings using the many brushes and tools of Photoshop.

For more information about using the Photoshop apps I told you about, take a look at the guide I linked to you: I'm sure this reading will be useful too.

How to retouch photos with Photoshop