Content Creation Tips, Photographer Marketing

What is Photoshop? 

Are you considering using Photoshop as a tool for your company? Do you find Photoshop too intimidating or think it will be too difficult to use? Are you wondering what is Photoshop used for? If you’re stumped on one or a few of these questions, you’ve come to the right place. There are many cool things you can do using Photoshop, from making GIFs to editing photos. This article will teach you the basics of what Photoshop is and some of Photoshop’s features. We will also tell you what you can do with Photoshop to help your business.    

What is Photoshop?

Even if you have never edited an image on your computer, you have probably heard of Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is an editing software application created by Adobe Inc. for both Windows and mac0S devices. It is most known for being an image editing and photo retouching application. Many people use the application on their computers, but it is also available for mobile devices. Photoshop can help you create, enhance, or edit pictures, artwork, or illustrations. When it comes to what you can do with Photoshop, the possibilities are truly endless! 

How Much Does Photoshop Cost?

Adobe Photoshop requires a subscription, but the price varies depending on the exact product you buy. Any Photoshop subscription allows you to access the application on your desktop or laptop and mobile device. If you’d like to test Photoshop out before buying it, you can access a 7-day free trial when you purchase through their website.

You can purchase Adobe Photoshop Single App for $20.99 per month. 

Adobe also offers a “photography” bundle, which has both Photoshop and Lightroom and Lightroom Classic for only $9.99 per month. Lightroom is another editing app that a lot of photographers utilize. 

Business owners can get Photoshop for $24.99 per month, or the entire bundle of apps for $59.99 per month. 

Students and teachers can purchase Photoshop for a discounted price of $19.99 per month. They can also save over 60% on the entire Creative Cloud library of apps.

Who Uses Photoshop?

Photoshop is usually used by designers, web developers, graphic artists, photographers, and creatives. These professionals use the application every day for image editing, retouching, website mockups, image compositions, and adding special effects. 

photoshop features

What Can You Do With Photoshop?

There is a lot you can do with Photoshop – more than we could list here. Some of the basic things you can do are:

Edit Photos

The most basic and common Photoshop feature is editing. Through the Photoshop application, you can: 

  • Enhance colors, add contrast, or adjust the sharpness or blurriness of a photo. 
    • You can enhance the color of a model’s eyes, switch the hue on a sweater or add patterns to items.
    • Change the color of a picture from black to white. 
    • You can spot color, adding bursts of color to a black-and-white photo. 
    • Fix old photographs to make them look more modern. 
    • Crop images. 
  • Retouch an image. 
    • Some photos may have specks of dust, unwanted people, or items in the background, or clothing stains. Retouching can get rid of these unwanted parts of an image.
    • You can use the software’s “clone” tool to copy a matching area of the same picture and put it on top of the unwanted area. 
    • You can also add someone to an existing image. 
  • Combine multiple images into one. 
    • This is also known as “layers”. Layers are something you may not have used before. They are a way of stacking designs, then removing or hiding them to see how your work looks. 

Create Art

Using Photoshop, you can also create paintings, cartoons, book covers, and any kind of art imaginable. You can make a photo look exactly like a painting. By blending brushes or layers, you can combine an endless amount of colors to create a beautiful painting. You can also add oil textures, charcoal, and ink to your image to give your painting an old-school look. 

Graphic Design

Through Photoshop, you can design awesome illustrations or graphic posters. If you are interested in graphic design, this is a great application for you.

Website Design

Photoshop can be a great tool to create a mock-up of your website. A mock-up is a fake website design that is created so that you can see how the design looks altogether. This is great for your business if you want to create a visually appealing website. 

Create GIFs

GIFs are common on social media. They are short clips that usually show memes or movie clips. Learning how to create a GIF is not only really impressive, but a great skill to learn. 

Video Editing

Many people edit their videos in Photoshop. It’s not ideal for creating blockbuster movies, but for small clips, it is a great application! It is very convenient for perfecting YouTube videos for your company, for example. 

what is photoshop used for

How to Use Photoshop to Help My Business

Now that you have an idea of some of the basic Photoshop features, there are many ways you can use these features to help out your brand.

Create Great Looking Photos to Sell More Products

Photography is important for your business’s website or for print marketing. If you have great looking photos, you will have a greater chance of selling whatever your business is offering. As we’ve seen earlier, photo editing can vary from touching up photos to color correction. 

When it comes to your business, the way your products are photographed is very important. Low-quality photos are one of the biggest reasons why people don’t buy products. Always make sure that when you are selling your products you include more than one photo. Also, make sure to take pictures of it from all angles. If you are a service-based business, show how you do your service in action, by including photos of employees. Just putting photos up is not enough. Photoshop can help take your photos from good to great. You can easily enhance your photos with Photoshop’s editing tools. 

Create Web Graphics for Your Website

If your website needs a new redesign, look no further than Photoshop to help you out. Photoshop can help you create great banners, icons, badges, buttons, and any kind of page element you need to make your website amazing. It can also help you with creating thumbnail images for your products. 

Image Optimization

Image optimization is the process of creating web-friendly graphic files for the kind of image that you are working on. You can crush down the size of your image to make sure that it keeps its high quality but loads quicker. This is great for keeping your website looking great and working fast.

Print Materials for Your Business

If you are tight on money or do not want to hire a freelance designer, you can easily create print materials for your business using Photoshop. You can even create your own business cards, brochures, and stickers. If you do decide to go this route, you will be saving time as well as money. You will need to know a few more basics of Photoshop before attempting to make your own print materials, such as trims, bleeds, image resolution, etc. But once you master these, you’ll be ready to start creating your own print materials! 

Social Media Graphics

You can also use Photoshop to create graphics that you can post on any of your social media platforms! Social media graphics are things like your social media avatar images, banners, etc. You can even create your Twitter account’s header photo, which is the wide banner that appears at the top of your account. To make a header photo, make sure that you create a 1500×500 image.

Video Editing

Photoshop can do basic video editing. This is great if you have a YouTube channel and need somewhere to edit your videos. YouTube is a great place to market your content and show off your business. Video is currently a very successful format for advertisements online. It is a great way to show off your products and services.

what can you do with photoshop

Is Photoshop Hard to Learn?

Truthfully, when you first get started on Photoshop, it might be pretty tricky to navigate everything. There are a lot of tools you probably have not seen before. This is why it might be great to consider completing an online course or following a learning guide. YouTube videos can also be pretty helpful, but they can be frustrating because you can’t ask a question. 

What is the Quickest Way to Learn Photoshop?

There are many ways to go about learning Photoshop. Learning Photoshop can be just like learning a new language. You can certainly use Google, online forums, or YouTube to learn some of its features. Although these may be the most accessible ways, they also tend to be the hardest for a lot of people. Other ways to learn Photoshop include working hands-on through a book, program, or course in order to get down the essentials.

Frequently Asked Questions About Photoshop

1. Can I use Photoshop on both my computer and mobile device with one subscription?

Yes, any Adobe Photoshop subscription includes access to both the desktop version (Windows or macOS) and the mobile version (Photoshop Express or Photoshop Camera). However, the mobile versions have fewer features compared to the full desktop application. The desktop version is where you’ll find all the professional-grade tools for advanced editing, while mobile versions are better suited for quick edits and basic adjustments. Your Creative Cloud subscription syncs across devices, allowing you to start a project on your computer and make quick adjustments on your phone, though complex editing is best done on desktop.

2. What’s the difference between Photoshop and Lightroom in the photography bundle?

Photoshop and Lightroom serve different purposes in photography workflows. Lightroom is primarily designed for organizing, managing, and making basic to intermediate adjustments to large batches of photos – it’s excellent for RAW processing, color correction, and catalog management. Photoshop excels at detailed image manipulation, complex retouching, compositing multiple images, and creative effects that require pixel-level editing. Most photographers use Lightroom for initial processing and batch editing, then move to Photoshop for detailed retouching or creative work. The photography bundle ($9.99/month) includes both applications, making it an excellent value for photographers who need comprehensive editing capabilities.

3. Do I need any prior experience or artistic skills to learn Photoshop effectively?

No prior experience or artistic background is required to learn Photoshop, though it can be helpful. Photoshop is designed to be accessible to beginners while offering advanced features for professionals. Many successful Photoshop users started with no artistic training and learned through practice and tutorials. The key is starting with basic functions like cropping, color adjustment, and simple retouching before progressing to more complex features. Focus on learning one tool at a time rather than trying to master everything simultaneously. While artistic skills can enhance your creative work, technical proficiency with Photoshop tools can be learned by anyone willing to invest time in practice and learning.

4. Can Photoshop replace other design software for my business needs?

Photoshop can handle many design tasks, but it’s not always the best tool for every job. It excels at photo editing, digital art creation, web graphics, and image-based designs. However, for vector graphics, logos, and print layouts, Adobe Illustrator might be better suited. For multi-page documents like brochures or magazines, InDesign is more appropriate. For video editing beyond basic clips, Premiere Pro offers more comprehensive features. That said, for small businesses on a budget, Photoshop can cover most graphic design needs including business cards, social media graphics, web banners, and basic print materials. Consider your specific needs and budget when deciding whether to use multiple applications.

5. How much storage space and computer power do I need to run Photoshop effectively?

Photoshop requires a minimum of 4GB RAM, but 8GB or more is recommended for smooth performance, especially when working with large files or multiple layers. You’ll need at least 4GB of available hard disk space for installation, plus additional space for scratch disks and file storage. For optimal performance, consider 16GB+ RAM and an SSD (solid-state drive). A dedicated graphics card can improve performance for certain features, though it’s not mandatory. Processor speed matters too – faster CPUs handle complex operations more efficiently. If you’re working with high-resolution images or complex compositions regularly, investing in better hardware will significantly improve your Photoshop experience and productivity.

6. What file formats should I use when saving my Photoshop work?

Choose file formats based on your intended use. For ongoing projects, always save as PSD (Photoshop Document) to preserve all layers, effects, and editability. For web use, save as JPEG for photographs or PNG for graphics with transparency or text. For print materials, use high-resolution JPEG or TIFF formats. When creating graphics for social media, PNG maintains quality better than JPEG for graphics with text or solid colors. For professional printing, discuss format requirements with your printer – they may prefer TIFF or PDF formats. GIF format works for simple animations. Always keep your original PSD file so you can make changes later, then export appropriate formats for specific uses.

7. Is the 7-day free trial enough time to determine if Photoshop is right for me?

The 7-day trial can give you a basic sense of Photoshop’s interface and core features, but it’s quite short for thoroughly evaluating such a complex application. Use the trial strategically: watch some beginner tutorials beforehand, focus on the specific features most relevant to your needs (photo editing, graphic design, etc.), and try creating actual projects you’d use for your business. If you need more time, consider the photography bundle at $9.99/month for your first month – it’s a low-cost way to get extended access. Many users find they need several weeks of regular use to become comfortable with Photoshop’s workflow and determine if it fits their needs and skill development goals.

8. Can I cancel my Photoshop subscription anytime, and what happens to my files?

Adobe subscriptions can be canceled, but terms depend on your plan type. Monthly plans typically allow cancellation anytime, while annual plans may have early cancellation fees if canceled before the year is up. When you cancel, you lose access to Photoshop but retain ownership of all files you created. However, you won’t be able to open PSD files without Photoshop or another compatible application. Before canceling, consider exporting important projects to universal formats like JPEG, PNG, or PDF. Adobe sometimes offers pause options or discounted rates for students if cost is the concern. You can also downgrade to Photoshop Elements, which is a one-time purchase with many essential features but fewer advanced capabilities.

Nick Antonopoulos

Nick Antonopoulos is the Chief Marketing officer of SEO Design Chicago. Nick has over a decade of experience in Content Creation, SEO and Digital Marketing working with small businesses all the way up to Enterprise level clients.

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