A Printable Glossary of Tools and Terms for Photoshop

 

Action: The Actions icon is located in the panel dock. It allows users to record a set of actions (or steps) to carry out when editing an image.

How To Use Photoshop Actions - Complete Guide (2021)

 

Background Eraser: The background eraser tool is one of the options in the eraser tool menu. It removes colors not associated with the main image of the photo.

The Background Eraser Tool In Photoshop

 

Blending Mode: Located in the layers palette dropdown menu, blending mode can be used to change the appearance of an image or create special effects.

Blending Modes Explained - The Complete Guide to Photoshop Blend Modes

 

Brush Tool: In the brush palette, the size, spacing, angle, hardness, and other settings can be adjusted. The brush can then be used to paint layer masks and create artwork.

Photoshop Basics - Working with Brushes

 

Burn Tool: On Windows computers, the burn tool is accessed by pressing shift+O. The burn tool uses a brush to darken selected parts of the image.

How to Lighten and Darken with Dodge and Burn Tools in Photoshop CS6

 

Clone Stamp Tool: The clone stamp is located on the left toolbar. It allows users to duplicate selected areas of an image and paint them into new areas.

How to Use the Clone Stamp Tool

 

Curves Tool: Accessed on the toolbar, the curves tool is one of the most powerful in Photoshop. It allows users to adjust contrast, shadows, brightness, and highlights. It can also be used to adjust colors.

Photoshop Curves Tool: 6 Techniques Every Photographer Must Know

 

Color Balance: The color balance tool is found by pressing Choose Image → Adjustments → Color Balance. It alters the hue and saturation of colors in the image.

Photoshop: Color Balance Adjustment

 

Dodge Tool: Like the burn tool, the dodge tool is accessed by pressing shift+O. Unlike the burn tool, the dodge tool brightens parts of the selected image.

Photoshop Box of Tricks: A Beginner's Guide to Magic Wand, Lasso, and Other Features

 

Eraser Tool: PC users will right-click on the eraser menu while Mac users will hit control-click to access the eraser tool, which removes any effects used on the selected layer.

Eraser Tools

 

Eyedropper Tool: Hitting the letter I on the keyboard brings up the eyedropper tool, which copies the color code of a shade within the image.

Eyedropper Tool In Photoshop

 

Feather: This process softens edges, and is often used when combining elements into a new image. It's accessed by opening either the Lasso or Marquee menus and choosing the Tool Options Panel.

Adobe Photoshop CS3: Feathering a Selection

 

Flattening: Flattening is used to combine all existing layers into one. The action is completed by right-clicking on Layers in the layers palette.

Photoshop Basics: Layers Part 3 - Merging and Flattening

 

Gradient Tool: The gradient tool can be selected by either pressing G on the keyboard or clicking the gradient icon. The Gradient tool fills in a selected area with pre-chosen colors that fade into each other.

Adobe Has Finally Made It With Their New Gradient Tool- a UX Review

 

Healing Brush Tool: Flaws in images are corrected with the healing brush tool, which obscures the flaw by matching shadows, textures, and lighting of nearby items to obscure the issue. The tool is found in the Photoshop Toolbox, which is in the menu on the left side.

Photoshop Healing Brush

 

History Palette: Choose Window-History to pull up a list of all recent actions and steps taken in the editing process. It helps users go back to previous steps.

The Power of Undo

 

Lasso Tools: The lasso tool is in the left side menu. To use, chose part of the image by drawing or using the magnetic lasso to select part of an image.

3 Ways to Use the Lasso Tool in Photoshop

 

Layer: Layers can be stacked to create special effects. Each layer can be edited separately. The Layer menu is located in the toolbar.

Getting Started with Photoshop CS6: Layers

 

Layer Masks: Adding layer masks is a multi-step process. Choose Select > Deselect and then in the layer panel choose either a layer or a group. Click add Layer Mask, which is in the layers panel. These layer masks apply special effects to the selected area of an image.

Masking in Photoshop: Understanding Layer Masks and Clipping Masks

 

Levels: Levels lets users adjust the shadows, brightness, and contrast of their image. It's opened by clicking on the layer adjustment icon.

Tutorials: Photoshop Levels

 

Liquify: Select Filter > Liquify to open the liquify tool, which alters the chosen area of an image by pulling and pushing the pixels. It's usually used to make objects look thinner or to push out other areas of an image.

Importance of the Liquify Tool in Photoshop

 

Magic Wand Tool: The magic wand has an icon on the left side toolbar. When used, it uses colors in order to differentiate the selected area from the larger background.

How Does the Magic Wand Tool Work?

 

Marquee Tools: Clicking on the marquee tool icon opens up the selection menu. The tools include various shapes - elliptical, columns, rows, and rectangles - that are used to choose the part of an image.

How to Use Marquee Tool in Photoshop

 

Opacity: Choose layers in the layer panel to adjust the transparency of the layer. Sometimes users want one layer to be transparent enough that other layers can be viewed beneath them.

Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop

 

Paint Bucket Tool: Choose the paint bucket icon in the left side menu to open up a tool that will fill a selection portion of the image with a solid color.

Paint Bucket Tool Photoshop Uses

 

Patch Tool: Click on the healing brush icon to access the patch tool. Like its neighbor, it works when users chose a section of the image and then move it to another part of the image to heal a bad spot in the pictures.

Healing Brush and Patch Tool (PDF)

 

PSD file: A Photoshop file format where individual layers are saved intact so they can be edited at a later time.

What Is a PSD File and How Can You Open It?

 

Selective Color: This tool allows each color to be adjusted individually and is located in the main toolbar.

How to Use Selective Color in Photoshop (Step by Step!)

 

Toolbox: The bar on the left side of the screen is home to all editing tools.

Photoshop Tools and Toolbar Overview

 

Unsharp Mask: Increasing the values of an image sharpens it. This tool lives under the Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask selections.

Using the Unsharp Mask for Sharper Photos

 

Additional Resources

• Photoshop Tool Guide: Screenshots abound in this guide produced by NYU.

• Photoshop Basics: An accessible, free tutorial designed to help beginners master the basics of the program.

• Intro to Photoshop: A thorough, well-produced tutorial designed to make users ready to tackle their first Photoshop project.

• Photoshop 7 Lessons: Fifteen distinct lessons lead students from learning easy concepts to executing advanced tricks.

• Photoshop: The Basics: The entirety of this course from Indiana University, including videos and other lessons, is available free online.

• What Is Photoshop?: Learn about layers, working with types, and other Photoshop fundamentals with this quick tutorial.

• Introduction to Adobe Photoshop 2021 (PDF): Users who work through this introduction will have a solid understanding of what the various tools are capable of doing within the program.

• How to Resize an Image in Photoshop: Sometimes learning individual tasks requires dedicated lessons. Resizing images is a basic task that many users perform as part of the regular workflow in the program.

• Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (PDF): Every tool and workflow is carefully explained in this workbook.

• Photoshop Tutorial: How to Make a Text Portrait Poster: Photoshop makes it possible for new users to produce professional-looking items, like posters.