How to choose the best online course in Photoshop

Photoshop is photo editing and graphics software that allows users to create, edit, and manipulate raster images. Developed by Adobe Systems, it can be used with both Windows and macOS.

Mainly, Photoshop is used by photographers, graphic designers and social media managers.

Why learn how to use Photoshop

Learning Photoshop is essential if you work in Graphic Design, Web Design, or User Experience. But it is also useful if you are in a profession in Marketing. Whether creating flyers, brochures or newsletters, it is indeed necessary to know how to use Photoshop to optimize and retouch images.

Taking an online Photoshop course:

• can help you get a job: for those about to enter the workforce, Photoshop can be a useful Hard Skill. Many jobs require Photoshop skills, especially in graphic design, Web design, and user interface design. In a competitive job market, learning Photoshop can therefore help you stand out from other applicants;
• can enhance your career, as it adds a skill to the skills you already possess;
• can increase your earnings in different ways: you can work as a freelance retoucher for photographers and newsrooms or get hired full-time in publishing, photography, marketing, Web design, and advertising.

While learning Photoshop can improve your career opportunities, it is also personally rewarding. Beyond its professional use, in fact, you can also use it in your private life: to add a professional touch to the images you share on Social channels, to edit your vacation photos, to create funny photomontages at your friends’ parties. Also, because learning the basic functionality of Photoshop takes a relatively short time.

The best online Photoshop course

Numerous Photoshop courses can be found online, either to learn how to use the program from scratch or to delve into specific functions.

What is the best online Photoshop course? It all depends on the level of knowledge you already have and why you intend to attend.

If you are a beginner, or are not sure if Photoshop will actually serve you, you can start with an introductory course that gives you a basic overview of what you can do with the program. If, on the other hand, you intend to learn how to use Photoshop to work in the industry, or to enhance your career path, you should choose a comprehensive course (preferably one with a certificate).

An online Photoshop course with certificate teaches you how to use the program all-around, giving you access to Adobe Certification after passing a final exam.

Phyd provides its members with a wide range of courses on Photoshop. Taught by top providers, they cater to users with different levels of preparation: there are courses for novices, but also classes that teach how to use specific program functions so as to increase one’s skills.

The most in-demand Photoshop skills

There are features of Photoshop that, more than others, come in handy at work:

• brightness and contrast, to increase the brightness of a dark image or to reduce the contrast of photos taken in the sun;
• clipping;
• Saturation, to add hue to colors;
• Sharpness, to increase the focus of the object;
• layering (layers), to modify specific elements of the image rather than the image as a whole;
• typography, to add text to images;
• Pen tool, for making digital sketches;
• brush, to remove small imperfections.

Once basic skills have been acquired, it is then possible to deepen other aspects of the program with additional courses.