Refine your Photoshop abilities through guided projects in editing, retouching, and digital composition. Learn techniques used by creative professionals.
Learn how to retouch and color correct photos, combine images, and create graphics in Photoshop. This course covers the basic and intermediate features of Photoshop such as color/contrast, photo retouching, layers, masks, filters, and saving files for web/video/print.
Master Photoshop from the ground up and prepare for the Adobe Certified Professional exam with expert-led training, hands-on projects, and personalized tutoring. This comprehensive program is ideal for aspiring designers, photographers, and creative professionals looking to earn industry-recognized certification.
Begin your journey as a professional graphic designer by learning the essential skills and tools used by industry experts. Gain hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.
Learn the fundamentals of Photoshop in this accelerated class, where you will discover how to retouch photos, remove unwanted elements, and save files for print or web. This class is perfect for beginners who want to improve their photo editing skills in a short amount of time.
Take your Photoshop skills to the next in this advanced Photoshop course. Learn how to make better selections (including hair), retouch skin, adjust color, use channels, use the Pen tool and work with vectors, realistically combine photos, and much more.
Photoshop is one of the best, most widely recognized software programs for design professionals. Everyone from Graphic Designers and Photographers to Marketers will use Photoshop to edit photos, design logos, create web graphics, or work on digital art. Photoshop has the power to help you make your vision come to life so you can refine photos, adjust the color, and add fun effects to your liking. You can also create imagery from scratch so your creativity can flourish. If you want to take your images from drab to distinguished, Photoshop is the software to use.
Invented in 1987, Photoshop quickly catapulted into the design world. Brothers Thomas and John Knoll created what was initially called Display before Adobe acquired it in 1988 and renamed it Photoshop. Since then, it has become the chosen tool for photo editing. It is a favorite among design professionals of all kinds and helps creatives provide the best imagery possible. Over time, Photoshop has seen numerous updates. Who knows what Adobe will add in the years to come? All in all, Photoshop is more than just a software application—it’s a diverse, creative, globally recognized tool.
If you learn Photoshop, you’ll open doors to many new opportunities. Photoshop is used in so many industries, from entertainment and retail to technology and even healthcare. Businesses in these sectors and more such as finance and education, all use Photoshop. This photo editing software is essential for any visually creative project requiring effective communication and visual aesthetics.
Beyond the industries, Photoshop can be used to design everything from social media marketing campaigns and website elements to packaging materials and product mockups. If you’re into digital art, you can also use Photoshop as a way to create illustrations and animations. You could design book covers, album art, digital scrapbooks, website layouts, or even video game characters. No matter what type of visual design element you want to create, Photoshop has the tools necessary to bring ideas to life.
The best part of learning Photoshop is that it applies to many situations, even beyond the professional realm. For instance, you could use your skills to take and edit family photos. You could also design beautiful invitations to weddings, parties, and other events. Moreover, Photoshop could be pivotal for taking a hobby to a side hustle. For instance, if you want to start a cooking blog, Photoshop can help you edit photos of your meals and even design a digital cookbook for sale.
When you enroll in a Photoshop class, you may need to consider whether you take a beginner, intermediate, or advanced short course. In addition, a bootcamp or certificate course may be worth considering as well. Each class will cover similar skills—such as navigation, design principles, retouching, color correction, and layers—but in different ways. The level of depth and complexity depends on the type of course you choose, which may be determined by your needs, goals, and preferences.
The first thing you’ll learn in any Photoshop beginner course or bootcamp is learning how to navigate the interface. You will get familiar with where all the tools, panels, and menu items are located. Without this, you will be fumbling around, making things more difficult than they need to be. Whether you’re designing a logo, editing photos, or making social media graphics, knowing the workspace inside and out will save you time and frustration.
To create visually appealing images, you need to understand basic design principles. Things like contrast, hierarchy, alignment, and balance help guide how elements are arranged in your image and provide a clear, beautiful image. Photoshop courses will discuss design principles in detail to ensure every project—whether personal or professional—comes out looking professional and cohesive.
Retouching is a big part of using Photoshop. You can improve your photos by making your skin look smooth and cleaning up background images. Moreover, you can use tools like the Clone Stamp to paint over parts of the image or use the Healing Brush to remove scratches or pimples. Photoshop classes usually cover these skills since they help images look flawless, including anything from marketing products to sprucing up family photos.
In Photoshop, color correction is one of the most useful skills since many use Photoshop for portraits and personal photos. Ensuring each image or photograph looks bright, vibrant, and level makes the photos look more professional. Tools such as Levels and Curves let you tweak the color balance to get everything just perfect. Knowing how to do this makes content more visually appealing for consumers or just helps your personal photos pop.
Once you’ve got the basics down, you’ll dive into working with layers. Layers let you keep different parts of your design, like text, graphics, and backgrounds, separate. This makes it easy to adjust individual elements rather than having to consider all elements at once. This also makes it possible to make non-destructive edits. Once you’re comfortable with layers, you’ll be able to take your designs to a far more professional level.
Learning Photoshop varies in difficulty depending on what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to get familiar with the basics, like cropping a photo or adjusting the brightness, this likely won’t take as much effort. However, if you want to become a Photoshop professional, it’ll take a lot more time and practice. The software is packed with tools and features that can do everything from photo retouching to advanced digital painting techniques, so it can feel a little overwhelming at first. With consistent practice and expert guidance, anyone can get a little more comfortable with Photoshop and eventually become a true expert.
The most challenging parts of learning Photoshop depend on your current knowledge, previous skills, and technical aptitudes. Things like layering, masking, and using adjustment layers can be tricky for beginners, particularly when it comes to non-destructive editing, which involves editing an image without overwriting the original data. In addition, selections and paths can be difficult to master but they’re essential for making the most precise edits. Another challenge can be mastering the blending modes, which change the way layers interact with each other. Overall, Photoshop has many tools, and learning all its capabilities can require patience and practice.
If you want to get comfortable with Photoshop and use it for basic editing tasks or personal reasons, you can likely master it in a few weeks or even less with practice. However, to reach a more professional level where you can use the advanced features without effort, it could take several months or a year. It really depends on how much time you’re willing to put in and what kind of projects you’re aiming to work on. To truly master Photoshop, especially in a professional setting, continuous learning, and real-world experience are the key to success.
Once you decide on a Photoshop course, you will likely consider which delivery method is best suited for you. In-person learning offers hands-on interaction with the material, the instructor, and your peers. This is great for those who prefer direct guidance, immediate feedback, and a neutral learning environment. Plus, this offers a chance to build deeper networking connections. Of course, you’ll have to have time and reliable transportation for a commute since you are required to attend each course. However, if you live in a central location to the training center, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Live online classes offer the best of both worlds. They combine the structure of in-person classes with the flexibility of learning from home. You will still have access to an instructor who can help, provide feedback, and give advice. However, you won’t have to commute to the classroom. The challenge is that technology is not always reliable and if technical issues occur, it will derail your learning process. Still, this is a great option for someone who wants an in-depth course without the worry of a commute.
Asynchronous classes must be greatly considered before enrollment. They offer the most flexibility because you learn at a pace that suits you, but you have to teach yourself the material. This means you won’t really know whether you’re on the right track since there isn’t an instructor there to offer feedback and guidance. If you’re a total beginner who wants to become a professional, this is not the best option. If you’re learning as a hobbyist, or refreshing your skills as a current professional, this method can be worthwhile. Otherwise, a more thorough option may be needed.
There are many ways to learn more about Photoshop for free online. A good starting place is searching the web for blogs, videos, social media platforms, and articles. In particular, consider checking out a training center’s resources. Noble Desktop offers a Free Seminar page, blogs, and a YouTube channel, all filled with videos and further insight into the tool and the industries it is used in. Online communities like discussion boards can provide insight as well since you can learn from expert Photoshop users or chat with those who are just starting. A free tutorial is useful, but it won’t give you everything you need to use Photoshop to the fullest extent. You’ll want to enroll in a course if you want to become a professional Photoshop user.
If you’re planning to learn Photoshop for a creative career, you may want to learn some complementary skills as well. For example, Photoshop is just one application within Adobe Creative Cloud. You could also learn others such as Premiere Pro. This helps make video editing much easier, and combined with Photoshop, can be a real benefit to any creative project. Likewise, you could explore After Effects for motion graphics. This can take any social media post, website, or other digital design project to the next level.
It’s also super helpful to learn the basics of marketing, design principles, and organization methods. Because most design jobs require juggling different projects at once, it would be worthwhile to learn project management. This helps you manage your time, resources, and budget far more effectively. In addition, learning design principles such as through a graphic design course, can make your designs far more appealing and effective. Lastly, Photoshop is huge in marketing, so many will study the basic concepts and techniques for effective marketing.
Baltimore has considerably strong industries ranging from education and healthcare to finance and information technology. In each of these, Photoshop is used. Whether for marketing, design, or communication efforts, each sector relies on Photoshop’s features and tools to create professional visuals that help get their messages across. In this section, you can learn more about these Baltimore industries and Photoshop’s usefulness in each.
Baltimore is home to several well-known universities, like Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, and Loyola University. As such, the education sector in the city is not only a major employer but also plays a huge role in research, innovation, and community outreach. With so many educational institutions in the area that all use a variety of digital tools to support learning, communicate with the community, and promote their programs, it is no surprise that a wide variety of professionals work behind the scenes to support the institutions.
For example, many design and marketing professionals use Photoshop to create promotional materials such as flyers, brochures, posters, and other forms of signage for lectures, events, programs, and different situations. It’s also used in graphic design projects for course materials, presentations, and social media content. Additionally, universities typically have a strong social media presence so they will likely need social media professionals to assist with creating refined, brand-specific social media posts.
Numerous healthcare organizations in the Baltimore region contribute significantly to the local economy. For instance, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center are both well-known and incredibly renowned for their patient care. The healthcare industry goes beyond hospitals, however, and includes research labs, biotech companies, and healthcare startups. With so much complex medical information to convey, it’s essential that healthcare professionals do so with intention and clarity.
Photoshop is used in several unique ways within the healthcare industry. Of course, it’s used for educational and promotional content. With a clear brochure, pamphlet, and informational guide, a patient can go from anxious to calm in mere moments. These materials need to be visually appealing and easy to understand, making Photoshop an essential tool for healthcare marketers. Additionally, Photoshop is used for medical imaging as it is the ideal tool for enhancing diagnostic images such as those from MRIs.
There is a strong finance industry in Baltimore with a variety of banks, investment firms, and insurance companies located in the city. Some of the best finance companies to work for in Baltimore include Brown Advisory, Legg Mason, Signal Hill Capital Group, and Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union. Since the industry is so vast, there are many employment opportunities, including ones far beyond a Bank Teller or Certified Public Accountant.
Designers, developers, and marketing professionals are needed in the finance industry too, and as such, they often learn how to use Photoshop. They will create brochures, flyers, reports, social media content, and presentations that help financial institutions share their services with the community or inform their clients about changes in financial policies. Photoshop can make complex financial information easier to understand, which is essential for maintaining a strong client base.
Baltimore is quickly becoming a tech hub with a growing number of large companies and tech startups. With its proximity to Washington, D.C., it’s no surprise there’s a growing presence of cybersecurity, software development, and data analytics firms. Baltimore is a hot spot for innovation, business services, consumer tech, and digital marketing as well. As such, this industry is essential to the economic fabric of the city.
In the IT industry, Photoshop can be used for designing websites, user interfaces (UI), and mobile applications. Developers and designers alike use Photoshop to refine imagery, create wireframes, design mockups, and develop other visual content. It’s also used for marketing materials like social media graphics, email templates, website banners, brochures, infographics, and other elements that promote new products. Whether it’s for print or digital media, Photoshop can help drive more engagement in the IT industry.
Many career paths use Photoshop for their daily or weekly work tasks. For those who work in digital design or graphic design use it regularly, as well as those who design products for companies. Furthermore, anyone who works in marketing and social media also uses Photoshop. Truly, Photoshop can be used in any situation where high-quality images are needed. Read ahead to see just some of the jobs you could land in the Baltimore area with your Photoshop expertise.
Graphic Designers use Photoshop regularly to create visual content like logos, brochures, posters, flyers, and other forms of advertisements. They focus on creating an organized layout, choosing appropriate typography, and refining images to communicate an intended message or share a brand’s identity. Glassdoor estimates that a Baltimore-based Graphic Designer earns roughly $69,000 each year, but the expected range can be anywhere from $53,000 to $89,000.
In addition, Digital Designers create web and mobile application interfaces and ensure they are user-friendly, so they will often use Photoshop for UI design purposes. It can also be useful during the wireframing stage and adding visual elements such as buttons, icons, and banners. A Digital Designer in Baltimore can earn close to $92,000, according to Indeed. The high-end salary could be closer to $136,000.
A Social Media Strategist uses Photoshop to curate the most high-quality social media content possible. They’ll share graphics, posts, and advertisements on platforms like Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Facebook that align with the company’s goals and the marketing campaign's intentions. This is done to build an online presence and keep consumers interested. Salary shares that a Social Media Strategist earns close to $90,000 every year. However, most salaries range between $79,000 and $106,000.
Lastly, Product Designers create and refine visual elements for physical and digital products, including everything from packaging to app interfaces. They collaborate with other teams to ensure that the design aligns with user experience and branding goals. Data from Glassdoor states that a Product Designer in Baltimore can earn close to $92,000 each year, but most can expect to earn between $73,000 and $116,000.
If you want to gain experience with Photoshop and more, consider the Graphic Design Certificate from Noble Desktop. You’ll not only learn how to retouch images, create graphics, and improve images with Photoshop, but you will also learn how to use specific tools to adjust color, contrast, and other design elements. In addition, you’ll practice using InDesign for page layouts, Illustrator for vector graphics, and all there is to know about the graphic design process. This broad-ranging course will also help you broaden your understanding of the graphic design field and develop a professional portfolio, which will be uploaded to Adobe Portfolio. In addition, you’ll earn a certificate of completion that shows just how hard you’ve worked.
If you want an all-encompassing look at digital design, Noble Desktop also has a Digital Design Certificate. This course includes a look at Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, but also teaches Figma and essential UI and web design. You’ll learn how to create portfolio projects like user interface prototypes on Figma and brand-identifying materials with Adobe Creative Cloud applications. For example, while learning Photoshop, you’ll practice retouching photos, removing unwanted elements, and using tools like Healing and Content-Aware Fill. Upon completing the course, you’ll earn a certificate of completion and have a well-developed portfolio.
However, if you just want to focus on Photoshop and nothing more, consider the Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp. Noble Desktop offers this course for students who want to work on realistic photo editing projects and gain practical skills, like retouching nature photos, replacing backgrounds, creating social media graphics, and using different tools such as Camera Raw. You’ll improve the color, brightness, and contrast of photos and make updates by using adjustment layers. Plus, you’ll work with filters, shadows, blend modes, and other useful tools.
In Laurel, Maryland located just outside of Baltimore, students can enroll in the Certstaffix Training Adobe Photoshop CC (2020) course. This is an introduction to the photo editing application that spans three days. Students will learn basic techniques for editing pictures, printing 3D images, painting with brush tools, and producing vector images. Students will also learn the most updated version of the software and practice using new tools.
At Think BIG. Learn Smart, located just outside of Baltimore in Columbia, students can enroll in a four-day Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp. Students will learn the software up and down to prepare to earn a Photoshop Adobe Certified Associate Certificate. This includes practicing color management, adjustment layers, and blending modes as well as Camera Raw files and advanced compositing techniques. Students leave feeling confident and ready to use Photoshop in more professional settings.
For those who don’t mind a short day trip to Washington, D.C., consider the Softek Services Inc. Intermediate Adobe Photoshop course. This course is for those with some experience using the software but who want to take it to the next level. This one-day course builds upon previous knowledge and offers insight into more advanced tools like masks, channels, bitmaps, and vectors.
Corporate training is an excellent way to improve your team’s skills and productivity. Whether you’re looking to improve your marketing team’s ability to create high-quality content or help the graphic design team refine their techniques, Photoshop training can be immensely worthwhile. Not only can it upgrade your team’s skills, it can enhance creativity, improve communication, and create a more collaborative workplace setting. Noble Desktop, for instance, offers customizable corporate training sessions offered in-person or live online. The instructors are highly skilled in Photoshop and will help your team learn all the important features and tools in Photoshop.
For even more options, Noble Desktop allows your organization to purchase bulk vouchers at a discounted rate so your team can attend regular Photoshop classes at a reduced rate. This is a great option for companies that want to provide continuing education for their employees. If you are ready to take the first step in improving your team’s Photoshop skills, consider reaching out to Noble Desktop at corporate@nobledesktop.com to learn more about scheduling, pricing, and training options.