Learn More About Photoshop Classes in Los Angeles
Adobe Photoshop is the world’s most popular photo editing software used by Photographers and Graphic Designers for photo retouching along with other visual design purposes, including creating graphics for web design, graphics for smartphone and web apps, and social media graphics as well as designing graphics through integration with other applications available in the Adobe Creative Cloud like After Effects, Animate, and Illustrator. With today’s prevalence of smartphone technology, digital photography has gone from being a novelty to a mainstream, everyday activity, especially with the high definition visual capacity available with those devices that has surpassed the capability of many of the analog cameras used by professional Photographers in the past. Because of the convenience of high definition photography waiting inside everyone’s pocket nowadays, the use of images for communicating has become more widespread. Acquiring skills with tools that handle and manipulate images can create profitable options for professionals or hobbyists looking for ways to make their photographs stand out in today’s crowded social media landscape.
What is Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop is a photo editing application included in the Adobe Creative Cloud. Photoshop primarily functions for editing photos as well as creating and enhancing digital images. Photoshop offers options with visual design for personal, artistic, and professional use, with editing and manipulating photographic images, along with creating images from scratch that include graphics and logos to use in websites, online advertising, or social media.
Graphic Designers can adjust colors, shading, and lighting in images to either improve the design or adjust an image to better fit whatever it’s being used for. Photoshop provides a variety of tools for retouching images and photos that allow designers to remove distractions or debris such as stains, tears, or wrinkles. And while the photo editing software can be used to create basic animated GIFs, as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop can be combined with other graphic design software like Animate, After Effects, or Illustrator for creating more complex animations.
What Can You Do with Photoshop Training?
Photoshop is considered the industry-standard graphic design application for photo and graphics editing. The software has evolved into being used for making an infinite number of changes to photographs and images, including adjusting colors and shading or removing distractions like tears or debris, as well as creating graphic images from scratch. Photographers often use Photoshop for compositing images by taking the best elements from several pictures and combining the results into one pristine photograph.
Graphic Designers as well as Photographers can use Photoshop for manipulating images or creating graphics to use as logos and branding. Photoshop can also be used for design prototyping to give clients a demonstration of how a logo or product might look, which includes making changes on the spot to fit a customer’s desires.
Photoshop is also used extensively in web design for creating and adapting graphics for websites and apps, including in links that can lure potential customers to click. Adobe Photoshop provides compression tools that enable images on websites to be seen as sharp instead of looking cheap and pixelated. Photoshop can also be used in the design layout for websites with responsive web design.
What Will I Learn in a Photoshop Class?
Training related to Photoshop can provide valuable skills for anyone seeking to advance their abilities in visualization, which includes manipulating photos and images through retouching or color enhancement as a profession. Photoshop’s cross-compatibility with other applications within the Adobe Creative Cloud allows professional users to more quickly and easily move files around between Photoshop and other software like Illustrator, Premiere Pro, or After Effects, which makes training in Photoshop a wise investment. Additionally, learning Photoshop can provide flexibility for working with graphics in several capacities and purposes in a variety of industries, including graphic design, web design, and social media marketing.
Graphic Design
Learning to work with Adobe Photoshop can enhance skills in graphic design, which involves combining various graphics tools and techniques for working with visual art. Graphic design skills can be applied to working in digital graphics, traditional commercial art, as well as marketing with website graphics and visual design. Training in graphic design can open up career opportunities beyond just the visual arts, representing a central element for marketing, digital design for websites and applications, or graphic design for physical products. Graphic design is an in-demand skill for many industries and is especially vital in digital marketing.
Web Design
Skills with Photoshop can be used in work related to web design, which involves designing and maintaining websites by using front-end coding (HTML and CSS) combined with visual design. Web Designers must have skills for handling the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), which are compatible categories in web development, along with web architecture and information architecture.
The purpose of web design is to design and develop visually appealing websites that are visually engaging for accessing information or performing tasks like shopping, paying bills, or completing some other type of online process. Skills related to web design must evolve along with advances in technology, as well as with online trends that emerge. Therefore, Web Designers must possess a high level of creativity, technical skills, and experience for designing and developing websites that fit the specifications dictated by clients.
Digital Marketers routinely use Adobe Photoshop for creating logos and brands for attracting followers to social media platforms by getting potential customers to connect with a product, service, or event. The editing and graphic design application allows Marketers to customize the look of their product for a narrowed approach to attracting target audiences, including manipulating or adjusting graphics to suit a specific purpose. Photoshop allows Social Media Marketers and Digital Marketers to shape images in a way for visually appealing to a very specific audience or goal.
How Hard Is It to Learn Photoshop?
The difficulty for learning any new skills or software depends on several factors, including a person’s aptitude, experience, and ambitions. This would also apply to learning Adobe Photoshop. In the case of Photoshop, training to learn the application will depend greatly on the intentions of the new learner. For example, an experienced Photographer may decide to learn Photoshop for more efficiently cropping, editing, or adjusting photographic images. However, a Web Designer might want to learn Photoshop for manipulating images to use on a website or creating graphics, logos, or backgrounds for webpages and apps. Learning Photoshop may be frustrating at first, with figuring out how to shape or layer images to fit a desired purpose. However, learning Photoshop offers a variety of options for editing and altering graphics that depend on what a Designer or Photographer wants to gain from learning the software.
What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Photoshop?
Among the biggest challenges for learning Photoshop might be having patience. Some users become frustrated at first with how they can’t get an image they’re working on to look the way they’d like. However, like officiating in a sporting event, the best work done with Photoshop should be seamless and go relatively unnoticed by observers. The goal with using Photoshop should be to not have an image look “photoshopped, ” which is a negative connotation that indicates that an image has been overly manipulated and may be viewed as an attempt to deceive.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Photoshop?
Learning Adobe Photoshop can take anywhere from two to three months for training in the various aspects of working with the graphic design and editing application. The amount of time required for learning Photoshop hinges on a person’s intentions and goals for using the software. Training includes learning how to interface with Photoshop, handling its various tools for editing and adjusting images, and testing what’s been learned by practicing on minor tasks. Anyone interested in learning Photoshop can enroll in in-person or live online courses or find free video tutorials on YouTube or through a variety of online education providers.
What Should I Learn Alongside Photoshop?
Motion Graphics
Motion graphics is an area of graphic design for developing animated digital graphics to use in web layouts, mobile apps, film, television, and online media content. Motion graphics involve using applications like Adobe After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop for creating dynamic graphic designs that can help attract users and potential customers in today’s competitive digital marketplace. Possessing skills with motion graphics has become essential for finding work in many industries, including digital advertising and web design. Learning motion graphics can create opportunities for working in several areas related to animation and graphic design, as well as entertainment, information media, and education.
Animated Logos
Animated logos refer mainly to adding motion to an organization’s logo design. A basic logo is a symbol that represents an organization’s image, values, and history. By animating a company’s logo, a Graphic Designer has to maintain that organization’s integrity and purpose for what that symbol embodies and must translate those values through animation. Designers can incorporate animated logos into a presentation to help audiences connect with a brand by bringing that brand to life.
Video Editing
For anyone considering a career related to working in video production or graphic design, learning video editing can help with qualifying to work in the film and television industries, which represents a vital contributor to employment in the Los Angeles area. Being able to edit videos can lead to working with visual material for not only TV and movies, but also with streaming platforms and web development. Individuals can apply their passion and talent for combining video with graphics and audio to produce professional-quality visual content for broadcasting, websites, and social media. A Video Editor’s skill set should also include being able to work with graphic design and motion graphics software like Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer. People throughout L.A. can find training for basic video editing for learning concepts like frame rates, video resolution, and aspect ratios for understanding and being able to organize and import visual material for a variety of media.
Figma
Figma is a collaborative cloud-based graphic design application that provides interfacing and offline features that help Web Designers with creating apps and websites. Designers working in various areas of technology use Figma for prototyping in testing interactivity for newly developed websites and applications to ensure that everything works as expected for users accessing content on desktops, laptops, and smartphones. Figma helps Web Designers collaborate with coworkers for working together on colors, text, graphics, and designs, along with working on interactive features like scrolling, animation, and slideshows. Figma contributes to workflow efficiency by providing visibility throughout the design and development process.
Los Angeles Industries That Use Photoshop
Los Angeles is the largest metropolitan area in California and the second-largest in the United States, making it an attractive place to live and work for creative professionals. As with many West Coast cities, technology is at the core of numerous LA industries, including web development and design, video gaming, medical technology, television, film production, and digital cinematography. Major companies such as Snap Inc., Riot Games, and SpaceX rely on Photoshop for creating digital assets, user interface graphics, marketing visuals, and product imagery that support their tech-driven operations.
Photoshop skills are especially valuable in Los Angeles’s world-famous entertainment industry. As the home of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Universal Studios, LA depends heavily on digital artists who can produce film posters, motion graphics, promotional materials, matte paintings, and production design elements. Entertainment marketing agencies like BLT Communications, Trailer Park Group, and Ignition Creative also use Photoshop extensively to craft high-profile key art for movies, streaming series, and television campaigns. These companies help drive tourism and global interest in Hollywood through visually compelling imagery and branding.
Because of this creative landscape, training in Adobe Photoshop opens doors to roles such as Web Designer, Animator, Digital Designer, and Graphic Designer across multiple Los Angeles industries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, media and design salaries in LA are among the most competitive in the country. Opportunities continue to grow thanks to the city’s mix of entertainment studios, tech startups, healthcare organizations, and design-focused companies—all of which require skilled artists to create engaging, polished visuals. In the heart of Hollywood and beyond, Los Angeles offers a wealth of career paths for those with expertise in Photoshop, motion graphics, and digital illustration.
Photoshop Job Titles and Salaries
Learning Photoshop is a necessity for establishing a career in any area of visual design in today’s competitive, digitally-dominated labor market. Los Angeles offers a variety of job opportunities for people who have skills in graphic design with training in software like Photoshop, which provides a variety of tools that can be applied to working on visual projects beyond just photography. Photoshop can be used for animation, graphic design, web design, or UX design. Skills with this popular graphic design application can help with providing career options for anyone working in the design arts with a variety of media. While knowledge of Photoshop alone cannot provide the foundation for a career, skills with this photo editing and graphic design tool, combined with experience in photography or graphic design, can prove to be an asset in finding work related to the visual arts.
Graphic Designer
Working as a Graphic Designer requires combining skills in elements of visual art with design technology. This knowledge can be applied to working in digital media, traditional commercial art, or online marketing with web graphics and visual design. A Graphic Designer working in Los Angeles can earn an annual income ranging from $73,000 to $97,000 by applying a variety of skills in graphic design, including motion graphics, to make visual elements on websites or videos more dynamic. Graphics can be used for animating text, web design layouts, or video presentations with content in a variety of media.
Digital Designer
Digital Designers can earn salaries between $97,000 and $164,000 a year by applying skills to a variety of visual design functions related to digital media. Training in Photoshop can provide skills for working in web design or designing layouts for apps, video presentations, or user experience-related design. Because Los Angeles is also the location of Hollywood, the center of the entertainment industry, Digital Designers can find plenty of job opportunities with skills in graphic design, including motion graphics and computer-aided animation, that can be applied to working with a variety of digital media.
2D Animator
Animators have to create lively and visually engaging graphics to use in a variety of media, including websites, films, video games, television shows, social media, and advertising by designing and manipulating images and text with animation or 3D models that make static graphics come to life. Animators must collaborate with Art Directors, Storyboard Artists, Directors, and Producers in developing characters and scenery that can engage audiences and potential customers in industries such as marketing or advertising.
Animators often design and develop animations for websites, smartphone apps, video games, TV shows, movies, and ad campaigns. Animators working in Los Angeles can earn a yearly income ranging from $85,000 to $149,000.
Photographer
Due to today’s widespread use of smartphones, digital photography has grown from a novelty to a routine, everyday habit, especially with the way that the high definition visual capacity available with most devices has arguably surpassed the ability of many of the analog cameras used by professional Photographers in the past. Training in skills for working with digital images could lead to a profitable option for professionals or hobbyists looking for a way to make their photographs stand out in today’s crowded social media landscape. Technical skills, including learning Photoshop, can help with finding a career as a Photographer through not only possessing basic skills in photography but strong technical skills as well. A professional Photographer in Los Angeles can earn an annual income ranging from $59,000 to $76,000 and may work in a variety of capacities, including entertainment, general photography, commercial photography, and forensic photography.
Photoshop Classes in Los Angeles
Noble Desktop: Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp
This course aims to train you in comprehensive skills for working with Adobe Photoshop. Lessons include learning about how to retouch photos, correct color, and combine images. You will also learn how to prepare graphics for online, print, and digital visual presentations, starting with the basics before moving on to learning advanced graphic design techniques.
Upon completing this program, you should have a better understanding of composition, typography, color, and design theory. Additionally, by the end of this course, you will have a portfolio loaded with projects, from designing social media graphics or cover art for impressing potential employers. This live online 18-hour program offers 1-on-1 mentoring outside of the class as well as an opportunity to retake the course for free within one year.
Noble Desktop: Graphic Design Certificate Program
This live online program will train you in design applications like InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator for a comprehensive understanding of graphic design concepts and processes for creating modern designs through expanding your skills. Lessons will cover composition, typography, color, and design theory. Through this certificate program, you will be able to compile a portfolio from projects that include social media graphics or cover art that you can use to impress potential employers. This program offers 1-on-1 mentoring outside of class as well as an opportunity to retake the course for free within one year. This live online certificate program can be taken in a one-month full-time format or as a three-month part-time course.
Noble Desktop: Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp
This course trains you for working with Adobe Illustrator, which is often used along with Photoshop. Training provides a comprehensive understanding of graphic design concepts and processes that allow you to create modern designs, along with expanding your skill set in visual design. This includes using the Adobe Creative Cloud for working seamlessly with other Adobe graphic design applications like Photoshop, After Effects, and Animate.
Upon completing this course, you will have a better understanding of composition, typography, color, and design theory. This should result in being able to compile a portfolio from projects developed in class on social media graphics or cover art, for example, that can be used to impress potential employers. To enroll in this program, you must feel comfortable working on computers. This program offers 1-on-1 mentoring outside of class as well as an opportunity to retake the course for free within one year.
Should I Learn Photoshop in Person or Online?
There are a variety of training formats for learning Adobe Photoshop to increase opportunities for finding work related to graphic design and digital graphics. People have the choice of attending in-person, live online, or on-demand courses, bootcamps, and certificate programs for learning Photoshop. Because there are people who simply prefer training inside a classroom with their teacher standing right there up in front, there are in-person classes around Los Angeles for learning Photoshop.
However, while many people living in Los Angeles would love to enroll in classes to gain skills to start a new career, they might also find having to get back into Southern California traffic to get to a classroom somewhere in the city less desirable. Live online courses give students an option with the same training they could get from sitting inside a classroom without having to go anywhere to find that classroom.
Another alternative for training in Adobe Photoshop would be with on-demand (asynchronous) courses that allow students to learn the graphic design software at their own pace and on their own time.
Photoshop Corporate Training in Los Angeles
Could your company benefit from training its staff in Adobe Photoshop to help with controlling your organization’s image and brand? Noble Desktop offers onsite and live online corporate training in Adobe Photoshop that can teach your employees skills for handling in-house graphic design tasks. This training can be conducted through video conferencing platforms like Zoom to benefit your company wherever it’s located. Your company also has the option to purchase vouchers for a discount on Noble Desktop’s public enrollment Photoshop courses.
If you’re ready to train your staff in graphic design skills for being able to edit, retouch, and manipulate images using Photoshop, contact corporate@nobledesktop.com for more information or to discuss a free consultation.
Learn From Noble Desktop’s Experienced Adobe Photoshop Instructors in Los Angeles
Those seeking a chance to sharpen their skills in tech, design, business, or data can look no further than the opportunities in Los Angeles. The city is more than just Hollywood; it’s a collection of professional services and companies that stretch from the innovative companies in Silicon Beach to the more corporate areas of downtown L.A. Photoshop is a powerful industry-standard software that allows users to not only edit, but also create, digital images and art. It's one skill that can be found across industries, like marketing, entertainment, and tech, which are all prominent in L.A. For those interested, Noble Desktop’s partner school, VDCI, offers classes taught by industry experts who are passionate, willing, and ready to impart their knowledge to students and professionals alike. They offer insight based on their real-world experience, which makes all the difference when learning a new skill from scratch or while looking to advance in your field.
Los Angeles-based learners can take advantage of the training at 3904 Groton Street, San Diego, California, located directly in the Point Loma neighborhood. Driving from Los Angeles, you’ll take I-5 South all the way. Those who prefer public transportation can hop on the Amtrak and commuter rail services connecting to San Diego from L.A., making it a quick way to access the campus. The facility is designed for interaction, offering students access to top-rated instructors and modern workstations.
Deanne Larson
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Deanne Larson has built a reputation as a pioneer in the Los Angeles data science and analytics world. As the founder of Larson & Associates LLC, she has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and FinTech firms to help shape AI strategies and implement solutions through machine learning. She’s worked with global enterprises, particularly in designing their data systems. Her accomplishments go beyond the norm, however, as she’s also been part of projects that serve 225 million customers worldwide and others that require developing cutting-edge data governance frameworks for cloud and blockchain technologies. She’s a seasoned instructor as well, having taught at City University of Seattle, where she mentored doctoral candidates and designed data analytics programs. She holds several doctoral degrees that, paired with her extensive experience, position her to teach subjects like AI, Python, data, machine learning, and project management.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson is a Licensed Architect in the State of California and an Autodesk Certified Platinum Revit Instructor, one of only 20 professionals worldwide to hold this title. With over 25 years of experience in architecture, Michael has contributed to award-winning commercial and municipal projects, including facilities for pharmaceutical companies and landmarks such as the El Cajon Animal Shelter and the Mission Hills Library. Michael teaches and develops Revit courses that emphasize real-world application through project-based learning. Over the past decade, he has trained thousands of students in the Los Angeles AEC community, helping them master workflows. Michael is also an Autodesk Certified AutoCAD and Revit Professional, specializing in Revit certification and interior design software.
John O’Malley
John O’Malley is a Registered Architect with more than a decade of experience leading Los Angeles teams through all stages of design and construction. His professional background spans different sectors, where he has earned recognition for his technical precision and leadership. A licensed architect in California, John also holds LEED AP BD+C certification and is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI Silver). Most recently, he teaches AutoCAD courses that prepare students to apply drafting and design principles in real-world settings. John is passionate about mentoring the next generation of design professionals, contributing to the ACE Mentor Program.