Adobe Photoshop was initially released in 1990, and remains the most prominent image-editing software program. The term "Photoshopping" is often used as a generic term to mean an image has been manipulated, and the techniques demonstrated here are generally not ethical in documentary photography. However, Photoshop remains a tool that can be used for different purposes and intentions, and understanding common Photoshop techniques is helpful for spotting manipulated images in various contexts.
These brief videos are designed for introductory audiences, but focus on specific techniques. For a more comprehensive introduction to Photoshop as a software program, Adobe offers many tutorials and resources.
Opening images in Photoshop
To open an existing image in Photoshop, go to File > Open in the top menu or use the Open button on the welcome screen.
This video shows the opening process and gives a short overview of the Photoshop interface.
Combining images and merging with opacity modes
If you open multiple photos at the same time in Photoshop, they will open in separate tabs or windows within Photoshop. This video shows how to combine multiple images.
To follow along with this tutorial, download these images:
Open both images in Photoshop by going to File > Open. They will show up as tabs in the main interface.
Drag one of the tabs away from the Photoshop frame so it appears in its own window.
Use the Move tool to drag birds.jpg onto the park.jpg image. It will appear stacked on top, and a new layer is created automatically in the Layers panel.
The birds layer can be transformed, moved or rotated into the size and position you want.
In the Layers panel, change the blending mode (next to Opacity) from Normal to Multiply.
Using the clone stamp tool to replicate elements
There are multiple way to copy and repeat elements of a photo in Photoshop, but one popular method is the Clone Stamp Tool.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
Choose the Clone Stamp Tool from the left-side toolbar.
This is a two-part tool. First hold down the Option key (on Mac) or the Alt key (on Windows) and click on the area you want to copy. This is like loading the stamp tool with what you want to stamp.
Click where you want to apply the stamp, and drag around if you want to apply to a larger area. The tool is relative, so if you want to repeat the same stamp somewhere else, you need to repeat the targeting step to reload the stamp.
There are options in the top contextual menu to change the stamp size, the sharpness/blurriness of the edges (Hardness), and other characteristics like opacity.
Using the clone stamp tool to remove elements
The Clone Stamp Tool can also be used to remove elements by copying a piece of the background.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
Use the Clone Stamp Tool to target a nearby section of plain background.
Stamp the plain background over the elements you want to hide. This requires re-targeting frequently.
This technique is especially helpful for patterned backgrounds, like wood grain, tile, or fabric that has a textured but repeating background.
Challenge yourself! Download snacks.jpg by Lindsay Moe via Unsplash. Try to remove the clusters of grapes and berries on the right side of the photo, and add more berries and nuts at the top.
Distort shapes with the Smudge tool
The Smudge Tool is notorious for manipulations of celebrities' bodies. It is fairly easy to spot once you know how it works.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
Choose the Smudge Tool from the left-side toolbar. It is part of the Blur tool family; click and hold down on the Blur tool to reveal the other options.
In the top menu, change the size of the blur tool to roughly match the size of the vase curve.
Click on the photo and drag carefully to smudge the existing image inward or outward. Watch that lines in the background stay as straight as possible.
Add or remove elements by copying from a layer
In Photoshop, layers can be stacked on top of each other. One way to repeat or remove elements is with a new layer.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
Choose the Rectangular Marquee tool from the left-side toolbar. This is a tool for selecting parts of an image.
Click and hold to draw a rectangle around a boring part of the countertop, then go to Layer > New > Layer Via Copy in the top menu. This creates a copy of that little part of the image, stacked right on top.
Move the copied bit in the new layer by using the Move tool. To stretch it, go to Edit > Transform > Scale. Hold down Shift to stretch it just one direction. Once the transformation it complete, hit Return/Enter or click the checkmark in the top contextual menu.
Change colors using adjustment layers (saturation)
There are many ways to change colors in Photoshop, from minor changes to improve the photo exposure to completely changing the color of various elements. Using adjustment layers makes it easy to fine-tune these changes.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
In the Layers panel in the bottom right corner, click the circle icon that is half black and half white. Choose Hue/Saturation from the menu to add an adjustment layer. You can do this same step with the Adjustments tab.
In the Properties panel, there are slider options for Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. Dragging the Saturation slider to the left turns the image to grayscale.
Adjustment layers by default apply to the whole image, but they don't have to. In the Layers panel for the adjustment layer, there is a rectangle that corresponds to your image. If it is white, the effect is applied everywhere. If it's black, the effect is not applied. You can use other Photoshop tools such as the Paint Bucket and Paintbrush to paint white or black onto your picture, which changes where the effect applies.
Change colors using adjustment layers (hue)
To completely change the color of something in Photoshop, use an adjustment layer and change the Hue property.
To follow along with this tutorial, download this image:
In the Layers panel in the bottom right corner, create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
In the Properties panel, adjust the Hue slider to change the color tone of the entire photo.
If you want the effect to only apply to the tea kettle, use the layer masking options in the adjustment layer to make the kettle white and the rest of the photo black. That means the color effect only applies in that one part of the photo.
Even more! For tutorials about correcting common exposure problems in photography, see this set of cat-themed tutorials. Techniques in that assignment are generally acceptable in documentary photography as long as they are only used to correct minor problems with photo exposure.
