51 Best Free Photoshop Tutorials for Amazingly Cool Photo

51 Free Photoshop Tutorials for Amazingly Cool Photo EditingImagine a world where Adobe Photoshop and photo editing dont existwhere the photos in your print marketing collateral have the same visual impact as your drivers license photo. A world where you cant tell the difference between a professional direct mail campaign and your Aunt Judys tacky holiday greeting card.

Pretty scary, huh?

Fortunately, Photoshop exists (along with many free Photoshop alternatives), allowing print media designers to transform photographs into really cool works of art. To ensure that this terrible alternate reality never comes to fruition, were offering up our top 51 must-read free tutorials for amazing photo editing and manipulation with Photoshop.

Basic, Easy Photoshop Tutorials

These quick and easy Photoshop tutorials are best for beginners, but there are great tips for photo editing veterans as well. A number of different topics are covered, from basic resizing and retouching techniques to adding simple photo effects and optimizing colors and contrast.

1. Adjusting Image Resolution and Print Quality

Adjusting Image Resolution and Print Quality

2. Cropping Photos To Specific Frame Sizes In Photoshop

Cropping Photos To Specific Frame Sizes In Photoshop

3. Cropping Photos Without Changing the Aspect Ratio

Cropping Photos Without Changing the Aspect Ratio

4. Difference Between Image Resizing and Resampling in Photoshop

Difference Between Image Resizing and Resampling in Photoshop

5. How to Batch Resize in Photoshop

How to Batch Resize in Photoshop

6. How To Straighten Crooked Photos

How To Straighten Crooked Photos

7. Quick Fix for Cluttered Backgrounds

Quick Fix for Cluttered Backgrounds

8. How to Remove a Background in Photoshop

How to Remove a Background in Photoshop

9. Five Easy Steps to Produce Intense Colors in Your Photographs

Five Easy Steps to Produce Intense Colors in Your Photographs

10. Converting a Color Photo into Black and White

Converting a Color Photo into Black and White

11. Black and White is the Key to Better Color

Black and White is the Key to Better Color

12. Black and White with a Splash of Color

Black and White with a Splash of Color

13. Hand Coloring a Black and White Photo

Hand Coloring a Black and White Photo

14. Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement

Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement

15. A Quick and Effective Way to Enhance Contrast in Photoshop

A Quick and Effective Way to Enhance Contrast in Photoshop

16. Working with Filters in Photoshop Elements

Working with Filters in Photoshop Elements

17. Gaussian Blur Overlays

Gaussian Blur Overlays

18. Antiquing Digital Images

Antiquing Digital Images

19. Creating a Sunset Effect

Creating a Sunset Effect

20. Dreamy Photo Effects

Dreamy Photo Effects

21. Basic Techniques to Make Your Photo Impressive

Basic Techniques to Make Your Photo Impressive

22. 4 Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop

4 Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop

Intermediate Photoshop Tutorials

The following free photo editing tutorials are a little more advanced and require some basic familiarity with Photoshop, but are still relatively simple and super easy to understand. Many of these intermediate level techniques will help you create bold and cool photo effects, while others help explain some of the more powerful tools available in Photoshop.

23. Color Corrections by the Numbers

Color Corrections by the Numbers

24. Adjusting Levels in Photoshop

Adjusting Levels in Photoshop

25. Improve Your Landscape Photographs with Photoshop

Improve Your Landscape Photographs with Photoshop

26. How To Make Digital Photos Look Like Lomo Photography

How To Make Digital Photos Look Like Lomo Photography

27. Using Vignetting to Add Interest

Edit: No longer available.
Using Vignetting to Add Interest

28. Adding a Diffuse Glow to Your Images

Adding a Diffuse Glow to Your Images

29. How to Use the Lens Correction Filter

How to Use the Lens Correction Filter

30. How to Stitch Photos in Photoshop

How to Stitch Photos in Photoshop

31. Realistic Spotlight Photo Effects

Realistic Spotlight Photo Effects

32. Using Brushes to Enhance Portraits

Using Brushes to Enhance Portraits

33. Bringing Out Shadow And Highlighting Detail

Bringing Out Shadow And Highlighting Detail

34. Using the Content-Aware Scale Tool

Using the Content-Aware Scale Tool

35. Non-Destructive Dodge and Burn

Non-Destructive Dodge and Burn

36. Matching Colors Of Objects Between Photos

Matching Colors Of Objects Between Photos

Advanced Photoshop Tutorials

These high-level tutorials give you a look at some of the more complex tools available in Photoshop, while also providing step-by-step instructions on how to create amazing photo effects. These lessons require an advanced understanding of Adobe Photoshop and some may also require some good knowledge of photography.

37. Using Layers to Create HDR-Style Images

Using Layers to Create HDR-Style Images

38. Advanced HDR Merging

Advanced HDR Merging

39. Combine the Best Parts of Two Studio Portrait Photos into One Shot

Combine the Best Parts of Two Studio Portrait Photos into One Shot

40. Using Masks To Improve Landscape Images

Using Masks To Improve Landscape Images

41. Advanced Compositing Techniques

Advanced Compositing Techniques

42. Creating a Tilt Shift Effect With the Lens Blur Tool

Creating a Tilt Shift Effect With the Lens Blur Tool

43. Advanced Photoshop Sharpening Techniques

Advanced Photoshop Sharpening Techniques

44. Sharpening Using an Unsharp Mask

Sharpening Using an Unsharp Mask

45. Using the Curves Tool

Using the Curves Tool

46. Advanced Color Correction with Levels

Advanced Color Correction with Levels

47. Advanced Shadow Techniques

Advanced Shadow Techniques

48. Tracing Photos for Beautiful Line Art

Tracing Photos for Beautiful Line Art

49. Noise Reduction by Image Averaging

Noise Reduction by Image Averaging

50. Advanced Skin Softening

Advanced Skin Softening

51. Nesting Smart Objects for Multimask Effects

Nesting Smart Objects for Multimask Effects

Conclusion

Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks? The best designers (even seasoned ones) are always pushing themselves to learn more about their craft and to improve their work. Whether youre learning more about Photoshop techniques or just basic design philosophy, keeping your mind open to new lessons and experiences will help you grow as a graphic artist. Once youve learned the ropes from these tutorials, dont be afraid to innovate and experiment with your own creative photo effects to develop your own distinct style and taste.

Of course, weve only scratched the surface of the best free Photoshop tutorials. Do you know of more tutorials for amazing photo editing that belong on this list? Any cool Photoshop techniques you want to share with us? Wed love to see them, so please comment below!

Previous
Next Post »