Beginner’s Guide to Photoshop Tools

Adobe Photoshop is a raster-based image editing software. It was originally developed by the American brothers Thomas and John Knoll in 1987 and then later Adobe.Inc brought the license to distribute in 1988. It is available for both macOS and Windows operating systems. Here, raster is a combination of pixels. A group of pixels forms a graphic called Raster Graphics. Photoshop is used to create or edit images, posters, banners, logos, invitation cards, and various types of graphic designing work. It is widely used in industries. The default file format of photoshop is .PSD, i.e., Photoshop document. It provides various tools for designing and editing. 

Tools in Photoshop

As we know, Photoshop provides various types of tools. So, some of the commonly used tools are:

1. Move tool

This tool is used to move the selected area or the entire layer simply by dragging it with your mouse or using your keyboard arrow keys. Using this tool, you can move the selected area anywhere in the image according to your requirements. By default, this tool moves the selected area and if the area is not selected, then it will move the entire layer. You can select move tool from the tool palette or just hold down the Ctrl key in windows and Command key in mac, to activate it.                   

Example:

Step 1: Open an image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the part of the image that you want to move using any selection tool.

Step 3: Select the Move tool from the tool palette.

Step 4: After selecting the move tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag the selected section. And put that selected part to anywhere in the image. That’s all you have to do to use this tool.

2. Rectangular Marquee tool

This tool is also a selection tool. Using the Rectangular Marquee tool, you can make a rectangular-shaped selection or geometric shapes. You can select the Rectangular Marquee tool from the tool palette.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Rectangular Marquee tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the Rectangular Marquee tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag on the image layer, then it will create a rectangular selection on the image layer and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

3. Lasso Tool

This tool is also a selection tool. This tool allows you to draw a freehanded choice border around the object you wish to pick out in your image. You can select the Lasso Tool from the tool palette or the shortcut for the lasso tool is  L.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Lasso Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the Lasso tool now click on the image from where you want to draw and just draw a selection with the help of the cursor just like drawing on paper with a pencil by pressing the mouse pointer. On releasing the pointer our drawing will turn into a selection like as shown in the below image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

4. Crop Tool

This tool allows you to choose an area of an image and discard everything outside this area. It also straightens photos in Photoshop. The cropping process does not alter the size of the image content. It is a non-destructive tool, and you can also choose to retain the cropped pixels to optimize the crop boundaries later. You can select the Crop Tool from the tool palette.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Crop Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the crop tool you will get a rectangular box on your image using this rectangular box you can adjust the size of the area that your want to crop and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

5. Object Selection Tool

It is also a selection tool. It simplifies the way you’ll be able to choose an associate object or maybe a part of an associate object in a picture. Photoshop already has a Subject choice tool. However, it’s supposed to pick out all subjects within the image. This tool lets you identify the object by making a rough selection around the image. Once you have drawn the selection, it automatically shrink-wraps the selection to the edges of your object. You can select the Object Selection Tool from the tool palette.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Object Selection Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the Object Selection tool, draw a rectangle box using this tool and it will automatically detect the object from the image like as shown in the below image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

6. Frame Tool

This tool allows you to draw placeholder frames that you will simply fill with pictures. You can simply choose the Frame Tool from the Tools panel or press K from the keyboard.

Example:

Step 1: Open Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Frame Tool from the tool palette. 

Step 3: After selecting the frame tool, draw a frame and in that frame, you can add an image according to your requirement.

7. EyeDropper Tool

In Adobe Photoshop, the eyedropper tool is one of the easy-to-use tool. It is generally used by digital painters, editors, and other people who use Photoshop. This tool is used to select a color from an image or any Photoshop document and add them to your Swatches panel.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the eyedropper Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the eyedropper tool, put your mouse over the image and click to pick the sample image. A ring will appear on the screen like as shown in the below image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

8. Patch Tool

This tool is used to remove spots and marks from the images. Or in other words, It is used for painting and retouching images like removing big scar or an oversized space of skin. This tool is generally hidden behind the Healing Brush tool within the Tools panel. 

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Patch Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting the patch tool, draw a circle on the area that you want to remove and drag that circle to the new area, and when you release your mouse you will see the changes. Like as shown in the below image here we remove the hole from the leaf using this tool.

9. Brush Tool

The brush tool is the most commonly used tool in Photoshop almost every Photoshop user uses this tool. This tool is just like the brush in the real world. It is used to paint canvas in Photoshop.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Brush Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: Now we select green color(or any color) from the palette. 

Step 4: After selecting the brush tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag over the image. It will start painting and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

10. Clone Stamp Tool

This tool is helpful once you have to copy the same detail and color from one part of a picture to a different space image. With this tool, you’ll be able to use an associated empty layer to keep your retouching break away the most image

Example:

Step 1: Open two images in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the clone stamp tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting clone stamp tool, now position the cursor over the section that you want to clone(in image 1) and then press Alt key in windows or option key in mac to define the clone source. After defining the clone source now place your cursor on the section(in image 2) where your want to paint the cloned pixel and then start painting.

11. History Brush Tool

This brush uses a previous state of a picture. The tool makes a replica of the image because it was during a previous state and so uses this copy’s content to color with.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the history brush Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting history brush Tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag over the image. It will give the previous state of the image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

12. Eraser Tool

This tool is the most commonly used tool in Photoshop. It will create clear constituents or match them to the background image color. Or in other words, this tool is used to change the color of the pixels either in the background color or to a transparent.

Example:

Step 1: Open Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the eraser tool from the tool palette.

Step 3:  After selecting the eraser tool, just simply hold left click of your mouse and erase the area that you want to remove from your image like as shown in the below image:

13. Gradient Tool

This tool allows you to form a gradual transition between two or additional colors by exploiting the Gradient Tool. This tool may be applied to any designated space of a picture. If no space is chosen, the gradient is applied to the whole layer.

Example:

Step 1: Open Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the gradient tool from the tool palette and apply the gradient effect on your image.

14. Blur Tool

The Blur Tool is employed to color a blur impact, each stroke made exploitation. This tool can scale back the distinction between affected pixels and make them seem blurred. The context-sensitive choices Bar, typically placed at the highest of your space, can show all relevant choices associated with the Blur Tool.

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Select the Blur Tool from the tool palette.

Step 3: After selecting blur Tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag over the image. It will blur the image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.

15. Dodge Tool

The Dodge tool and also the Burn tool lighten areas of the image. Dodge tool happen supported a room technique for control exposure at specific areas of a print.       

Example:

Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop.

Step 2: Now select the area in the image using any selection tool, here I use the object selection tool.   

Step 3: Select the Dodge Tool from the tool palette.

Step 4: After selecting Dodge Tool just hold the left click on your mouse and drag over the image. It will lighten the darker area in the image and that’s all you have to do to use this tool.