Basic Photoshop shortcuts and workflow, video

Hi all, I just made my latest video...this time showing how to use some basic keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop, along with a couple of other little tips. It's got some pretty basic stuff in it but things that are quite handy to know, and that was the intention for this video - although for this forum it may be a little too basic...!!

You can view the video here.

Check it out, you never know you may learn something you never knew?!

Nice job there Richard - thanks for sharing!

Good video but too incomplete. I know you have to start somewhere, and everybody works differently in PS, but you really missed too many crucial shortcuts. In my opinion the following are just as important:
• Cntrl. “A” = Select all
• Cntrl. “D” = Deselect
• Cntrl. “T” = Free Transform
• Cntrl. “J” = Duplicate layer, copy selection to new layer
• Cntrl. “E” = Merge down
• Shift, Cntrl., Alt., “E” = Stamp Visible
• Alt. click “Eye Icon” = View that layer, hide all others
• Cntrl. click Layer Thumbnail = Select layer’s contents
• Cntrl. “0” = Fit on screen
• Space Bar/Ctrl. = Zooms in, in any Tool
• Space Bar/Alt. = Zooms out, in any Tool
• Hold “Shift” = To add to existing selection
• Hold “Alt.” = To subtract from existing selection
• Alt. “Backspace” = Fill with Foreground color
• Cntrl. “Backspace” = Fill with Background color
• “ D ” = Set colors to default
• “ X ” = Swap Foreground/Background colors

Thanks, I teach Photoshop too.

Thanks guys.

Thank Richard, I appreciate that this video doesn't cover too much but it was just about some of the basics, I didn't want to throw too much in there just yet (after all, there is MUCH to learn as we all know). Paintbrush, clone stamp and crop are the bare essential workhorse tools for photo editing I believe.

All the shortcuts you have listed are great of course, but not 'beginner tools' IMO. How often does someone who is just starting out need to use free transform, merge layers, deselect etc. Not saying they aren't very useful tools, but not what I would class as something to show a beginner who is just finding their feet. I'll do another video at some point showing basic layers etc and that's when that sort of thing will come in handy without a doubt. But for now, in this video, not needed IMO so personally I don't feel the video is 'too incomplete'.

Thanks again though

Richard, I agree with you regarding keyboard shortcuts for beginning use. If it's easier to draw down from the menus than beginners should do so and add keyboard shortcuts as they progress in the program. At first the goal should be to learn the capabilities of the program. Efficiency comes later. But that being said, layers, transforming, selecting, filling, merging, and flattening are all basic elements of using the program of Photoshop and which make Photoshop unique from other programs out there. If you're not going to use these features from the beginning one might as well stay in Lightoom or use the Quick Edit mode of Elements. And if you're going to use the features which give Photoshop its power you might as well use them the professional way with the Adjustment Panel and masks, etc. As an analogy, how can you teach someone to play a decent game of chess without first showing them how all the pieces move (and some of the strategy)?

Well, you can't teach it all in one go (well it sounds like you can, so good luck to you), that's why I'll do more videos that cover more aspects later, rather one one video that lasts 3 hours - it is very easy to lose someones attention with information overloads or videos that go on too long.

Anyway, I've had messages from viewers via other forums and emails saying they learned things they didn't know, so at the end of the day it's helping someone somewhere and that is all that really matters for me. Hopefully future videos will do the same

Thanks Michael glad it was of use. And you are absolutely right...there is SO much to learn and based on your own workflow you may not need to know it all. I just went with some of the basics, assuming that most people will want to clone, crop, change brush size as they are the bare minimum you need to get by. Like you say, knowing what else to show would be impossible as workflow will vary so much. I'm looking forward to doing future tutorials though and incorporating more and more in to them - which in itself is a learning process as making these things is new ground for me.

lol I stopped using Command S to save because it's something I use at work every day (not in Photoshop, but other software) and the amount of times I've done it at home instead of doing Save As...so now I do all my saving the menu way to make sure I don't get mixed up between work and home lol

The best zoom shortcut is with your mouse scroll wheel (if you have one). Under Edit, Preferences, General---- Select Zoom with Scroll Wheel. Then roll towards you to zoom out and away from you to zoom in.

You can also use gestures on the unibody Macbook Pro trackpad and Magic Mouse too