Photoshop for Photographers, Volume Eighteen

A Practical Photoshop Manual for Photographers

Photoshop for Photographers, Volume Eighteen is a 2019 instalment of BDM’s Creative Series, built for readers who want to understand Photoshop through practical, step-by-step instruction. The volume moves from the main interface and core tools into selections, layers, masks, curves, levels, and a wide range of photo-editing projects. Its approach is visual and tutorial-led, with screen-by-screen guidance suited to photographers and digital artists who learn best by doing.

What’s Inside the Volume 📷

• Getting started: the main interface, menus, toolbar, keyboard shortcuts, and selection tools.
• Core editing techniques: making and modifying selections, using layers, layer masks, adjustment layers, Quick Mask, cropping, resizing, and content-aware fill and scale.
• Image adjustment: curves, levels, exposure, colour correction, contrast, saturation, graduated filters, and lens distortion correction.
• Creative workflows: panorama stitching, colour replacement, soft focus, RAW file processing, HDR processing, and exposure blending.
• Project-based tutorials: sky swapping, fire effects, collodion portraits, the waterline effect, liquid effects, landscape enhancement, Photoshop 3D tools, and caricature techniques.

From Basic Edits to Creative Effects

The early chapters establish how Photoshop is organised, then build toward edits that photographers use regularly: cleaning up tones, correcting colour, or managing contrast and exposure. Later sections turn those same fundamentals into more ambitious creative work, showing how layers, masks, and selections support effects such as sky replacement, HDR blending, and textured portrait treatments.

Step-by-Step Tutorials for Photoshop CS6 and CC 💻

The guides in this volume are based on Photoshop CS6 and CC. Readers using newer versions may still recognise many tools and principles, but the instructions reflect the software as it stood at the time of publication. That makes the volume especially useful for anyone working with CS6 or CC, or for readers who want a structured look at Photoshop fundamentals without chasing every interface update.

Creative Projects to Try 🎨

Projects include sky swapping, fire effects, HDR processing, exposure blending, collodion portraits, the waterline effect, liquid effects, landscape enhancement, 3D tools, and caricature techniques. Each one gives a reason to practise the core skills covered earlier—selections, masks, adjustment layers, blending, and colour control—rather than treating them as isolated exercises.

Who May Find This Volume Useful

Photographers building post-production skills will find a clear path through common editing tasks. Digital artists exploring photo manipulation can use the projects as starting points. Hobbyists and students may appreciate the magazine-style pacing, while educators could draw on the tutorials for structured practice. The volume begins with the interface and basic tools, so prior mastery of Photoshop is not assumed.

About the Publication

Published in 2019 by Black Dog Media Limited, Photoshop for Photographers Volume Eighteen carries the ISSN 2050-3970. James Gale served as Managing Editor and Mark Frost as Editor. The publication is independent and is not endorsed by or associated with Adobe. At the time of original release, a companion media download was offered for readers; availability may have changed since then. This digital edition is available from Digital Delights.

Why the Core Lessons Still Matter

Layers, masks, selections, curves, and levels remain central to Photoshop work. Volume Eighteen’s tutorial-driven structure offers a reference for readers who want to understand the logic behind those tools and then apply them to real photographs. Keep it nearby for your next edit, or work through the projects in order as a self-guided course.