How to use Adobe Photoshop.

Create a layer from an existing file.

Add a piece of artwork or an image to your project as a new layer.

• Import the file.
  Let’s say you’re creating a postcard from a perfect beach photo you captured. To add the photo, drag and drop a JPEG or PNG photo file from your desktop into your Photoshop project. It will become a new layer over the background layer.
• Reposition and resize it.
  Click and drag the corners or edges of your photo to make it larger or smaller. (Make sure the Show Transform Controls box is checked in the options bar at the top of Photoshop.) Use the Move tool to reposition your photo to fit your layout.
• Press Enter or Return.
  Photoshop will automatically turn the layer into a Smart Object layer. This is simply an object you can change as you like without reducing the resolution.

How to add a mask to a layer.

Let’s say you want to add someone who wasn’t there to your beach postcard photo. You can do this in the Select and Mask workspace.

• Set up the photo.
  Drag and drop a photo of the person (or pet) you want to add. Line up your subject in a layer above your photo backdrop.
• Make your selection.
  Click the layer with your subject — the layer you want to mask — in the Layers panel. In the top menu, click Select › Select and Mask
• Select your subject.
  Click Select Subject in the options bar. Photoshop will automatically select the most prominent subjects in the image. Note that the layer mask thumbnail will appear next to the image thumbnail in the Layers panel. The selection will appear white against a black background. The white part is the part that will be revealed while the rest will be hidden.
• Refine your selection.
  Use the Add or Subtract buttons to add or take away pixels from your selection. You can also click Refine Hair and Photoshop will automatically find and refine difficult hair selections. Or try the Refine Edge Brush tool, the Lasso tool, or the Quick Selection tool in the upper left of the toolbar to refine with even more control.

How to clean up your image.

Follow these steps to take out what you don’t want.

• Select the layer.
  In the Layers panel, choose the layer with the spots or objects you want to remove.
• Select the Spot Healing Brush tool.
  Click the Spot Healing Brush tool in the Tools panel or just press the J key. In the options bar, you can adjust the size and hardness of the brush edge (harder creates more clearly defined edges). Keep the type setting at Content-Aware, which means the tool will sample pixels and match the texture, lighting, transparency, and shading of the sampled pixels to the pixels being healed.
• Click or drag.
  Click on a spot or drag the brush over the object you want to remove.

How to add text.

Write what you want and then experiment with different fonts and styles.

• Select the Type tool.
  Click the tool in the toolbar or just press the T key.
• Pick your spot.
  Click on the image where you want to place the type. In the options bar at the top of Photoshop, you can choose whether you want the type to be horizontal or vertical, as well as the font, size, color, alignment, and any warp effects you want to add.
• Type.
  Add your own text over the “Lorem ipsum” sample text, and edit.
• Edit.
  Highlight the text to make style changes. Use the Move tool to move text exactly where you want it.

How to paint in Photoshop.

Whether you want to add shapes or draw freehand with the Brush tool, the steps are basically the same.

• Select the tool from the toolbar.
  Click the tool in the toolbar (or press the B key for the Brush or the M key for the Rectangular Marquee tool).
• Customize the tool in the options bar.
  Choose your brush size and how fast you want the paint to flow, or the color that will fill your rectangle or ellipse.
• Make your mark.
  Paint, draw, or play with shapes. Try out different settings to see how they look.