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Welcome to this Advanced Photoshop class.

This class is broken down into individual video lessons,

and each lesson in this class covers one core skill.

Like retouching the iris of an eye to

a much more vibrant color or removing the background from an object so it's transparent.

We'll start simple and getting more advanced as we go.

I recommend watching everything in order,

because occasionally we'll be incorporating skills we learned from the previous lessons.

I'll be working from images that I either I borrowed from

friends or downloaded from, Unsplash,

which is a stock photography websites that allows you to download and use

images for any project thanks to their generous community of photographers.

Massive thank you to Unsplash for providing these images to use.

You can download all of the images and follow along with me step-by-step.

To access the images, go to catcoq.com/photoshop,

enter your email and you'll immediately get redirected to

my Dropbox folder that contains all of the class assets.

Just a heads up, this will also give you access to

my email newsletters and I'll occasionally send out updates about new classes,

artist resources, and brand updates.

You can unsubscribe at anytime.

I'll be using Photoshop CC throughout this class.

If you have an earlier version of Photoshop,

you'll still be able to follow along,

but some preferences might look different on your end.

If you don't have Photoshop,

remember you can download a free trial at Adobe.com.

I'm providing a link to the free trial down in the Class Description.

These are editing techniques that I use in moderation when I'm editing my own head shots

to send out for media publication or to include in my About page on my websites.

We'll dive into techniques for removing backgrounds entirely,

especially if I want a minimal white background.

This gives me maximum flexibility.

If I want to insert the object into new dimensions,

like in extreme horizontal for my Facebook business page header,

or need an extreme vertical for my Instagram story.

I'll also show you how I take individual photos and piece them together

using an adorable corgi puppy and a tropical rainbow setting to practice with.

But in the real world,

I use these exact same steps to change backdrops on product photos for

my business and to create digital mock-ups showing my designs in a realistic application.

If at any point during this class you feel lost,

I recommend pausing and then watching

my previous Photoshop class which is

geared the beginners who are brand new to the software.

All right, a few technical specs.

I'll be teaching this class using

the latest Creative Cloud version but if you have a previous version,

CS6, CS5, CS4 etc you can still follow along and learn to edit like a pro.

Also, this class works for both Mac and PC users.

I'll be using my Mac book,

but I'm translating all of the key commands into both Apple and

Windows language so it'll be very simple to follow along.

All right, a quick intro on who I am and why I'm qualified to teach you this class today.

My name is Cat Coquillete and I'm the founder of CatCoq,

an illustration and design brand.

Photoshop is a massive part of running my business.

I've been using Photoshop software for

over 15 years and now it's a tool that feels like an extension of myself.

Sometimes I'll even get Adobe key commands stuck in my brain and I'll mentally

think Command Z to fix real-life mistakes like spilling my tea.

Yeah, I am definitely a bit of a Photoshop addict.

I use Photoshop for a huge variety of purposes in my business.

I can easily crop and resize images for my website and blog.

I photograph my own products for my portfolio and

I can perfect these product shots in Photoshop.

I'll remove the background so they're on a perfect white surface with no distractions.

I can amp up the contrast and saturation to look more enticing,

and I can store that high res file for future edits with all of its layers intact.

Then I can resize and flatten into JPEGs so I can easily share on

social media or attach into an email without worrying about file size restrictions.

I resize and save images to be optimized to place into client presentations as well.

These PDFs are chock-full of high-quality images,

but the file size is small enough to attach in an email.

I'll also use Photoshop to add a hand-drawn signature to proposals,

contracts, and the artwork I create.

On the creative end,

I use Photoshop to fine tune all of my artwork.

This is the best software on the market when it comes to easily spot editing color,

resizing to new dimensions,

creating realistic product mock-ups or fantastical scenes, and more.

The point is, I want all of my output to be professional and reflective of my brand.

My work is sold in Target,

Urban Outfitters, Home Goods, and more.

Plus, I often get my work highlighted by celebrity features like Sarah Michelle Geller,

Jessica Simpson, Hillary Duff, and Khloe Kardashian.

These partnerships and features have elevated

my company to a higher level and I want to make sure I keep it that way.

It's a big deal for me to make sure that all of the things I'm putting out

there for my brands are quality and experts level work.

That's where Photoshop comes in.

One of my favorite parts about Photoshop, it's universal.

This software is applicable to so many different professions and hobbies.

I travel the world 24/7 as a digital nomad and I run my company on the go.

I don't have a conventional office,

instead, I work from coffee shops,

co-working spaces, airport terminals,

and Airbnbs around the world.

My career is fused into my lifestyle,

but one constant is that I can run my business from

anywhere as long as I have my laptop and a WiFi connection.

You can follow me on Instagram and

every other social media channel @catcoq to see

where I am in the world and what projects I'm working on.

I promise I always keep it interesting.

So get those practice photos downloaded at

catcoq.com/photoshop and let's dive straight into our first retouching lesson.