So let's start to try to explore. Some of the things we can do is smart objects that are special. Here is a logo for a book that I wrote many years ago. It was called up to speed because I wrote about only the new features of a program when they updated it, and so it would get you up to speed. And if you look here, this is made out of multiple layers. I have a layer here that just puts color in the letter. In the word to here I have the actual white text below that I have, ah, one that has motion blur on it below that, this shape and so on. Now, I didn't use smart objects objects when this was created cause I didn't make it. But had I been there, I would have used smart objects. And if I had, then this layer that has a motion blur on it, which is if I turn off some of these other layers, you'll see it right here. This has got the motion blur filter applied to it. Well, unfortunately, I can't tell what setting was used when the blur was applied, and if I think it's too much or not enoug...

h. I can't change it because it wasn't a smart object. If it was, I'd be able to in. Let's just look out a few of the things that might do here. If I select one of these layers and I attempt to come up to the edit menu, choose, transform and choose a choice called Warp, you see that it's available here. That's because I only have one layer selected, but watch what happens when I select multiple layers. If I select all except for the layer that contains the red background, then I go to the edit menu. Choose transform, noticed that warp is completely great out because warp can only work on a single layer at once. Also, if I go here to the filter menu, notice that every single filter is also great out because they can only apply to a single layer at a time. That is, unless I first choose layer smart objects convert to smart object. Now, if you have more than one layer selected at the time you do that, then it's gonna look as if those layers have been merged together into a single layer. So watch my layers panel and you'll see all the layers that are currently selected suddenly become one. And that particular layer has that special icon in the corner to indicate it's a smart object. Now that I've done that, if I go to the edit menu, I can choose transform. And now warp is available because what I'm working on looks to be a single layer. So warp works just fine. I Maybe I come up here and choose unusual choice there just to get a little different. Look, Crestor Turner, enter. I can also go to the filter menu in every filter that's here is available. So if I wanted to do a motion blur on this no problem whatsoever. So there are certain features within photo shop where smart objects help because it allows you to apply things to multiple layers. But now what if I decided I needed to make a change? Maybe I don't want the letters T 02 How for the color in it. I want them to be white. Well, if this was not a smart object, now how would I get in there and isolate just those two letters that are there and change their color toe white. Well, this has got blurring on it and warping on it and everything else. Well, what happens is when you turn something into a smart object, it takes the original contents of whatever it was you had selected. And it does the equivalent to doing a save as saving it as a separate file. You can access that separate file by double clicking on the thumbnail image for a smart object. So if I double click right here, another document is gonna open, and it's going to contain the original layers that were put into that smart object. And so, if here's my original layers, the top most layer was one that was changing the colors of letters T O. And I'll just turn off the eyeball for that particular layer. Then, if I close this file, I'll just click on the little X that's up here in the tab. It'll ask me, Hey, would you like to save those changes when it's saving the changes, it's not going to save them onto my hard drive. It's going to save them back to where they just came from. And if you think about When this document appeared, it appeared when I double clicked on the thumbnail image for that smart object. So when I choose save here, it doesn't mean save on my hard drive. It means save back into that layer that I was working on earlier so I can choose save. And now do you notice that the letters T o R. Now white if I were to choose, undo by typing commands? E, you'll see that now they're back, or I will I will choose reapply and you see the change that I've made. Not only that, but the changes I've done as faras, the warping goes, and the filter that's been applied are also not permanent. Because if you look in my layers panel that I see the word motion blur can turn off its eyeball, and there it is without it, and I can go to the edit menu. I can choose, transform and choose warp, and all I need to do here is if I look at this, there's a number up here, says Bend, 50. I'll bring it down to zero. That means don't bend it with warping, and the only thing I need to do, in addition to that, issues my move tool to move it back down. But those changes that I've made are just settings attached to the layer. And if I go back to the same source that created them, I can change the settings. I can change the amount of warping in this case, bringing it down to zero. Or, in the case of Motion Blur, I could turn the eyeball back on next to it and just double click on the name Motion Blur. And I would be looking at the settings as if I never had left this to see what I can get. So a smart object, remember, is gonna take if you have multiple layers and it's gonna look like they got merged into one. What really happened is they got encapsulated into a separate document. It's a second top document that is not a separate file on your hard drive. It's just embedded in that layer. In order to get to the original contents, you double click on the thumbnail for the layer, and it appears as a separate document, a separate window. You can make changes to when you save it. It saves it right back into the layer it came from. And so that's how smart objects work. Takes a while for your brain to get around that. But let's look at a few other things related well before I showed you that I wasn't able to warp more than one layer in times, it was just great out. Same with filters, will. Sometimes there are other things that messed up like that. In this case, I want a warp. This it's only one layer, so it should have no problem working it. And if I go to the image menu or sorry, the edit menu choose transform. You see warp is available. But watch what happens when I warp this. I'm gonna warp it, and you can warp it manually by dragging on these little handles. Or you can come up here and just choose a preset. And then there's an amount called Bend that allows you to bend it. But notice when I warp this image. Sure, this shape that was there got distorted. It used to be close to a square, and now it looks more like one of those Asian fans. But the pattern that had been applied to it did not get bent didn't get warped. So I'm gonna choose, undo and let's look in our layers panel to see how this image is constructed. Well, here's a shape, and then attached to the shape is something called a pattern overlay. You add things like a pattern overlay by going to the bottom of your layers. Pound clicking on the letters F X and here's a long list of effects you can apply, like drop shadows. In one of those choices is a pattern overlay, and I couldn't fill this with any kind of pattern I want, but I'll click cancel to keep the one that was there. The problem is, when I warp to this, that pattern is just a setting attached to the layer, and it warped the shape of the layer. But then that setting attached to later just updated and it didn't get warped. So what I'm gonna do is with that layer selected, I'm gonna go to the layer menu, choose smart objects and choose convert to smart object. When I do that, watch what happens in the Layers panel. You notice that the part that's used to but she's undo say pattern overlay seemed to go away. It's not that it's gone, because if you look at it, you can still see the pattern applied to that object. But it's inside the smart object, and so therefore Photoshopped, as far as its concerned, when it sees that layer it can't see inside of it, it can only see what it would look like if he merged those layers together into one piece. That's what it thinks it's working on. And that's why filters can apply to smart objects, and warping can apply, even though there might be more than one layer in there. But now let's see what happens when I come up here and I attempt to warp it. If I warp and I use the same setting, which I think I used, I can't remember it was Arcor Arch, But I'll use Arc. You see that the pattern that is contained within that smart object is being bent along with the shape. So sometimes you're gonna find that you need to put something into a smart object just to take some setting that's attached to it like a filter, for instance, and get something else to be able to act upon it that usually it wouldn't in. This is one instance, which would be a pattern

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Lessons 1 - 6 - Handbook 1: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop

Lessons 7 - 12 - Handbook 2: How to Use Camera Raw

Lessons 13 - 18 - Handbook 3: Making Selections

Lessons 19 - 24 - Handbook 4: Using Layers

Lessons 25 - 30 - Handbook 5: Using Layer Masks

Lessons 31 - 38 - Handbook 6: Using Adjustment Layers

Lessons 39 - 44 - Handbook 7: Color Theory

Lessons 45 - 51 - Handbook 8: Retouching Essentials

Lessons 52 - 59 - Handbook 9: Tools Panel

Lessons 60 - 64 - Handbook 10: Layer Blending Modes

Lessons 65 - 70 - Handbook 11: How to Use Filters

Lessons 71 - 74 - Handbook 12: Advanced Masks

Lessons 75 - 81 - Handbook 13: Using Smart Objects

Lessons 82 - 86 - Handbook 14: Photography for Photoshop

Lessons 87 - 93 - Handbook 15: Advanced Photo Retouching

Lessons 94 - 98 - Handbook 16: Warp, Blend, Liquify

Lessons 99 - 105 - Handbook 17: Advanced Layers

Lessons 106 - 112 - Handbook 18: Actions

Lessons 113 - 117 - Handbook 19: Troubleshooting Issues

Practice Images 1: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop

Practice Images 2: How to Use Camera Raw

Practice Images 3: Making Selections

Practice Images 4: Using Layers

Practice Images 5: Using Layer Masks

Practice Images 6: Using Adjustment Layers

Practice Images 7: Color Theory

Practice Images 8: Retouching Essentials

Practice Images 9: Tools Panel

Practice Images 10: Layer Blending Modes

Practice Images 11: How to Use Filters

Practice Images 12: Advanced Masks

Practice Images 13: Using Smart Objects

Practice Images 14: Photography for Photoshop

Practice Images 15: Advanced Photo Retouching

Practice Images 16: Warp, Blend, Liquify

Practice Images 17: Advanced Layers

Practice Images 18: Actions

Practice Images 19: Troubleshooting Issues

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Ben Willmore

As a photographer, Ben Willmore has shot in all 50 states and explored over 80 countries. He has been pushing Photoshop and Lightroom Classic to their limits since the beginning.

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topics covered in this class

Adobe Photoshop Beginner Fundamentals Photo Editing

Ratings and Reviews

Noel Ice

I am an avid reader of photoshop books, and an avid watcher of photoshop tutorials. I have attended (internet) several hundred of presentations. In the course of this endeavor, I have found my own favorite photoshop websites and instructors. Creative Live is probably the bargain out there as well as among the top three internet course sites. I have to say with great enthusiasm that the best Photoshop instructor is Ben Willmore. There are many great ones, but truly, he is the best I have come across, and, as indicated above, I have watched literally 100s of tutorials on Photoshop. I have seen all of Ben's courses, I think, and among them, this one is the best by far, and that is saying a lot, because that makes this course the best course on Photoshop to be found anywhere. I am going back and watching it twice. Not only is it comprehensive, but Ben is so familiar with his subject that he is able to explain it like no other. This is crème de la crème of Photoshop classes. I have been wanting to write this review for some time because I have been so thoroughly impressed with everything about this class!

ford smith

Highly recommended if you want to take your Photoshop skills to the next level. Ben Willmore is clear, concise, and professional. He also has a good speaking voice that is not distracting but also keeps you engaged. Lastly, I would recommend that as you become more advanced, increasing the speed of the video (one of the options given on the menu)...especially if you've gone through the course once before and maybe want to watch it again. The double speed is very efficient as you become more advanced in Photoshop. Thanks for the help Ben!

a Creativelive Student

Wow. I cannot communicate the value of this course!! The true value in this course is how the instructor identifies workflows you'll need before you'll ever realize it, repeats important information without it becoming annoying, and explains the "why" behind the techniques so well that even if you forget the exact method, you can figure it out via the principles learned. Excellent value, excellent material, excellent instructor!!!

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Nested Smart Objects

Nested Smart Objects

Lesson Info

77. Nested Smart Objects

Lessons

Introduction To Adobe Photoshop

Bridge vs. Lightroom

Tour of Photoshop Interface

Overview of Bridge Workspace

Overview of Lightroom Workspace

Lightroom Preferences - Saving Documents

How To Use Camera Raw in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Overview of Basic Adjustment Sliders

Developing Raw Images

Editing with the Effects and HLS Tabs

How to Save Images

Using the Transform Tool

Making Selections in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Selection Tools

Combining Selection Tools

Using Automated Selection Tools

Quick Mask Mode

Select Menu Essentials

Using Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Align Active Layers

Creating a New Layer

Creating a Clipping Mask

Using Effects on Layers

Using Adjustment Layers

Using the Shape Tool

Create a Layer Mask Using the Selection Tool

Masking Multiple Images Together

Using Layer Masks to Remove People

Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky

Adding Texture to Images

Layering to Create Realistic Depth

Adjustment Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Optimizing Grayscale with Levels

Adjusting Levels with a Histogram

Understanding Curves

Editing an Image Using Curves

Editing with Shadows/Highlights Adjustment

Dodge and Burn Using Quick Mask Mode

Editing with Blending Modes

Color Theory

Curves for Color

Hue and Saturation Adjustments

Isolating Colors Using Hue/Saturation Adjustment

Match Colors Using Numbers

Adjusting Skin Tones

Retouching Essentials In Adobe Camera Raw

Retouching with the Spot Healing Brush

Retouching with the Clone Stamp

Retouching with the Healing Brush

Retouching Using Multiple Retouching Tools

Extending an Edge with Content Aware

Clone Between Documents

Crop Tool

Frame Tool

Eye Dropper and Color Sampler Tools

Paint Brush Tools

History Brush Tool

Eraser and Gradient Tools

Brush Flow and Opacity Settings

Blur and Shape Tools

Dissolve Mode

Multiply Mode

Screen Mode

Hard Light Mode

Hue, Saturation, and Color Modes

Smart Filters

High Pass Filter

Blur Filter

Filter Gallery

Adaptive Wide Angle Filter

Combing Filters and Features

Select and Mask

Manually Select and Mask

Creating a Clean Background