Adobe Photoshop is among the most commonly used graphic design software applications globally. The tool is so ubiquitous that manipulating a photo has become colloquially known as photoshopping, even if the application isn’t used in the process. The tool is commonly used for personal art projects, and it is also a very important tool in the field of professional graphic design. Artists and advertisers regularly use the program, and it even sees use in diverse projects, including video editing, software development, print and digital publication and web design. Learning how to use Photoshop at a professional level can open several different career opportunities, and one of the best ways to set yourself up for success on any of these career paths is to become certified in Photoshop. There are a few common ways to become certified in Photoshop, so anyone interested in receiving professional accreditation should read on to learn more about their options
Noble Desktop:Â Photoshop BOOTCAMP
Key Information: This 18-hour course is available to students in full-time or part-time sessions, and students can enroll to take the course in-person at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or in a live online classroom. Students will receive expert instruction from graphic design experts and will work on practical design projects. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion, and all students can retake the course within one year.
Students seeking a focused Photoshop education should consider a dedicated training program like Noble Desktop’s Photoshop Bootcamp. In this course, students will receive hands-on photo editing and manipulation training from experienced graphic design professionals who can provide students with the assistance and feedback necessary to succeed. This program aims to provide students with a robust Photoshop education and covers the most common Photoshop projects that professional designers and artists will encounter as they work with the program. In this class, students will learn practical theories of design and composition, and by the end of the course, they will be comfortable enough with Photoshop to begin experimenting with their own designs.
The course begins with an introduction to the basic Photoshop interface and the most commonly used features for retouching photos and creating graphics. Students will learn how to adjust the color, contrast and brightness of an image to make subtle adjustments to a photograph and how to make more significant changes by cutting out background objects using layer and mask tools. Students will also learn how to create visual effects in their edits using tools like filters, shadows and blends. Students will even learn how Photoshop is rapidly becoming the go-to tool for building online GIFs, and they will get practical experience building the component parts of these shareable images. By the end of the course, students will have learned all the essential skills they need to start building their Photoshop portfolio and preparing for a certification exam.
Students enrolled in this program will be able to learn from experienced instructors with years of Photoshop experience. Whether you attend in-person at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or in a live online classroom, you’ll work in real-time with expert instructors who can provide you with the feedback and assistance you need to succeed. Students enrolled in this program will have the chance to work on practical design projects that they can add to their personal portfolios. They will also learn Photoshop through hands-on exercises that mirror the kinds of projects that professional designers are likely to encounter. In addition to expert instruction, all students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion affirming their skills training, and they will have the option to take the course again within one year to ensure that they have even more opportunities to learn and practice Photoshop design skills.
Noble Desktop:Â GRAPHIC DESIGN BOOTCAMP
Key Information: This program is offered in full-time (one-month) or part-time (three-month) sessions and is available in-person at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or in live online classes. Students enrolled in this career-focused training program will receive hands-on instruction from experienced graphic design experts, one-on-one career mentorship and the option to retake the class for free within one year.
Students seeking a more robust, career-focused Photoshop training program should consider Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate program. In this course, students will receive hands-on training in the major graphic design applications offered through the Adobe Creative Cloud: Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. These are the applications most commonly used in professional graphic design settings, and they are the tools that most aspiring digital artists will need to learn to prepare for a career in the field. On top of learning the practical design applications that most Graphic Designers use, students will also learn important theoretical approaches to graphic design.
Students will begin the course by learning the basics of graphic design theories, including principles of design and composition and theories surrounding specific aspects of design, like color and typography. Once students are comfortable with design principles, they will learn how to apply them to practical design projects using Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Photoshop lets users manipulate pixel-based images, Illustrator allows students to draw and reshape vector-based illustrations, and InDesign is one of the most common page layout tools used in traditional publishing. Students will also learn how these programs are integrated with one another through the Adobe Creative Cloud. Students will, for example, learn how to edit a photo in Photoshop, add a logo to that photo with Illustrator, and prepare that asset for publication in InDesign. This training will help students create more elaborate and complex designs and projects.
This course is available through full-time or part-time instruction, and students can attend in-person at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or online in a live digital classroom. In either case, students will receive hands-on instruction from Noble Desktop’s graphic design experts and they will be able to receive immediate feedback and assistance on their work. Since this is a career-focused course, students will learn practical skills to apply to any graphic design profession. In addition, students will receive dedicated career development support, including portfolio-building workshops and one-on-one career mentoring sessions. Students who complete the program will receive an industry-recognized certificate of completion, and students will be able to retake the program for free within one year to get even more hands-on graphic design experience.
ADOBE:Â CERTIFIED Photoshop PROFESSIONAL
Key Information: This first-party Photoshop certification exam tests students’ knowledge of design industry skills and proficiency with Photoshop. Adobe anticipates that students will need 150 hours of experience to complete the 50-minute exam.Â
Students with existing Photoshop training or experience will want to consider becoming certified by passing Adobe’s Certified Photoshop Professional exam. This exam gauges students’ knowledge of the practical process of working in the design industry and Photoshop-specific design skills. Students will be tested on critical concepts related to working with clients on design projects (including logistical and legal questions) and workflow and organizational practices. The bulk of the exam will focus on practical demonstrations of a student’s ability to use Photoshop to create and modify visual elements within an image and their ability to prepare that image for publication. Overall, the exam covers practical and theoretical concerns surrounding design as a field, but most of the exam is designed to test a student’s knowledge of the Photoshop application.
The exam lasts fifty minutes and consists of a practical demonstration and multiple-choice questions. Students sitting for the exam will be able to take it from their own homes or at a certified test-taking facility. The test utilizes Create Cloud integration, and students may be asked to utilize their own copies of Photoshop. Adobe anticipates that the exam will require students to have about 150 hours of training, practice and experience with Photoshop to pass. Adobe does not offer specific Photoshop training services but provides students with free and paid options for study material and exam prep, including sample exams for students to become accustomed to the format. This certification lasts for three years, after which students will need to repass the most recent version of the exam to keep their certification up-to-date.
ADOBE:Â CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL in VISUAL DESIGN SPECIALITY
Key Information:Â This certification specialty is awarded to test takers who complete the Adobe Photoshop Certified Professional exam and either one or both of the InDesign and Illustrator exams. Nothing about the exams changes, so students must prepare for and enroll in the fifty-minute exams separately.
Students looking for a deeper certification path to complement their status as a Certified Photoshop Professional may want to consider Adobe’s Certified Professional in Visual Design Speciality option. This certification indicates that a professional has passed the Photoshop certification exam and one or both of the After Effects and InDesign certification exams. Students who wish to complete this certification will need to pass both or all of the certification exams. Doing so will demonstrate to prospective employers that they have a well-rounded graphic and visual design background. The certification specialty is also a good way for students who completed a more robust training program to demonstrate the depth of their skills further.
Since this program is only a marker for students who have completed multiple exams, there is no distinction between the Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator exams taken in this context than there would be for students not pursuing the specialization. Each exam will be taken separately, and they remain fifty-minute tests that cover industry knowledge and practical skills with the applications. However, since all three exams cover industry-related skills, there will be some overlap between concepts, so students with a background in one program may find it easier to pass exams in the other two applications. As with individual exams, Adobe offers free and paid training support. This specialty lasts for as long as all of the individual certifications remain valid (approximately three years).
LUMENBRITE:Â Photoshop BOOTCAMP
Key Information:Â This beginner-friendly Photoshop training program runs for four days and is offered in-person and online. The course covers basic and advanced Photoshop skills and teaches students practical photo editing techniques. Students who complete the program will receive a certificate of completion from Lumenbrite.
Lumenbrite offers a comprehensive, accelerated Photoshop Bootcamp for students learning basic and advanced Photoshop skills. In this course, students will learn the basics of editing and manipulating photos, and they will learn how Photoshop makes the processes easier and more efficient. As a beginner-friendly course, students without prior experience will learn how to navigate the interface and begin working with basic editing tools like layers, masks and brushes. In addition, students will learn to use custom brushes and other tools to create evocative digital effects, and they will learn how to use tools to alter things like lighting and background objects. Finally, students will learn how to compile Photoshop files into shareable GIF format and how to prepare individual or collected files for publication.
Lumenbrite’s Photoshop Bootcamp takes place over four full-time days, and the course is offered in-person at campuses around the country and online in live instructor-led classrooms. The program aims to provide students of all skill levels with the Photoshop training that they need to start experimenting on their own projects or working with the tool in a professional capacity. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion from Lumenbrite and hands-on experience working with the application. The course also aims to provide students with the skills they need to pass the Adobe Photoshop Certified Professional exam, but the course itself is not strictly modeled on the test.
FMC TRAINING NETWORK:Â Photoshop MASTER CLASS
Key Information: FMC is a certified Adobe training provider and their Photoshop Master Class combines their Photoshop Fundamentals course and one of a student’s of a medium specific course. Students who complete the program will receive a certificate of completion, and since FMC offers the Adobe Certified Professional exam, all of their courses are built with helping prepare students for the exam in mind.
FMC Training Network is an Adobe-certified training and examination provider, and they offer a five-day Photoshop Master Class, which combines their Photoshop Fundamentals course with the student’s choice of either Photoshop Advanced: Print and Photography or Photoshop Advanced: Web and Video. This program will provide students with basic Photoshop skills such as how to edit and manipulate the color, lighting and content of a photograph and more advanced skills that apply a student’s Photoshop knowledge to specific publication spaces. This course is a good way for students to learn the basics of Photoshop while still ensuring that the lessons that they learn are applicable to helping them achieve their long-term career goals. Students will be able to learn how Photoshop is commonly used in professional settings in traditional and digital publication fields, and they can opt to study Photoshop’s function in video production.
FMC is a certified training provider for Adobe applications, and they offer training courses that aim to prepare students to pass certification exams and work with the tools professionally. This master class covers all the skills a student will need to pass the practical skills portion of the certification exam. All of FMC’s courses are taught in live online classrooms, and students who complete the courses will receive a certificate of completion, signaling that they have passed the course. FMC is also a provider of the Adobe Certified Professional exams, providing numerous services to help students prepare for the exam, including free and paid study materials. The exam price is not included in this course or any of the supplemental study materials.
ONLC TRAINING:Â Photoshop CORE SKILLS: LEVEL 1
Key Information:Â This live online or remote instruction course introduces students to the basics of Photoshop over two six-hour sessions. The course serves as an introduction to photo editing, and students who complete the course will be able to advance their skills in a more advanced course. Students who complete the course will receive an official certificate from ONLC.
ONLC offers a variety of introductory Photoshop courses, including their Photoshop Core Skills: Level 1, which is designed to help introduce beginners to the basics of using the application to edit and manipulate images. Students will learn the basics of using the application to retouch images and make basic alterations, including changes to color, brightness and tone. Students will also learn how to navigate through the Photoshop interface and how to use tools like layers and selections to make more professional edits and gain a better understanding of the subtle manipulations that are possible with the program. Since this is an introductory course, students will need additional training available through ONLC in their more advanced Photoshop programs.Â
ONLC’s Photoshop Core Skills course lasts for two six-hour sessions, and the program is available online. This course is part of a larger track offered by ONLC, and students may complete the courses at their own pace. Students who complete this program will receive a certificate of completion and be eligible to enroll in more advanced training courses. This program alone is unlikely to be sufficient to help a student pass the certification exam, but it will provide them with the necessary foundational skills that will contribute to preparing them for the exam. ONLC uses a remote instruction model, so students attending the program in-person at their training facilities may not be in the same room as their instructor (though the course is still live).
HeadTrix, INC:Â Photoshop BOOTCAMP
Key Information:Â headTrix Inc combines its introductory and advanced Photoshop courses into a comprehensive Photoshop Bootcamp. Students will learn from live instructors online and can take the two-day, full-time courses together or separately. Students who complete the bootcamp will receive a professional certificate.
headTrix, Inc offers a Photoshop Bootcamp training program that combines introductory and advanced Photoshop training courses. In this course, students will learn the basics of the Photoshop interface and the foundational principles of photo manipulation. This makes the course a good introduction for beginners since it covers skills like altering color and contrast, changing brightness and removing simple background objects. From there, students will learn how to use filters and brushes to create visual effects and how to add text and transformation effects to their projects. Finally, students will learn how Photoshop is utilized in digital and web design projects, including how the program is used to make GIF files and other animated assets for webpages. By the end of the program, students will have an understanding of advanced Photoshop techniques, including compositing, color correcting, blending and other visual design techniques.
headTrix Inc’s Bootcamp combines two courses at a reasonable discount, giving students increased flexibility in their scheduling. Each of the two courses is scheduled individually, and both classes last for two days (full-time). headTrix, Inc. Also offers a range of more advanced certificate programs for students looking to develop their career skills. All of these classes are taught through a live online system that ensures students can work directly with their instructors in a digital classroom. The program offers students who complete the course a certificate of completion. While the program is not modeled after the Adobe Certified Professional exam, it is a good way to build the skills necessary to begin preparing to pass the certification exam.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT is the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN a CERTIFICATE and a CERTIFICATION?
For many students looking to become certified in Photoshop, it may come as a surprise to learn that certificates and certifications differ. While they are both ways to become certified, they gauge a student’s proficiency in Photoshop differently and therefore have different target audiences. Certifications are given to students who pass proctored exams offered by first-party publishers (in this case, Adobe), which test their understanding of and capabilities with the platform. These exams gauge students’ existing knowledge, so they are designed to only last about an hour, and they provide students with no additional training. Many service providers do offer free or paid study materials to help students looking to prepare for the exams.
Certificates are akin to diplomas, and they are awarded to students who complete industry-recognized training programs. These programs are designed to teach students the skills they need to use Photoshop in a professional environment, so they primarily serve as instructional spaces for students to learn new skills from experienced Photoshop professionals. These programs tend to be more expensive than passing a certification exam, but those exams are designed for students who have already spent the time and energy required to have developed the skills they’ll receive by training in a certificate-granting program. This makes these courses ideal for students looking to start a new career or expand their marketable design skills.
WILL I NEED to BE CERTIFIED to FIND a JOB?
You won’t need to be certified to find a job that utilizes Photoshop. While this will vary from opening to opening, most professional graphic design jobs won’t require applicants to have specific kinds of certificates or certifications. However, being certified in tools like Photoshop is a good way to help prospective applicants set themselves apart from their competition in the eyes of prospective employers. Becoming certified in a certificate-granting program is especially helpful, given that the hands-on experience students receive will help them build a personalized sample portfolio that they can show to hiring managers, which is arguably the most important aspect of a Graphic Designer’s application materials.
WHAT is the BEST WAY to GET CERTIFIED?
The best method of becoming certified will likely depend on your experience with Photoshop and your long-term goals with the application. Students who have received professional Photoshop training or have significant on-the-job experience working with the program will likely be best suited to passing a certification exam. This will require students to self-evaluate their confidence in their training since Adobe expects that most users will need about 150 hours of training to pass their exam. Students can also receive support in ensuring they pass the exams by enrolling in a certificate-granting program or taking advantage of free study materials.
Students who need additional training or who are inexperienced with the application may want to consider enrolling in a certificate-granting training program to receive the hands-on experience that they need to pass a certification exam. These courses provide students with the dedicated instruction they need to learn basic and advanced Photoshop techniques, allowing them to become more confident in their ability to retouch and manipulate photos professionally. These classes are a great way to introduce yourself to the application, and many of these classes are designed with the Adobe Certified Professional exam in mind, making them useful places to prepare for a certification exam while also building valuable career skills.
Students with more robust long-term goals may want to consider enrolling in a career-focused certificate-granting program instead such as Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate program. In these programs, students will receive hands-on instruction in practical and theoretical design skills needed to find work as professional Graphic Designers. This course is longer and more expensive than an accelerated Photoshop class, but students will learn more detailed skills and get more practical professional instruction. This course, for instance, includes a portfolio-building workshop and one-on-one career mentorship services for students looking to enter the workforce as Graphic Designers. This is a more intensive method of becoming certified for students looking to turn Photoshop skills into part of their long-term career goals.
HOW CAN I BEST PREPARE for a CERTIFICATION EXAM?
Students looking to prepare for a certification exam have many options. Adobe offers free study materials, including sample exams and guides for students looking to get a feel for the material on the test. They also offer free introductory training material for students looking to familiarize themselves with the basics of the program (though students will need more than a few days worth of free training videos to pass the exam). Students, particularly those with Photoshop experience, may find this content sufficient to prepare themselves for the exam.
Students who need more assistance will likely want to enroll in a paid training program or a certificate-granting Photoshop course to get hands-on experience preparing for the exam. Students will need to judge how much additional training they think they need to pass the exam, but there are options available for students of almost all levels. Many training providers offer exam prep courses and beginner-friendly bootcamps for students looking to find a training course that delivers the level of instruction they need.