Adobe Certified Professional Photoshop study guide
Adobe Certified Professional Photoshop · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Adobe Certified Professional in Photoshop is a vendor credential from Adobe that validates practical, working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop. Our practice exam is an independent study resource for candidates preparing for that certification; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Adobe. The Adobe Certified Professional Photoshop study guide has 5 sections and about 1,442 words.
01Photoshop Fundamentals and the Workspace
Photoshop's workspace is built from a document window surrounded by panels, the options bar (context-sensitive to the active tool), the toolbar , and the application frame . Candidates should understand that the options bar changes with tool selection, that panels can be docked, collapsed, or floated, and that workspaces (Essentials, Painting, Photography) save panel arrangements without changing the document itself.
309 words, about 2 min02Document Setup, Layers, and Selections
Understand the difference between Image Size (resamples or resizes the pixel grid) and Canvas Size (adds or removes canvas without scaling content, anchored by the grid). Know resolution's relationship to print: pixels per inch determines physical size at a given pixel count.
296 words, about 1 min03Image Adjustments, Retouching, and Color
Know the family: Levels (input/output black and white points, gamma), Curves (point-based tonal mapping, per-channel), Brightness/Contrast , Exposure , and Shadows/Highlights . Understand that Levels and Curves are the precision tools, and that Curves can adjust individual channels for color casts.
291 words, about 1 min04Masks, Compositing, and Smart Objects
Know layer masks (grayscale, non-destructive, black hides, white reveals, gray partial), vector masks (path-based, crisp edges), clipping masks (a layer clipped to the one below, useful for adjustment layers confined to a shape), and alpha channels (saved selections). Understand that painting on a mask with black hides and white reveals, and that masks can be disabled, linked, or applied.
290 words, about 1 min05Output, Export, and File Formats
Know the core formats: PSD (layered working file), PSB (large document), TIFF (lossless, print, layers optional), JPEG (lossy, no transparency), PNG (lossless, transparency, web), GIF (indexed, limited colors, animation), PDF (print and presentation), and WebP (modern web). Understand that JPEG discards data and cannot store alpha transparency, while PNG-24 preserves it.
256 words, about 1 min