ICDL Image Editing (ICDL) study guide
ICDL Image Editing · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
ICDL Image Editing is a practical certification that tests whether you can work confidently with digital images in a standard image editing application - opening and saving files in appropriate formats, adjusting tone and colour, making selections, working with layers, retouching and correcting common defects, combining images, and preparing finished output for screen or print. It suits office and administrative staff, marketing and social media assistants, teachers, students and anyone who produces visual material as part of their work and wants a recognised, vendor-neutral benchmark rather than a certificate tied to one software brand. The ICDL Image Editing study guide has 5 sections and about 1,616 words.
01Imaging Concepts
A digital image is either raster (a rectangular grid of pixels) or vector (mathematically described shapes and paths). Raster suits photographs and painted artwork; vector suits logos, type and diagrams because it scales to any size without losing edge quality.
341 words, about 2 min02Image Capture and Acquisition
Camera capacity is quoted in megapixels (width × height ÷ 1,000,000). More megapixels only help if the lens and sensor resolve real detail; they also increase file size and storage needs.
302 words, about 2 min03Editing Images
Work on a copy and keep the original. Adjustment layers, masks and smart objects let you change your mind; direct pixel edits (erasing, painting, flattening) are destructive.
326 words, about 2 min04Combining and Organising Images
A layered document stacks images like acetate sheets: the top layer covers those below wherever it is opaque, and transparency lets lower layers show through. Opacity fades a whole layer; blend modes change how it interacts (Multiply darkens, Screen lightens, Overlay boosts contrast).
309 words, about 2 min05Preparing and Outputting Images
Screen, print, email attachment and web page each impose different limits. For screen output, pixel dimensions matter most - a 1200 px wide image fills a typical content column whatever the ppi field says.
338 words, about 2 min