Photoshop Exam Objectives
Photoshop Exam Objectives
1.1.a
Determine whether content is relevant to the purpose, audience, audience needs, user experience, and has an appropriate design for target devices.
Key Terms: client goals, target audience, demographics, accessibility, etc.
1.1.b
Identify requirements based on how the designs and artwork will be used, including video, print, and web.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 1.1 HERE⭐
1.2.a
Demonstrate knowledge of techniques for communicating about design plans with peers and clients.
Key Terms: sketches, specifications, design process, wireframes, prototypes, iterations, change orders, drafts, feedback loop, etc.
1.2.b
Demonstrate knowledge of basic project management concepts.
Key Terms: project scope, scope creep, cloud collaboration and file management
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 1.2 HERE⭐
1.4.a
Demonstrate knowledge of digital graphics terminology.
Key Terms: image resolution, image size, file types, pixel, raster, bitmap, vector, path, object, type, rasterizing, rendering, resizing, image size measured in pixels vs. document size measured in inches/centimeters, etc.
1.4.b
Demonstrate knowledge of how color is created in digital graphics.
Key Terms: color mode, gamut, CMYK vs. RGB vs. HSB vs. grayscale, dithering, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 1.4 HERE⭐
1.5.a
Communicate visually by using the elements and principles of design and common design techniques.
Key Terms: space, line, shape, form, color, texture, emphasis/focal point, unity/harmony, variety, balance, alignment, proximity, repetition, rhythm, scale, movement, negative space, gestalt, etc.
1.5.b
Identify and use common typographic adjustments to create contrast, hierarchy, and enhanced readability.
Key Terms: font, size, style, color, alignment, kerning, tracking, leading, horizontal and vertical scale, line length, etc.
1.5.c
Demonstrate knowledge of common photographic/cinematic composition terms and principles.
Key Terms: aspect ratio, rule of thirds, foreground, background, color, tone, contrast, framing, depth of field, field of view, white balance, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 1.5 HERE⭐
2.1.a
Set appropriate document settings for printed and onscreen artwork.
Key Concepts: width/height, orientation, artboards, resolution, color mode, bit depth, background, etc
2.1.b
Create document presets to reuse for specific project needs.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.1 HERE⭐
2.2.a
Identify and manipulate elements of the Photoshop interface.
Key Concepts: Options bar, menus, panels, toolbar, artboards, etc.
2.2.b
Organize and customize the workspace.
Key Concepts: tabbed documents; showing, hiding, nesting, and docking panels; saving and resetting workspaces; shortcuts and menus; etc.
2.2.c
Configure application preferences.
Key Concepts: Units & Rulers, Guides, Grids & Slices, Performance, Scratch Disks, Interface, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.2 HERE⭐
2.3.a
Navigate documents.
Key Concepts: panning, zooming, pasteboard, etc.
2.3.b
Use rulers.
Key Concepts: showing and hiding rulers, changing the measurement unit on rulers, etc
2.3.c
Use guides and grids.
Key Concepts: adding/removing and locking/unlocking guides, setting color, showing/hiding guides and grids, using snap or align options, creating guide layouts
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.3 HERE⭐
2.4.a
Open or import images from various devices.
Key Concepts: file, camera, scanner, etc
2.4.b
Place assets in an Photoshop document.
Key Concepts: embedding, linking, replacing, copying and pasting.
2.4.c
Use the Adobe Camera Raw interface to import images.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.4 HERE⭐
2.5.a
Set the active foreground and background color.
Key Concepts: Color Picker, swatches, Eyedropper tool, hexadecimal value, etc.
2.5.b
Create and customize gradients.
Key Concepts: Gradient panel, editing color and transparency stops, gradient options (i.e. radial and elliptical), grouping etc
2.5.c
Create, edit, and organize swatches.
Key Concepts: grouping, creating, importing, and exporting.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.5 HERE⭐
2.6.a
Open and browse libraries of included brushes, symbols, graphic styles, and patterns.
2.6.b
Create, use, edit, and organize brushes, styles, and patterns.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 2.6 HERE⭐
3.1.a
Use the Layers panel to modify layers.
Key Concepts: adding, deleting, hiding/showing, locking/unlocking, and duplicating, etc.
3.1.b
Manage and work with multiple layers in a complex project.
Key Concepts: renaming layers, creating layer groups, deleting empty layers, keeping the Layers panel organized, selecting, grouping vs. linking, flatten and merge, tradeoffs with editability and file size, etc.
3.1.c
Recognize the different types of layers in the Layers panel.
Key Concepts: background, pixel, adjustment, type, fill, shape, vector, Smart Object (embedded and linked), active/inactive (hidden), artboard layers, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 3.1 HERE⭐
3.2.a
Adjust a layer’s opacity, blending mode, and fill opacity.
3.2.b
Create and edit masks.
Key Concepts: layer masks, clipping masks, frame tool, applying, deleting, disabling, and link/unlink, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 3.2 HERE⭐
3.3.a
Perform nondestructive editing: Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.
3.3.b
Perform destructive editing: painting, adjustments, erasing, and rasterizing.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 3.2 HERE⭐
4.1.a
Create and edit raster images.
Key Tools: Crop, Perspective Crop, Pencil, Clone Stamp, History Brush, Eraser, Background Eraser, Magic Eraser, Gradient, and Paint Bucket
4.1.b
Create and edit vector images.
Key Tools: Pen, Freeform Pen, Curvature Pen, Add Anchor Point, Delete Anchor Point, Convert Point, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Triangle, Polygon, Line, and Custom Shape
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.1 HERE⭐
4.2.a
Use type tools to add typography.
4.2.b
Adjust character and paragraph settings in a design.
Key Concepts: using font, size, style, alignment, and color to enhance legibility, readability, and hierarchy; kerning, tracking, leading, and horizontal and vertical scale, etc
4.2.c
Convert text to graphics.
Key Concepts: rasterizing type
4.2.d
Convert text to graphics.
Key Concepts: converting text to outlines, benefits/disadvantages
4.2.e
Manage text flow.
Key Concepts: multiple text areas, managing overflow text, threading text, wrapping text, etc
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.2 HERE⭐
4.3.a
Make selections using a variety of tools.
Key Concepts: Quick Selection, Lasso tool, Magic Wand, marquee selection tools, Select Subject, Object Selection tool, Select Sky, etc
4.3.b
Modify and refine selections using various methods.
Key Concepts: keyboard modifiers, feather, expand, contract, inverse, select and mask workspace, refine hair, add to and subtract from selection, deselect, etc
4.3.c
Save and load selections as channels.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.3 HERE⭐
4.4.a
Modify the canvas or artboards.
Key Tools: resizing, cropping, expanding, resampling, etc.
Key Concept: understanding the difference between resize and resample, etc.
4.4.b
Rotate, flip, and modify individual layers, objects, selections, groups, and graphical elements.
Key Concepts: stransforming, warping, distorting, skewing, etc
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.4 HERE⭐
4.5.a
Apply basic auto-correction methods and tools.
4.5.b
Repair and reconstruct images with various tools.
Key Tools: healing tools, clone tools, Content-Aware tools, liquify, etc
4.5.c
Evaluate or adjust the appearance of objects, selections, or layers using various tools.
Key Concepts: adjustments, adjustment layers, histogram, opacity, Eyedropper tool, etc
4.5.d
Use Photoshop tools to manage exposure and saturation
Key Tools: Burn tool, Dodge tool, Desaturate options, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.5 HERE⭐
4.6.a
Use filters to modify images destructively or non-destructively.
Key Concepts: Smart Filters vs filters, etc
4.6.b
Apply, modify, copy, and remove layer styles.
4.6.c
Create, manage, and save custom layer styles.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 4.6 HERE⭐
5.1.a
Check document for errors and project specifications.
Key Concepts: setting color space, resolution, pixel dimensions, metadata, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 5.1 HERE⭐
5.2.a
Save in the native file format for Photoshop (.psd).
Key Concepts: compatibility, saving as a copy, saving locally vs. in the Cloud, etc
5.2.b
Save in appropriate image formats for the intended purpose.
Key Concepts: file format, bit depth, color space, resolution, pixel dimensions, etc.
5.2.c
Export project elements.
Key Concepts: exporting layers, exporting selections, exporting to files, exporting to libraries, metadata, etc.
⭐LEARN DOMAIN 5.2 HERE⭐