Photoshop Tutorial: 5 Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts for Photo Editing

Learn the best keyboard shortcuts for faster editing on Photoshop, with photo editor Mikael Eliasson

Keyboard shortcuts are second nature to a professional photo editor as they allow fast adjustments and a more intuitive workflow. Taking the time to learn them as early as possible will allow you to focus on the more creative elements of your project.

Photo editor Mikael Eliasson runs his own photography school in East London and has had his work exhibited across Europe. In this tutorial, he shares five essential shortcuts, as well as a few bonus tips and shortcuts to help you use them.

1. 100% Zoom (Cmd + 1)

100% magnification is the best means of checking the details and qualities of an image as it shows how the image will appear on screen.

Use the spacebar to reposition the image with the hand tool. Other useful zoom shortcuts include Cmd + 0, to fit the image to the screen, Cmd + - or +, to zoom in and out.

2. Brush tool (B)

- [ and ] will increase and decrease your brush size.
- D will reset the colors to pure black and pure white.
- X will swap between your foreground and background color. This is useful when working with layer masks.

3. Free Transform (Cmd + T)

Free Transform allows you to move a layer. You can access further options by right clicking in Free Transform to scale, rotate, skew, or distort the layer.

4. Duplicate layer (Cmd + J)

You can use this shortcut to duplicate one layer or a selection of layers. You can also duplicate layers when the Move tool is selected by holding Alt as you select a layer.

5. Create your own shortcut

Make Photoshop work for you by modifying the shortcuts according to your needs and projects by clicking on Edit and going to Keyboard Shortcuts.

If you liked this tutorial, you can learn more from Mikael Eliasson about how to retouch and edit images to a commercial standard through a non-destructive workflow on his online course Adobe Photoshop: Beginner's Guide for Photographers.

You may also like:

- Adobe Photoshop for Color Correction, a course by Manu Torres
- Adobe Photoshop for Matte Painting, a course by David Vega Palacios
- Advanced Adobe Photoshop, a course by Carles Marsal