While Adobe primarily released Photoshop for editing still visuals, you can also use the platform to create video projects. And if you’re new to video editing software, Photoshop is an excellent starting point for getting to grips with the basics.
This article will tell you everything you need to know about editing videos in Photoshop. You’ll learn about adding special effects, changing a video’s speed, and much more.
What Kinds of Videos Can You Edit in Photoshop?
Photoshop is suitable for editing all kinds of video projects. Thanks to its resizing tools, you can easily make content for YouTube videos and the like and later upload them in the recommended formats.
The platform lets you edit long-form video projects, but you can also create shorter-form content. As such, Photoshop is also helpful when repurposing content for social media networks like Instagram and TikTok.
Importing
Before we look at how to edit your videos in Photoshop, knowing how to import your footage and audio is a good starting point. To begin editing a video, you can drag the files you want to edit into the app.
Alternatively, you can import via the menu bar. Go to File > Import; there, you’ll find several choices for doing so. If you’ve got footage you want to add to Photoshop from another device, you can go to Import Footage From iPhone or iPad instead.
Once you’ve imported your videos, you’ll see them in a timeline at the bottom of your screen.
How to Make Basic Adjustments to Your Video Footage in Photoshop
While the complex video tools are fun to use, you should get to grips with the basics before using them. Photoshop lets you make several simple changes to your video footage, such as cropping and adjusting colors. You can also add lens corrections, add tone curves, and much more.
Photoshop has several tools for adjusting colors. If you don’t want to do too much manual work, you can make automatic corrections. To do so, go to Image > Auto Color. You can also choose from Auto Tone and Auto Contrast.
If you want more control over your colors, go to the icon in the right-hand corner with four lines. Click on it, and a dropdown menu will appear; you can choose from the Color Wheel, Hue Cube, and various other workspaces.
If you go to Windows > Adjustments, you will find a wide selection of basic tools to edit your video with. For example, you can balance different colors—such as blues and yellows. Similarly, you can choose whether to manually or automatically adjust brightness and contrast.
How to Edit Audio
If you’re editing a video in Photoshop, you’ll want to know how you can tweak the audio as well. The platform doesn’t have as many tools as Premiere Pro in this respect, but you can still make simple adjustments.
To edit your audio, scroll down to the Audio Track tab at the bottom. Here, you can click on the arrow at the end of your track to reveal its editing capabilities.
In the window, you can choose to mute your audio. Moreover, you can choose where in your video you can fade it in and out. If you want more advanced tools, you might want to adjust everything in Adobe Audition beforehand.
How to Trim Your Videos
You’ll probably find several parts of your video that you don’t want to keep in your final project. Doing so in Photoshop is pretty simple; first, you’ll need to go to the part of the video you’d like to take out.
At the beginning and end of the section you’d like to remove, click on the scissor icon in the timeline section. Afterward, you can select the cut clip and press backspace on your keyboard to delete it.
If you only want to delete the beginning and end of a video, you can drag those ends until you’ve gotten rid of the bits you want.
How to Add Text to Your Videos
In addition to adjusting how your video looks, you might want to add special effects to your footage. Adding text is useful for being able to tell your story in more detail, and you can also use it to showcase interesting facts—such as information about a town or city you filmed in.
Adding text to a video in Photoshop takes very little effort. In the left-hand toolbar, you will find a T icon. Once you’ve clicked on the text icon, create a box on your video. At the top, you can adjust the font size, along with the font itself.
How to Edit Specific Areas of Your Video Footage
If you’ve used Photoshop to edit still images, you’ll know how useful it is for tweaking specific parts of a picture. And if you want to use the platform to edit videos, you can do similar things.
Photoshop has several tools for editing specific parts of your video. If you go to the Dodge tool, for example, you can brighten bits of your footage that you feel are too dark. Similarly, you can use Blur to blur different areas.
If you made an adjustment that you’ve decided you no longer like, you can use History Brush to restore the part that you edited. All of these tools are available in the left-hand toolbar.
How to Sharpen Your Video Footage
Do you feel like your footage is too blurry? If so, you can easily sharpen it. To sharpen your video, go to Filter > Sharpen. In that window, you can choose from several options—such as sharpening your edges or doing so for the entire video.
To increase the sharpness of your video, select Sharpen and press Control or Command and F until you’re happy with the end result.
You can also customize your sharpening settings by going to Smart Sharpen. Here, you can adjust the radius and percentage. Moreover, you can decide whether you want to remove lens blur, gaussian blur, and motion blur. Reducing the noise in your video is also possible.
Exporting
Once you’ve finished editing your video in Photoshop, you’re ready to export your video. First, you’ll need to render it; go to File > Export > Render Video. You can adjust several settings here, such as making your video ready for YouTube or Apple TV.
Click on the Render button once you’ve edited your settings.
Editing Your Videos in Photoshop Is Easy
Photoshop might not be most people’s first choice for editing videos, but it’s a powerful tool that’s worth exploring. Having read this guide, you should have the tools you need to make adjustments to your footage and export it for your preferred platform.
Now that you’ve got all the information you need, why not let your creative juices flow and see what you can come up with?
