Learning Paths > 30 Days of Photoshop

30 Days of Photoshop Classic Edition

The original 30-day Photoshop challenge, free and complete. One lesson a day, from a guided tour of the toolbar to swapping a gray sky on day thirty. There is also a 2025 Edition rebuilt for current Photoshop — start there if you are new; this run is kept for the manual techniques it teaches in more depth.

31 Tutorials | 15+ Hours | Beginner-Friendly | 100% Free

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What You’ll Learn

The 30 Days of Photoshop Classic Edition is the original 2020 run of a free thirty-lesson challenge: one technique a day, in an order that builds. It is deliberately more manual than the current edition — it teaches the Pen Tool, channels, frequency separation and Blend If at a point when Photoshop had fewer shortcuts, which is exactly why it is still worth working through.

Week one — the interface and the basics A guided tour of every tool and menu, opening and saving files properly, how layers and the Layers panel work, the types of adjustment layer, and selections with the Marquee, Lasso and Magic Wand.
Week two — core editing Levels and Curves for exposure and color, targeting colors with Hue/Saturation, transforming and aligning layers, the Brush Tool in detail, and cropping and resizing without wrecking the file.
Week three — the tools professionals lean on Type, Liquify, Smart Objects, the Blend If sliders, every blending mode, the Clone Stamp, and dodging and burning for shape and depth.
Week four — RAW, color and retouching Adobe Camera Raw, color grading highlights and midtones and shadows, changing the color of clothing and products, recovering blown highlights, removing blemishes, frequency separation and non-destructive sharpening.
The last days — selections and compositing Precise selections with the Pen Tool, cutting out hair with Select and Mask, matching light and color across a composite, editing a landscape in Camera Raw, and swapping a gray sky.

Who This Series Is For

Anyone who wants a structured month of Photoshop rather than a folder of bookmarked videos. It assumes nothing on day one and finishes with techniques most working retouchers use weekly.

It suits two groups in particular. Complete beginners who want a schedule to follow, and self-taught users with gaps — people who can composite but have never understood Blend If, or who use adjustment layers without knowing what half of them do.

If you are starting today, the 2025 Edition covers the same ground in current Photoshop, including the AI tools that did not exist when this run was made. Many people do both: the 2025 Edition for how it is done now, the Classic Edition for what the software is actually doing underneath.

What You Need

Photoshop Any version. The lessons were recorded on an older release, and every technique still works — a handful of panels have moved.
Nothing else The series is free in full. No membership, no download, no sign-up required to watch.
Thirty days Or thirty sittings, whenever they happen. The order matters more than the pace.
Your own images Optional but recommended, because applying each day’s lesson to a photo you care about is what makes it stick.

No prior Photoshop experience is assumed. Day one starts with what each tool in the toolbar does.

How Long It Takes

Thirty lessons, most of them short enough to watch and follow in under half an hour. Done daily it is a month; done at weekends it is closer to four months, which is also fine.

The one thing worth resisting is skipping ahead. The later compositing and retouching days assume you are comfortable with masks, blending modes and Smart Objects, all of which arrive in weeks one to three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this really free?

Yes. All thirty lessons plus the introduction are free to watch, with no membership required.

Should I do this one or the 2025 Edition?

The 2025 Edition if you want the current workflow, including generative and AI tools. This one if you want the manual methods explained in more depth, or if you have already done the 2025 run and want to go further into the fundamentals.

Does it still apply to the latest Photoshop?

Almost entirely. Curves, blending modes, masks, Smart Objects and the Pen Tool have not changed. A few panels have moved and some tasks now have a faster AI route, which the 2025 Edition covers.

Do I need to do it in thirty consecutive days?

No. The name is a structure, not a rule. What matters is the order.

What comes after day thirty?

The Photoshop Learning Path is the natural next step — it picks up at roughly the level this series finishes.

Where to Go Next

30 Days of Photoshop (2025 Edition) The same challenge rebuilt for current Photoshop.
Photoshop Learning Path The full PRO path, starting where day thirty ends.
30 Days of Lightroom The same format for the other half of the workflow.
Retouching Learning Path Go deeper into the portrait work days 23 to 25 introduce.