Adding an image to a project in Adobe Photoshop is an important step, but luckily it’s also an easy one! Whether you’re creating a web graphic, a poster, or a logo, you’re going to be bringing JPGs and PNGs into your document. In this tutorial, we will cover how to insert images in Photoshop.
What You’ll Learn in This Photoshop Tutorial
- How to add images in Photoshop
- How to copy and paste in Photoshop
- How to drag and drop images in Photoshop
- How to rasterize a layer in Photoshop
How to Insert an Image in Photoshop
There are multiple ways to insert an image in Photoshop; here are the three most common.
How to Add a Photo to Photoshop Using Drag and Drop
The easiest way to bring an image into Photoshop is to simply drag and drop it in.
You can drag and drop it onto the Home screen, and it will automatically open in a new document as a locked “Background layer.” To edit the layer normally, you can Right-click it and choose Layer From Background. Press OK, and now that image is a layer that can be edited.
You can also drag and drop any image straight into an existing document, and it will be inserted as a Smart Object, which is a type of layer used in non-destructive editing. However, if you want a layer to be a normal pixel layer, you can Right-click > Rasterize Layer.
How to Put an Image in Photoshop Using Copy and Paste
The second way to add a photo to Photoshop is to copy and paste.
You can Right-click > Copy images online or on your computer and then Edit > Paste them directly into Photoshop. Or you can Control/Command-C to Copy and Control/Command-V to Paste one layer from one document into another document.
How to Add Linked Images in Photoshop
You can also add images to Photoshop that are linked or embedded.
To link an image, you can go to File › Place Linked. Keep in mind, if you edit the original image you have linked to, you’ll also update it everywhere it’s linked.
A linked layer will have an icon of a linked chain in the bottom-right corner of its layer icon.
Conclusion
Those are the best ways to add images to Photoshop! Learning how to add a photo to Photoshop quickly is a must, given how important working with layers is. Luckily, you don’t have to go through menus to add images to Photoshop—just drag and drop and start editing.
Looking to learn more? Check out these Photoshop tutorials:
Note: This tutorial was written with the aid of an artificial intelligence tool. It has been thoroughly edited and checked for accuracy by the Envato Tuts+ editorial team.