This is the first of several tutorials about how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements to create social media graphics. Whether you are using social media to brand or market a business, blog or for another reason, the images that you use in your social media have become very important.

When I take a break or I'm just relaxing, one of my favorite things to do is browse free CC0 images on Pixabay, UpSplash and other sites. When I see a photo that would be great for a social media post, I download the jpg to special folders named "Pixabay" or "UpSplash".

By saving these images during my spare time, I save so much time when I need to create a post. I don't need to spend precious time while searching through 100s of photos on Canva or Adobe Spark. I have the best photos ready-to-go in my very own photo library on my computer. I just need to open the image into Photoshop Elements and I'm ready to go.

PSE Organizer

One of my favorite features in Photoshop Elements is the Organizer (see screenshot). I use it to view my photo library and to organize the photos for social media projects. By default, the Organizer lists your photos by date. But you can also use the Media, People, Places and Events tabs at the top of the Organizer window to filter your photos.

But for the purpose of my social media photo library folders, I use the Media tab, which lists all the media in a folder from photos to videos. I also use the Organizer's keyword tagging and filters to sort the photos as to topic.

As you can see from the screenshot, I use keyword tags to indicate the subject matter in the photo, such as candles, coffee, Bokeh and product mockups. I can use the Zoom slider at the bottom of the window to increase or decrease the size of the thumbnail images.

Add a Tag

1. Double click on the photo of your choice, to open it full size in the window.
   
   If you have already tagged this image, you will see the tags listed at the bottom right (see screenshot).
   
   
2. To add a tag, enter the text in the Image Tags text box and click the Add button.
   
   

Search

1. Click the Search button at the top right of the window, to open the search feature.
   
   
2. Enter the search text in the box and click Enter (see screenshot).
   
   You will see the images with that search tag or tags listed below (see screenshot).
   
   

While in the Organizer, we also have the option to use Instant Fix (see screenshot) to fix or enhance the photos. As you can see, we have several options including Crop, Red Eye, Effects, Smart Fix, Light, Color and Clarity. The edited photo will be saved and added to the catalog listing, as an edited version of the original.

FileName_edited_1.jpg

Once I have chosen my photo for the social media post, I go directly to the Editor.

1. Right-click on the image.
   
   
2. Choose Edit with Photoshop Elements Editor (see screenshot).
   
   

In the Editor, I can add the photo to my custom-made social media post template as the background image for this post (see screenshot).

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