Copying

• To copy portions of an image, you have several options. For instance, if your photo has someone standing against a solid color background, or against a light sky, you can use the "Magic Wand" tool or "Quick Selection" tool to select the background. Under the "Select" menu, choose "Inverse" to select everything but the background, then copy and paste the image, and Photoshop automatically creates a new layer for the image without the background. Other options include using any of the "Lasso" tools to draw an irregular shape around a portion of the image, or the "Marquee" tools, which select a rectangle or oval portion of the image. You can set a feathering value in pixels for the edges of the lasso and marquee tools to later blend the copied portion with the rest of the image when you paste it into a new level.
  
  

Pasting

• When you paste a portion of the image you copied into a new level, you can work in that level to adjust the placement of the copied portion, such as moving an option closer to a person in the photo, or pasting over flaws. The pasted portion will automatically appear on a new level above the original image. You simply use the "Move" tool, the arrowhead in the toolbar, to move the pasted portion to the position you want.
  
  

Importing

• You can import another image or graphic from another Photoshop or Illustrator file by selecting "Place" under the "File" menu, and selecting the file to place on a layer. You can also open files in those format and simply grab a graphic or image and drag it across to your original Photoshop file. The new image, as are copied portions, placed in a new layer.
  
  

Layers

• A new Photoshop file starts with a "Background" layer with the original image. With pasted portions of image, additional imported graphics and text, each on its own layer, you build a new image. You use the layers window to rearrange the levels, and can adjust each level's transparency to allow what's below it to show through. You can also edit and apply filters on individual layers. Photoshop gives you the option to merge some levels so they can be placed as one image. When completed, you can save a copy of the file as a JPEG or other format with all visible layers merged into one image.