Photoshop Tips

digital imaging artist and music afficiando.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Here's an easy one. Save your work often. You should think not in terms of IF photoshop crashes, but WHEN.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When cropping, be sure to have the radio button "Hide" selected on the menu bar. The pixels you crop are now on the pasteboard, not deleted.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

The pencil auto erase tool allows you to take pixels you drew with the foreground color and paint over them with the background color.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When using the color balance adjustment/layer, it's a good idea to keep "preserve luminosity" checked to prevent lightness/darkness shifts.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Never rasterize a smart object layer before making a copy of it. Comes in handy when you are inevitably asked to "make it bigger!"

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

A way to work around not having a glyphs palette in Photoshop is to type the character you want in InDesign, then copy paste into Photoshop

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

The vibrance tool in camera RAW is excellent for altering skin tones and enhancing natural colors (much more so than the saturation tool).

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When using the healing brush, you can use patterns to source from. Experiment with them to create different textures when retouching.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When using the healing brush or clone stamp tools, work non-destructively by using on a new layer, with "sample all layers" selected.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Use File > Scripts > Layer Comps to File to batch export each separate layer comp in your composite PSD to individual files.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

To increase saturation without exaggerating it, use an S-shaped curve on an adjustment layer, and change the blend mode to luminosity.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Were you supplied with a RAW file format that you are unable to open in Photoshop? Download the free DNG converter from Adobe and convert.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When editing in camera RAW, press the O key to show the clipped/overexposed areas, and the U key to show the underexposed areas of your pic.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When fixing a color cast in an image, it's best to address the neutral values first, followed by highlights. Shadows follow suit afterwards.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Command and the +/- buttons will zoom in and out of the image you are working on. Add "option" if you want the window size to stay the same

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

One cool feature about Photoshop's actions is that you can set them up to automate other pre-existing actions.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Fun fact: Holding cmd while clicking on a layers' thumbnail in the layers palette will select its' contents.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

When using the marquee tool to make a selection, hold the space bar while keeping the mouse button depressed to move the selected area.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Use the pen tool's "rubber band" option to preview Bezier curves you’re about to make live on screen. In pull-down menu on application bar.

[Photoshop Tips @photoshop_tips]

Need to type in an em-dash in Photoshop? Alt/Option + "-" key will do the trick. Also, shift + "-" will give you an underscore.