8/6/2019 eBooks - Tutorial - Beginning Photoshop Tricks

1/5

Beginning Photoshop tricks

Zoom in/Zoom out fastZoom in

On a Mac, press Command-+. On a PC, press Control-+.

Zoom out

On a Mac, press Command- (minus symbol). On a PC, press Control- (minus).

Layer opacity shortcut

To change the opacity of your active layer, switch to the Move tool (by pressing theletter "v") then simply type in the desired amount of opacity (i.e., 82 percent, 65 percent,25 percent). If you want a round number (like 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent) justinput the first number (i.e., 2 for 20 percent, 3 for 30 percent, and so on).

Repeating filters

Once you've run one of Photoshop's filters, Photoshop assumes you might want to runthat same filter again, so it conveniently puts that filter at the top of your filter's menu (tokeep you from digging through the submenus just to run the same filter).Even better yet, it creates a keyboard shortcut. To reapply the last filter you used, using

the exact same settings, on a Mac press Command-F and on a PC press Control-F.

Resetting your default colors

To quickly reset Photoshop's foreground and background colors to their default settings(black foreground, white background) just press the letter "d."

Handy views

To view your Photoshop document at its full 100 percent size, double-click on theMagnifying Glass tool in the toolbar.

To have your Photoshop document "Fit in Window" (displaying the entire document aslarge as possible in your monitor window) double-click on the Grabber Hand tool in thetoolbar.

Scott Kelby is editor ofPhotshop Usermagazine.

http://www.photoshopuser.com/http://www.photoshopuser.com/http://www.photoshopuser.com/

8/6/2019 eBooks - Tutorial - Beginning Photoshop Tricks

2/5

8/6/2019 eBooks - Tutorial - Beginning Photoshop Tricks

3/5

Web color trickIf you ever wanted to know the HTML Web color of a color within a Photoshop image,follow these steps.

1. Hold the Control key.2. Click the Eyedropper tool on any color in the image.3. A pop-up menu will appear where you can choose "Copy color as HTML."4. Then you can insert that color as HTML text in your Web app's HTML editor.5. It will appear like this: COLOR="#FBDDA1."

Get better color infoIf you're correcting images in Photoshop, chances are you're using the Eyedropper toolto get readings from within your image. You can get better results when using theEyedropper tool by switching how it samples info.

1. Click on the Eyedropper tool.2. In the Options Bar change the Sample Size from Point Sample (the default) to

3x3 average.o 5.0/5.5 users: double-click on the Eyedropper tool to bring up its Options

palette.

By making this change, the Eyedropper tool will give you a more accurate readingbecause you're getting an average of the area where you're clicking, rather than reading

just one individual pixel (Point Sample), which may give you a misleading reading.Seeing your type change colors

In Photoshop 6, if you highlight some type so you can change its color, the highlightcolor covers the color change, and you can't see what your type looks like until youremove the highlight.Here's the tip: after you highlight the type, press Command-H to temporarily hide theHighlighting, so you can see the type color as you change colors.Creating temporary brushesNeed a bigger brush? Make a temporary one in seconds in Photoshop 6. Here's how.

1. If you're working with a brush just click on the brush thumbnail icon in the OptionsBar and a new brush dialog will appear.

2. Move the slider to the size you want and start painting.

When you switch brushes later, the temporary brush you created is gone, and best ofall, you didn't affect the original brush, it's still intact.

Tips From the Show

8/6/2019 eBooks - Tutorial - Beginning Photoshop Tricks

4/5

Here are the tips we demonstrated on the show. If you want an in-depth tutorial, watchthe video.

Fix overexposed imageIf you have an image that's way too light, then try this trick:

1. In the Layers palette, make a copy of the Background layer by dragging it to theNew Layer icon at the bottom of the palette.

2. At the top of the palette, change the layer's blend mode to Multiply.3. Continue making copies of this "multiply" layer.4. Each copy gets progressively darker and darker until the image looks just right.

Fix underexposed imageIf your image is too dark try this:

Make a copy of your background layer (see above), but this time change the

blend mode to Screen.

This will lighten the overall image, and again you can keep making copies of this"screened" layer to lighten the image to taste.Fix red eyeIf you have a digital camera, then you're probably pretty familiar with the "red eye"effect. Here's a quick way to get rid of red eye:

1. Choose the Paintbrush tool.2. Choose a soft-edged brush that is about the same size as the eye you want to

fix.

3. In Photoshop's Options bar, change the blend mode to Color.4. Paint a few strokes over the eye.5. The red eye disappears as you paint.

Add reflective glintsThis is a quick technique for adding little reflective "glints" to your image:

1. Choose the Airbrush tool.2. Make white your foreground color. (Press the letter "d" and then the letter "x.")3. In the brushes menu's drop-down palette, choose Assorted Brushes to load an

additional set of special-effect brushes.

4. Choose the 48-pixel brush that looks like an "X."5. Paint a few "glints" on your image.6. After you've added a few glints, go back and choose a standard round soft-edged

brush.7. Click and hold for a moment in the center of each glint to add a nice little glow to

complete the effect.

8/6/2019 eBooks - Tutorial - Beginning Photoshop Tricks

5/5

Digital plastic surgeryIt's easy to perform a facial retouch to reduce the size of a subject's nose:

1. Use the Lasso tool to draw a very loose selection around the person's nose.2. Go under the Select menu and choose Feather. (By adding a feather, we'll be

able to soften the edges of our selection and make the retouch more believable.)3. When the Feather dialog box appears, enter 10 pixels and click OK.4. Press Control-J (or on Mac press Command-J) to put the selected nose area on

its own layer.5. Press Control-T (Command-T on a Mac) to enter Photoshop's Free Transform

function.6. Hold Shift-Alt-Control (on Mac press Shift-Option-Command) and drag the top

left handle inward to add a perspective effect and shrink the nose.7. Release those keys.8. Grab the top center handle and drag downward so the nose doesn't look

distorted.

See a "before and after" by hiding the nose layer from view -- just click onthe Eyeball icon in the first column to the left of the Background layer.