photoshop tips

1. Nudging layers
Finding it hard to position layers and selections precisely? Using the arrow keys lets you
'nudge' them into position one pixel at a time. Hold down the Shift key and they move in
larger ten-pixel increments instead.

2. Clearing up clutter
No matter how carefully you arrange your palettes they can still obscure parts of the
image. Hit the Tab key to hide the lot, then hit Tab again to show them. Use Shift-Tab if
you want the Tool palette to remain visible. Sometimes you need to step back, hide all the
interface clutter and just see your image on the screen. Hit the F key to display the image
full-screen, hit it again to hide the menu bar and a third time to return to normal.

3. Don't get snappy
Photoshop will try to snap selections or Crop marquees to the edge of the image if they get
close enough. This can be a nuisance; to stop it doing so, hold down the Control/Command
key as you drag.

4. Recovering selections
Nightmare! It's just taken you about half an hour to create a really complex selection, and
now you've gone and accidentally deselected it. Arrgh! Well all you have to do is hit
Shift-Control/Command-D to get it back.
5. Controlled selections
Hold down Shift while dragging to create perfect circles or squares with the elliptical and
rectangular marquee tools respectively. Hold Shift-Option-Drag to draw them from the
centre.
6. Selective merging
You don't have to flatten all the layers in an image, since you can merge the current layer
with the layer below by hitting Control/Command-E. If the layers aren't adjacent, link them
first and choose Merge Linked from the Layer Options dialog.

7. Filter tips
Most of Photoshop's filters give you a good deal of control over the strength of the effect
you apply. You can gain even more control after you've applied it, though, by using the
Fade option on the Filter menu to change the opacity and blending mode.

8. Hollywood glamour
Trying to reproduce the soft-focus highlights of old-fashioned showbiz photos is tricky using
normal techniques, but the Diffuse Glow filter does a great job in double-quick time.

9. Digital darkroom
Black and white photographers use coloured filters to change the tonal balance of their
images. You can do the same using the Channel Mixer, checking the Monochrome box.
Wind up the red channel for dark, dramatic skies.

10. Softer clipping paths
It's near-impossible to create decent-looking clipping paths around human hair, so try
softening the outline with the Airbrush, using the final background colour, then create the
clipping path a few millimetres away.