Photoshop Tips: Creating and Adjusting in Layers.

• Lesson One: Copying, Resizing and Cropping
• Lesson Two: Create and Adjust in Layers {below}

Tip #4 – Work from different layers.
 When you first open your image, you have one layer, called the “Background” on the layers tab.

You want to leave that Background layer alone (it’s locked anyway) and make a copy to work off of. That way you can always compare any changes on any layers to the original. Plus it is easy to get back to the original image if you want to start a process over again. The little eye on the left side of the layer shows you whether it is visible or not.

You can have as many layers as you want and renaming them really helps keep down the confusion. Think of layers as a stack of papers. The layer at the top of the list is the one you see on top, just like the bottom layer is the last one on the list (usually the background). To change the order of your layers, just left-click one and drag it higher or lower on the list.

For each layer, you can change the opacity (the strength at which you see that layer). So you can show the layer at 100% (full strength – which means you won’t see anything below it) or at any partial strength (which means you will see some of the layer below). This comes in handy when you want to show an effect over your original photo but at a reduced strength to make it less dramatic. There are also different effects you can apply to that layer by selecting the little drop down menu that says “Normal” (the default).

[PSE users - both the copy icon and the trash can icon are also also found on the layers lab , but in slightly different places. Everything else about layers is the same as PS.]

Tip #5 – Minor corrections can bring out that wow factor.
Understanding the exposure triangle that Aimee introduced us to in week #1 is essential to taking great photos. But, even if all your settings are correct and the exposure comes out fine, your picture might be missing that wow factor or richness you saw in real life. Remember, cameras use sensors to capture the same light that our eyes see, but technology has not been able to produce the kind of quality pictures that your eyes can…though DSLRs can sometimes come pretty close! There are a bunch of different ways you can make corrections to your image with PS. The most useful ones are under the Layer → New Layer Adjustment. You can adjust a lot of things individually, like “Brightness/Contrast” or “Hue/Saturation”, but a more powerful way to make many adjustments at once is to use either “Curves” and/or “Levels”. When you select off the “New Layer Adjustment menu”, it will automatically give you a new layer so you don’t have to worry about making a new layer here (from Tip #4). Just click “OK” when the screen pops up.

Note – you can find the same options from the New Layer Adjustment menu plus a few more under Image → Adjustments, but editing layers under New Layer Adjustment allows you a little more power to turn on and off your adjustments because you are working with layer masks. And if you use Image → Adjustments, make sure you make a new layer to work off of (see Tip #4) because choosing from this menu won’t give you a new layer. The examples below are using the New Layer Adjustment menu.

When using the “Levels” selection, you are changing the overall contrast by changing the black and white points on the image. The changes the overall range of tones in your image. You can also change your grey midpoint.

[PSE users - you can find the “Levels” setting under Layer → New Adjustment Layer and it is pretty much the same.]

“Curves” is the most powerful adjustment command in Photoshop. Although it seems similar to those of “Levels”, it lets you edit virtually any tonal range, or adjust several different ranges in different ways by changing the contrast curve. It takes a little playing with to get used to and you can put as many points in your curves as you want.

[PSE users - the “Curves” setting is a little different and has a more limited function on PSE than Photoshop. You can find it under Enhance → Adjust Color → Adjust Color Curves. It allows you to adjust highlights, midtones, and shadows in each color channel.] Sometimes I prefer to use Levels, while other times I use Curves. It just depends on the tones of the pictures. While you are learning to use both, I suggest you try both out on the same picture and then you can turn them “on” or “off” (using the little eye on the layer tab) and compare to see what you like best. You will figure out which one is better for different situations.

Here’s an example with a picture that I took of a deer the other day that was a little washed out and how I tried both curves and levels to fix the underexposed image as naturally as possible. The more you play with it, the better you will get at it, I promise!

How to Print on Burlap

Burlap Monogram Sign

Circut Fabric Appliques

Variegated Fritillary

This is definitely some fun stuff! If you have any questions you can email me at jamie {at} sewrockin.com.   I’ll be excited to teachyou a little more next week and I’d love to have you come for avisit…above are links to some of my favorite tutorials!