UNIT –III

Adjustments, Retouching, Tonal Adjustment, Color Adjustment

The powerful tools in Photoshop can enhance, repair, and correct the color and tonality (lightness,
darkness, and contrast) in an image. Here are some items to consider before making color and tonal
adjustments.
 Work with a monitor that’s calibrated and profiled. For critical image editing, calibration and
profiling are essential. Otherwise, the image you see on your monitor looks different on other
monitors or when printed.
 Plan to use adjustment layers to adjust the tonal range and color balance of your image.
Adjustment layers let you go back and make successive tonal adjustments without discarding
or permanently modifying data from the image layer. Keep in mind that using adjustment
layers adds to the file size of the image and demands more RAM from your computer.
Accessing the color and tonal commands in the Adjustments panel automatically creates
adjustment layers.
 If you don’t want to use adjustment layers, you can apply adjustments directly to an image
layer. Remember that some image information is discarded, when making a color or tonal
adjustment directly to an image layer.
 For critical work and maximum preservation of image data, it’s best if the image you work
with is 16 bits per channel (16-bit image) rather than 8 bits per channel (8-bit image). Data is
discarded when you make tonal and color adjustments. The loss of image information is more
critical in an 8-bit image than a 16-bit image. Generally, 16-bit images have a larger file size
than 8-bit images.
 Duplicate or make a copy of the image file. Working on a copy of your image preserves the
original in the event you want to use the image in its original state.
 Remove any flaws such as dust spots, blemishes, and scratches from the image before making
color and tonal adjustments.
 Open the Info or Histogram panel in Expanded view. As you evaluate and correct the image,
both panels display invaluable feedback on your adjustments.
 You can make a selection or use a mask to confine your color and tonal adjustments to part of
an image. Another way to apply color and tonal adjustments selectively is to set up your
document with image components on different layers. Color and tonal adjustments are applied
to only one layer at a time. Only the image components on the targeted layer are affected.

Adjusting the tonality and color of an image:

1. Use the histogram to check the quality and tonal range of the image.
2. Make sure that the Adjustments panel is open to access color and tonal adjustments.
Click an icon to access the adjustments described in the following steps. Applying
corrections from the Adjustments panel creates an adjustment layer, which gives you
more flexibility and doesn’t discard image information.
3. Adjust the color balance to remove unwanted color casts or to correct oversaturated or
under saturated colors.
4. Adjust the tonal range, using either the Levels or Curves adjustments.
Begin tonal corrections by adjusting the values of the extreme highlight and shadow
pixels in the image, setting an overall tonal range for the image. This process is known
as setting the highlights and shadows or setting the white and black points. Setting the
 highlights and shadows typically redistributes the midtone pixels appropriately.
However, you might need to adjust your midtones manually.
To adjust the tonality in just shadow and highlight areas, use the Shadow/Highlight
command.
5. (Optional) Make other color adjustments.
After you correct the overall color balance of your image, you can make optional
adjustments to enhance colors or produce special effects.
6. Sharpen the edges in the image.
As one of the final steps, use the Unsharp Mask or the Smart Sharpen filter to sharpen
the clarity of edges in the image. The amount of sharpening required for an image varies
according to the image quality produced by the digital camera or scanner you use.
See Sharpen images.
7. (Optional) Target the image for printer or press characteristics.
You can use options in the Levels or Curves adjustments to import highlight and shadow
information into the gamut of an output device, like a desktop printer. This procedure
can also be done if you are sending your image to a printing press, and know the
characteristics of the press.
Because sharpening increases the contrast of neighboring pixels, it’s possible that some
pixels in critical areas might become unprintable on the printer or press that you’re
using. For this reason, it’s best to fine-tune the output settings after sharpening.

Apply a correction using the Adjustments panel

1. In the Adjustments panel, click an adjustment icon or choose an adjustment from the panel
menu.
2. Use the controls and options in the Properties panel to apply the settings you want.
3. (Optional) Do any of the following:
o To toggle the visibility of the adjustment, click the Toggle Layer Visibility button.
o To return the adjustment to its original settings, click the Reset button.
o To discard an adjustment, click the Delete This Adjustment Layer button.
o To expand the width of the Adjustment panel, drag a bottom corner of the panel.

Adjusting image color and tone with adjustment layers

1. In the Adjustments panel, click the tool icon for the adjustment you want to make:
a. For tonality and color, click Levels or Curves.
b. For adjusting color, click Color Balance or Hue/Saturation.
c. For converting a color image to black and white, click Black & White.
2. In the Properties panel, adjust the adjustment layer tool settings.

Retouching an image, Retouch by hand:

 Editing a photo means spending a few minutes making partial changes to the photo,
preserving the composition of the photo.
 Photo editing is a very simple process. You only need to make simple edits to the image,
such as cropping adding stickers, applying filters, resizing, adjusting the brightness and
contrast of the image etc.
  When simple editing can not make it, you need to retouch the photos.
 Basic retouching takes more time than photo editing. You may need to remove facial
wrinkles from a portrait, beautify the portrait, plasticize the body, adjust the features, and
even remove or add a background.
 Retouching means making more changes and manipulating the photo.

Steps to retouch an image:

1. Duplicate the image layer to avoid damaging the original layer.
2. Use the Patch Tool to remove wrinkles. Click and drag the Patch Tool to draw around a wrinkle,
then click inside the selection and drag it onto another part of the skin to replace the wrinkle.
3. Use the Clone Stamp Tool to eliminate eye bags. Define a point where the eye bags are and set
the opacity of the brush to 20%. Paint over it a few times with the brush until the puffiness is
eliminated.
4. Use the Spot Healing Spot Tool to remove blemishes. This tool automatically removes spots
marks, dirt and dust quickly and easily.
5. Save and export the image.

Smudge Tool, Effects, Filters, Blurring, Sharpening:

Some of the tools used for readymade retouching are as given in the below figure. The remove
tool is a powerfull tool used widely for retouching effects.
The Remove tool uses intelligent technology to remove unwanted objects when a user brushes
over them and automatically fills in the background while preserving the integrity of objects and
depth in complex and varied backgrounds.
This feature is particularly powerful when removing larger objects while respecting boundaries
between objects.
For example, the tool can remove an entire building or car from a mountain landscape image while
maintaining the fidelity of the mountainous terrain.

Blur and Sharpen tool

Many times we have several photos (either portraits or landscapes) where we have some parts that
we do not want to show for reasons or to make the image more attractive. This can be done in
Photoshop using the blur tool in Photoshop. Thus, the Blur tool as the name suggests helps to blur
some parts of the image to hide the details or add create a field in Photoshop. Blurring an image
helps us to put more focus on the main subjects of the image. It can also be used to hide some
private information like the numbers written on the number plate of the car or the text inside
someone’s contact list. It is one of the easiest tools to use in Photoshop.

The work of sharpen tool is just the opposite of the Blur tool. As the name suggests the sharpen
tool sharpens the less focused part of the image and makes it stand out. The sharpen tool makes
the parts of the image sharp by increasing the contrast between the pixels by making the light
pixels lighter and the dark pixels darker. Thus making the image clearer and more vivid.

Smudge tool:
The word smudge means “a smeary state”. We all might have smudged with ink or colors in
childhood as shown below:

The smudge tool has a similar function to the one shown above. The smudge helps to mix or
blend contents in an area of the Photoshop document. The smudge tools make the blending of
colors very similar to that of how we mix colors with our paintbrush to produce different color
combinations. The smudge tool is used for various different purposes, like retouching photos,
producing artistic color patterns and effects, and so on.

Step 1: Open a new blank document in Photoshop.

Step 2: With the help of the brush tool paint one color(say green) at the upper part of the canvas
and with another color (say yellow) at the lower part as shown below:

Step 3: Now choose the smudge tool from the Photoshop tool palette and at the boundary
between the two colors(here yellow and green) just apply the brush like painting.
Step 4: You will see a messy smeared effect as shown below:

From the above image, it can be easily understood that using the smudge tool produces an effect
like mixing the colors with the help of a wet paintbrush in real life.

Options of Smudge Tool

Whenever we use the smudge tool in Photoshop, we see a properties/options bar. The
properties/option bar of the smudge tool has the following options:
1. Brush Size
The left-most one in the properties bar. As we click on it, the dialog box showing the brush
setting opens up. We can choose our own brush and change the size of the brush, the hardness
of the brush.
2. Mode
The usual blending modes are present in every other tool, like brush tools. By default, the value
of the mode is set to normal. There are a total of six modes in the smudge tool including the
Normal mode. They are Darken, Lighten, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity.

3. Strength
Strength gives the value of the blending and smudge effect. If the value of strength is more then,
the smudging effect is also more. This option has a value in the range of 1-100%.

4. Sample data from all layers

When this option is checked, the smudge tool samples all the layers and treats them as a single
layer.

5. Finger painting
This option is like when we have taken a paint of any color in our fingers and we are smudging
our fingers in a wet canvas. Now, when we enable finger painting, we smudge with the current
foreground color on each stroke unlike the other cases when we are smudging with the current
color underneath the pointer.

6. Pen pressure
This option is only useful or can be seen when you are using a graphics tablet. If this option is
enabled, then the brush will set the pressure according to the pressure applied in the pen. If not,
then the pressure will be applied as mentioned in the brush preset.

Thus, the smudge tool is also a very favorite tool of digital artists. They use it to create some
very wonderful backgrounds with this tool. One such example is shown below. Smudge tools
can also be used to create many customized patterns presets. It helps to retouch the edges of the
painting with the background in digital artwork. Nevertheless, the importance of the Smudge
tool has been greatly reduced because of the Mixer Brush tool.
Here’s given below is the example of a background created by smudging color using the smudge
tool:

Special Effects, Distortion :

Diffuse Glow:
 The Diffuse Glow filter renders an image as though it were viewed through a soft diffusion filter.
This filter adds see-through white noise to an image, with the glow fading from the center of a
selection.

Displace
The Displace filter uses an image, called a displacement map, to determine how to distort a
selection. For example, using a parabola-shaped displacement map, you can create an image that
appears to be printed on a cloth held at its corners.

This filter requires a displacement map file composed of either a flattened image saved in
Photoshop format or an image in bitmap mode. You can use your own files or the files included in
the locations:
 C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Presets\Textures
 C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Required\Plug-Ins\Displacement Maps

Apply the Displace filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Select Filter> Distort > Displace.
3. To define the magnitude of the displacement, enter a value between -999 and 999 in the
Horizontal and Vertical Scale text boxes.
When the horizontal and vertical scales are 100%, the greatest displacement is 128 pixels
(because middle gray produces no displacement).
4. If the displacement map is not the same size as the selection, select how you want the map
to fit the image:
Stretch To Fit Resizes the map.
Tile Fills the selection by repeating the map in a pattern.
5. Select how to fill voids that are created by the filter in the image, and click OK.
Wrap Around Fills voids with content from the opposite edge of the image.
Repeat Edge Pixels Extends the colors of pixels along the image’s edge in the
direction you specify.
6. Select and open the displacement map. Photoshop Elements applies the map to the image.

Glass
The Glass filter makes an image appear as if it were being viewed through different types of glass.
You can choose a glass effect or create your own glass surface as a Photoshop file and apply it.
You can adjust scaling, distortion, and smoothness settings. To apply your own texture file,
click the icon and select Load Texture.

Liquify
The Liquify filter makes it easy to manipulate areas of an image as if those areas had been melted.
You work with a preview image of the current layer, using special tools to warp, twirl, expand,
contract, shift, or reflect areas of the image. You can make subtle changes to retouch an image or
drastic distortions to create an artistic effect.

Apply the Liquify filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
 2. Choose Filter > Distort > Liquify.
3. To zoom in on or out of the image preview, do one of the following:
 Choose a zoom level from the pop-up menu in the lower-left area of the dialog box.
 Select the Zoom tool from the toolbox in the dialog box, and click in the image to
zoom in, or Alt-click (Option-click in Mac OS) to zoom out. You can also use the
Zoom tool to drag over an area of the preview you want to magnify.
 Select a tool from the toolbox.
4. Select one of the following tools from the toolbox:
 Warp - Pushes pixels forward as you drag.
 Twirl Clockwise - Rotates pixels clockwise as you hold down the mouse button or
drag.
 Twirl Counter Clockwise - Rotates pixels counterclockwise as you hold down the
mouse button or drag.
 Pucker - Moves pixels toward the center of the brush area as you hold down the
mouse button or drag.
 Bloat - Moves pixels away from the center of the brush area as you hold down the
mouse button or drag.
 Shift Pixels - Moves pixels perpendicularly to the stroke direction. Drag to move
pixels to the left, and Alt-drag (Option-drag in Mac OS) to move pixels to the right.
 Reconstruct - Fully or partially reverses the changes you’ve made.
5. In the Tool Options section, adjust the brush size and pressure of the tool, as needed:
 To change the brush size, drag the pop-up slider, or enter a brush size value
from 1 to 15000 pixels.
 To change the brush pressure, drag the pop-up slider, or enter a brush pressure
value from 1 to 100.
6. To apply the changes in the preview image to the actual image, click OK.
7. (Optional) To revert to a previous state, do one of the following:
 Select the Reconstruct tool and hold down the mouse button or drag over the distorted
areas. The restoration occurs more quickly at the brush center. Shift-click to reconstruct
in a straight line between the current point and the previous point that you clicked.
 To restore the entire preview image to its state when you opened the dialog box, press
Alt (Option in Mac OS) and click Reset. Alternatively, click Revert to restore the
original image and reset the tools to their previous settings.

Ocean Ripple
 The Ocean Ripple filter adds randomly spaced ripples to the image's surface, making
the image look as if it were under water.

Pinch
The Pinch filter squeezes a selection or layer inward or outward.

Apply the Pinch filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Choose Distort > Pinch from the Filter menu.
3. Drag the slider to the right, into positive values, to pinch a selection inward toward its
center; or to the left, into negative values, to shift a selection outward. Then click OK.
Polar Coordinates
The Polar Coordinates filter converts a selection from its rectangular to polar coordinates, and vice
versa, according to a selected option. You can use this filter to create a cylinder anamorphosis art
popular in the 18th century in which the distorted image appears normal when viewed in a mirrored
cylinder.

Ripple
The Ripple filter creates an undulating pattern on a selection, like ripples on the surface of a pond.
For greater control, use the Wave filter. Options include the amount and size of ripples.

Shear
The Shear filter distorts an image along a curve.

Apply the Shear filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Choose Distort > Shear from the Filter menu.
3. To define a distortion curve, do one of the following in the Shear dialog box:
 Click anywhere on either side of the vertical line.
 Click on the vertical line, and then drag the new curve point.
 You can drag any point along the curve to adjust the distortion, and you can add
additional curve points.
4. Select one of the following in the Undefined Areas options and click OK:
Wrap Around - Fills new voids in the image with content from the opposite side of the
image.
Repeat Edge Pixels - Extends the colors of pixels. Banding may result if the edge pixels
are different colors.
You can click Defaults to start over and return the curve to a straight line.

Spherize
The Spherize filter gives objects a 3D effect by wrapping a selection around or inside a spherical
shape, distorting and stretching the image.

Apply the Spherize filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Choose Distort > Spherize from the Filter menu.
3. For Amount, enter a positive value to stretch the image outward as though it were wrapped
around a sphere. Enter a negative amount to compress the image inward as though it were
wrapped inside a sphere.
4. For Mode, choose normal, horizontal, or vertical, and then click OK.

Twirl
The Twirl filter rotates an image or selection more sharply in the center than at the edges.
Specifying an angle produces a twirl pattern. You can drag the slider to the right into positive
values to twirl the image clockwise, drag the slider to the left into negative values to twirl
counterclockwise, or enter a value between -999 and 999.
Wave
The Wave filter creates an undulating pattern on a layer or selection.

Apply the Wave filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Choose Distort > Wave from the Filter menu.
3. Select a wave type in the Type section: Sine (creates a rolling wave pattern), Triangle, or
Square.
4. To set the number of wave generators, drag the slider or enter a number between 1 and 999.
5. Drag the minimum and maximum Wavelength sliders to set the distance from one wave
crest to the next. Set both sliders to the same value to create a consistent pattern of wave
crests.
6. Drag the minimum and maximum Amplitude sliders to set the wave strength.
7. Drag the horizontal and vertical Scale sliders to set the height and width of the wave effect.
8. To apply random results based on the set of values in the dialog box, click Randomize.
You can click Randomize multiple times to get more results.
9. Select one of the following and click OK:
Wrap Around- Fills the voids in the image with content from the opposite edge of the
image.
Repeat Edge Pixels- Extends the colors of pixels along the image’s edge in the direction
specified.
ZigZag - The ZigZag filter distorts a selection radially, depending on the radius of the
pixels in your selection.

Apply the ZigZag filter

1. In the Edit workspace, select an image, layer, or a specific area.
2. Choose Distort > ZigZag from the Filter menu.
3. Drag the Amount slider to set the level and direction of distortion.
4. Drag the Ridges slider to set the number of direction reversals for the zigzag from the center
to the edge of the selection.
5. Choose a displacement option from the Style menu and click OK:
Around Center - Rotates the pixels around the center of the selection.
Out From Center - Produces a rippling effect toward or away from the center of the
selection.
Pond Ripples - Produces a rippling effect that distorts the selection to the upper left or
lower right.

Merge layer:
Layers are the fundamental building blocks of photo editing and design in Photoshop. Merge them
to reduce file size and make images easier to work with.
Layers in Photoshop are like transparent sheets of paper that lie on top of one another and allow
you to make precise edits to certain areas of your image one at a time. Merging layers is when you
combine two or more separate layers into a single layer. When this happens, the data on the top
layer replaces any data it overlaps with on the lower layers. Any transparent areas that intersect
remain transparent.
Ways to merge layers.
1. Use the Merge Layers keyboard shortcut.
The easiest way to merge layers is to click on one layer, hold Shift, and click on another. Then
press Ctrl+E on Windows or Command+E on Mac to merge the two layers.

2. Use the Merge Layers tool.

To use the Merge Layers tool, simply select one layer and then another using the method above.
Then, instead of using the keyboard shortcut, go to the Layers panel and select Layers › Merge
Layers.

3. Merge all layers falling within a specific shape.

You can merge layers with a Clipping Mask, which is a layer that defines the shape and boundaries
of a group of layers. A triangular clipping mask, for instance, will define the same triangular
boundaries to all of the layers grouped within it. First, hide any layers that you don’t want to merge.
Then select the base layer in the Clipping Mask. Finally, go to the menu and choose Layers ›
Clipping Mask.
4. Merge all visible layers and layer groups.
As you work, you toggle the eye icon on and off to make certain layers appear and disappear from
your project. To merge all visible layers, use the eye icon to ensure all your desired layers are
visible. Then go to the menu and select Layers › Merge Visible.

5. Combine multiple layers to create a background.

When you flatten layers in Photoshop, you merge several visible layers into a single background
layer. To do so, make sure all the layers you want to flatten are visible, and then choose Layers ›
Flatten Image from the menu.

Keep in mind that merging layers is what’s known as a “destructive” editing method. You can’t
go back and change it when you’re done. Be sure to back up your layers if you want to work with
them again.

Guide Layer:
Rulers and guides are helpful features that aid users in the alignment and placement of objects.
Rulers are shown at the top and to the left of your Photoshop canvas to help you measure and align.
You may also drag guides from the rulers to add a grid or set of guides to help you place or align
objects.
The steps below will show you how to set your Rulers and Guide preferences, show rulers, add
guides, and hide rulers and guides.

Change Unit / Increment Preferences

  In the menu, click on Photoshop and select Preference and
General. The Preferences pop-up window will appear.
 Select Units & Rulers from the sidebar in the pop-up window and adjust your ruler to
inches, pixels, millimeters, or other unit of measurement you wish to use.
 Click the OK button when you are finished.

How to Show Document Rulers

 To show the Rulers in Photoshop, either go to View in the menu and select Rulers, or press
CMD+R (Mac) or CTRL+R (Windows) on your keyboard.
 To hide Rulers in Photoshop, either go to View in the menu and deselect Rulers, or
press CMD+R (Mac) or CTRL+R (Windows) on your keyboard.

Creating and Working with Guides:

 Create a Guide: Hover your cursor over either the left or top Ruler. Click on the Ruler and
drag it as if you were trying to move it onto your document. You will see a thin line appear
as you drag from the Ruler and this is your Guide. Use the Ruler to help you place
the Guide in your desired location.
 Move a Guide: Hover your cursor over the Guide and click and drag to move it.
  Hide / Show Guides: Go to View in the menu and select Show and select Guides to toggle
hide and show guides.
 Delete Guides: Drag the guides back onto the Ruler, or use the Move Tool to select each
guide and press the DELETE key.
 Change Guide Appearance:
In the menu, click on Photoshop and
select Preference and General. The Preferences pop-up window will
appear. Select Guides, Grids, and Slices from the sidebar and adjust the colors of your
guides as desired.

Layer Palette, Layer effects, Layer Sequence Masking Effect, Layer, styles, Background
layer, Adding image to background Layer, Filters:
Layers are one of Photoshop’s most powerful features as they are individual slices of information
that can be stacked or moved to create your image composition. With layers, you can draw, edit,
paste, and reposition elements on one layer without disturbing the others.

This graphic shows how layers would be stacked to create a composite. Layers contain both
transparent and opaque elements, so keep this in mind when stacking. Looking at the example,
notice that the top layer that contains text saying, "Photoshop 'till you drop!". Only the text in that
layer is opaque and the rest of the layer is transparent so that information below it - the person,
cursor, and background color - are still seen. In Photoshop, transparency is identified by a white
and gray checkered pattern.

Lets see how to move, organize, and change settings using layers:
Navigating and Organizing Layers
The organization of layers and the ability to easiliy navigate are very important factors when
working with layers. This section will show you how to select, move, create folders, search, and
organize layers.

Selecting a Layer
In order to perform most actions in Photoshop, you will need
to have at least one layer selected.
1. To select a layer, just click on it in the Layers Palette. The layer will turn blue [shown
below] to indicate that it has been selected.
 Example of a selected layer.

2. To select several layers, hold down the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key on your
keyboard and click on each layer you would like to have selected. To select several
consecutive layers, select the first layer and then hold the SHIFT key and select the last
layer.

Moving Layers
As you know, the order in which layers are stacked does make a difference to the appearance of
your image. It is important that you know how to move layers so that you are able to change the
order of them as needed.
1. Select the layer(s) you wish to move.
2. Click and hold your mouse and drag the layer to the desired position. A thick line will
appear between layers to indicate where the layer will be dropped. Once you have the
layer where you want it, release your mouse and the layer will move to the new location.

1. Select the Layer 2. Drag the Layer

Finding Layers
Almost every Photoshop document has more than one layer and those layers can quickly become
overwhelming and and make it hard to find anything. Fortunately, there are some tools to help
find different types of layers.
 1. Click on the Search Dropdown ( ), to select whether you want to search
layers by Kind, Name, Effect, Mode, Attribute, or Color.
2. After selecting a search method, use the options to the right of the Search Dropdown to
select additional attributes to return search results.

1. Search Dropdown 2. Select layer attributes

Creating Groups
Another feature to help keep you and your layers organized is to create folders, also known as
groups. You can add layers to a group and organize them however you wish.
1. Create a new folder by clicking the "Create a new group" button ( ) at the bottom of
the layers palette.
2. Drag layers onto the group folder layer to add them to the group.
3. Double-click on the Group Name in the Layers Palette to rename it.

1. Click "Create new group" icon 2. Drag layers into the group

Types of Layers
There are many types of layers! Some layers are pieces of a final image that you are putting
together, some are shape or text layers (created automatically), and some are fill or adjustment
layers. Fill or adjustment layers allow you to play with different colors or effects without
changing your main image. If you change your mind, you can delete or alter the fill or
adjustment layer, and your original image layer is still intact.

Background Layer
Whenever you first open an image in Photoshop, the default layer containing that image will be
called the Background Layer. The Background Layer is a protected layer, and many filters and
effects cannot be applied to background layers.

Background layers will always be named, "Background", and will be locked, or protected, by
default. To unprotect the background, double-click layer's name in the Layers Palette, a dialog
box will appear where you can change the layer nameand other details if you'd like, click OK and
your layer will now be unprotected.

Image Layer
Image Layers are layers that contain any image information. Whenever we create a new layer, by
default it is an Image Layer. The Layer Thumbnail of Image Layers contains a preview of the
cotents of that layer.

Adjustment Layer :
Adjustment Layers are layers that contain only image adjustment information and can be deleted
or modified at any time. Adjustment Layers are a recommended way to make color and tone
adjustments to your images because they are non-destructive to your image.

Adjustment Layers are very flexible by allowing the user to easily modify, mask, or delete them.
Double clicking on the Layer Thumbnail will allow you to made changes to the Adjustment Layer.

Type Layer
Type Layers contain only live type. They can be created and edited through the use of the Type
Tool ( ).

Fill Layer
Fill layers can contain solid colors, gradients, or patterns. Create a new Fill Layer by going
to Layer in the menu and selecting New Fill Layer and selecting either Solid
Color, Gradient, or Pattern
.
Shape Layer
Shape Layers contain shapes drawn using the Shape Tools. To edit a shape layer, select the layer
and the Shape Tool for options.

Parts of a Layer
Understanding the parts of the layer will help you better understand how layers work and allow
you start taking advantage of the many layer features. Layers are more than just a singular objects,
but they can contain many parts and features that help you use layers to your full advantage. Below
is a screenshot of a layer and an explanation of all the major parts and features.

Layer Thumbnail

This thumbnail shows the contents of the current layer, or, if it is an Adjustment Layer, the
Adjustment icon.
Tip: Press the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and click on the Layer Thumbnail to create a
selection of all the contents of that layer.

Layer Mask
A Layer Mask is like the stencil to a layer. Layer Masks allow certain parts of a particular layer to
be shown or hidden. Areas of white in the masks are shown while areas of black are hidden.
 Create a new mask by selecting a layer and then clicking the ( ) icon at the bottom of
the Layers Palette.
 Edit a mask by selecting the Layer Mask Thumbnail within the layer and use the
paintbrush to paint
o Tip: Press the CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and click on the mask
thumbnail to create a selection of all the contents of that mask.
 Change mask properties by going to Window and then selecting Properties to reveal
the Properties Palette.

Looking at Layer Masks...

The Layer Mask acts as a stencil to layers. Without a Layer Mask, the entire image would have an
orange fill. With a Layer Mask, you can indicate which parts of the layer should be shown (white)
and which areas should be hidden (black).
Look at the circular Layer Mask in the image to the left and compare it to the orange circle on the
image to see how the mask works.

Layer Name
This indicates the name of the layer. By default, the name will be determined by the type of layer
it is.
 Rename a layer by double-clicking on the Layer Name, typing in a new name, and hitting
the ENTER key.
Visibility Toggle

This is a handy layer feature that allows to to show and hide particular layers without having to
delete them.
 Hide or Show a layer by clicking on the eyeball icon to toggle visibility.

Layer and Mask Link

This link icon appears whenever you add a Layer Mask to a layer. The link helps ensure that any
changes to the layer is also applied to the layer mask.
 Link or unlink a Layer Mask by clicking on the link icon ( ) in the layer.

Layer Features
Layers are so powerful because of the many features and effects that can be applied to layers.
Learning layer features will help you create some creative and unique effects for all of your images
or composites. We have outlined some of the major features of layers in this section.

Opacity and Fill

The Opacity and Fill commands allow you to change the opacity (or transparency) of a layer. Both
commands work the same except for one difference. In the circles shown below, notice that the
Opacity change affects both the fill and stroke of the circle and the Fill change affects only the fill
and not the stroke of the circle. Opacity and Fill changes can drastically change the appearance of
a layer and are recommended when trying to blend objects or make adjustments more subtle.
Blending Modes
Blending modes affect the appearance of layers and how they will display. Blending modes are
broken down into five different groupings that affect the layer differently. The best way to use
Blending Modes is to mix and match them and experiment with different variations.

Blending Mode Dropdown

List of Blending Modes

Locking Layers
Locking layers can be a handy tool when working in Photoshop. There are several ways to lock
the layer or layer contents. Each layer can be locked by selecting the layer, and then selecting the
type of lock. Below are the types of locks.
Layer Buttons

There are several buttons that live at the bottom of the layers palette, which we will explore in this
sections. Many of these buttons perform actions that can be found in other locations within the
program, but are also in the Layers Palette for convenience and ease. These buttons are outlined
below:
Link layers - Select two or more layers and click this button to link them together. Linking
means that they will all move together.
Add a new layer style - This button allows you to add a new layer style without
going to Layer and selecting Layer Style in the menu.
Add layer mask - Clicking this will add a new layer mask to the selected layer.
Create new fill or adjustment layer - This button allows you to add a new layer style
without using the Adjustments Palette.
Create a new group - Click this to create a new group (aka folder). Drag layers into this
group to organize them.
Create a new layer - Clicking this will create a new, empty layer.
Delete layer - Select a layer or multiple layers and click this button to permanently delete
them.
Merging and Flattening Layers

If you ever need to combine several layers or need to flatten the entire image, then use the merge
and flatten commands.

 Combine or merge several layers by selecting the layers, and then right-clicking on the
Layer Name of one of the selected layers. Select "Merge Selected" from the menu and all
selected layers will be combined into one.
 Combine or merge only visible layers () by right clicking on the Layer Name of any visible
layer and selecting "Merge Visible".
 Flatten an entire image by right-clicking on the Layer Name of any layer and selecting
"Flatten Image"