Photoshop Tutorial: How to add Invisible Digital Watermark

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Photoshop: How Invisible Digital to Watermark

Wikipedia describes ‘digital watermarking’ as “is the process of embedding information into a digital signal”. Watermarking can be embedded in audio, video and still images but for the purposes here, we are focusing our attention on adding a digital watermark on a still image or photograph.

There are two types of watermarking. The first and most common is the process of embedding invisible digital information to a file that is transferred, copied or saved along with the image. This means that if someone uses your image without your permission, you have proof that the image is yours, simplifying any recourse. In theory, no print shop or editor would use the image without permission from the owner of the copyright. However, this requires the watermark to be ‘read’, not something every editor or photo processing technician checks before using.

Watermarking should always be the last thing you do to an image before saving it as a finished product or compressing it for use so for this example, we are going to assume that all that any post-production on our image has already been done and we are happy with the finished product.

To add an invisible digital watermark to an image In Photoshop, first you must register with Digimarc Corporation so that you have your own, personal Digimarc I.D. number. Once that is set, open the image you want to register and click on Filter, then Digimarc and Embed Watermark.

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Once the Embed Watermark is selected, a second window pops up.

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In this window, there are several adjustments that you can make to how your watermark will behave once added to the file.

If you select the first parameter, Personalize Digimarc, another window pops open allowing you to enter your Digimarc I.D. Number:

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Select Okay and you go back to the original Embed Watermark window. The next bit of information you can customize is how you want the image classed – by Copyright Year, Image I.D. or by Transaction Number. Generally, copyright year works fine but if you have a specific way of classing your images, use Image I.D. Transaction I.D. refers to a specific job for a client or file name. Again, depending on how you file your images or jobs, this option may work better for you.

Image Attributes is self-explanatory – check off any that apply. Adult content does not filter adult images out at this time; however, in the future it might, protecting our children from inappropriate content.

Target Output is a bit difficult for most of us to classify – it is hard to say exactly where each image will eventually end up and since images can have only one watermark. What the pros do with images might be used for several purposes is to refrain from watermarking the image until just before sending the file to an editor, photo developer or posting the image on the web. This way they can customize the watermark for the specific use.

Watermark Durability refers to the visibility of the watermark once the information is embedded. The lower the durability rating, the cleaner the finished image is for print use. The higher the rating, the more noise can be seen in the image and only appropriate for use on the web.

Here is the image before applying a watermark:

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Same image with a low durability setting:

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And the same image with a high durability setting:

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The difference is hard to see on a computer monitor however, what is evident is an overall fuzziness to the image and a lack to the depth of colors.

To find the right balance between the visibility and the durability or strength of the watermark, slide the rule back and forth. For print use, the lowest possible durability is required whereas for posting on the web, the noise of a high durability setting will not be noticed.

Because there can only be one Digimarc watermark per image, Digimarc suggests experimenting on practice images to find the right level of durability before permanently embedding the information on your original image.

Once the Digimarc watermark is in place, to verify the information is indeed on the file, click on Filter, then Digimarc and finally Read Watermark and the information window will pop up:

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There is no surefire way of safeguarding your images completely – especially on the web. However, invisible watermarking is one way to make your images less desirable for would be creative property thieves!

Return tomorrow for Part Two on how to embed a visible watermark on your images for greater security when a clear image is not required!

Tags: How to Invisible Digital to Watermark, Photoshop Tutorial

Photoshop tutorial: dpi and Color Profiling

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Photoshop tutorial: dpi and Color Profiling

Anyone beyond the basic snapshot, point n’ shooter has heard of dpi – otherwise known as dots per inch. But how many people know what it actually means or how they affect the overall quality of your photography. And what about color profiling? Color profiling is maybe beyond the amateur photographer but anyone interested in increasing their knowledge and further improving the quality of their post-production images should have at least a basic understanding of how their digital camera ‘sees’ and how a computer then extrapolates that information.
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Dpi stands for ‘dots per square inch’ and is the industry standard for measuring the quality of an image – the higher the number, the greater the detail while the lower the amount, the grainier an image appears. Imagine a picture in an old newspaper and you get the idea of what low dpi looks like. Dots per square inch can be misleading in some applications however so often ‘pixels per square inch’ or ppi instead. Some video camera or computer monitor manufacturers have taken to counting the three layers of color as three separate drops so if the dpi sounds too good to be true, it probably is and ask what the ppi is instead!

In print production, 300 dpi is standard minimum resolution required for an image to reproduce at a high enough quality for magazine or book publication. Newspapers are still plagued by low quality printing and often only require 72 dpi images. For the web, 72 dpi is the most commonly used dpi so that image files are small and load more quickly. If a higher quality image is required, sometimes the image will be 96 or 128 dpi but rarely do you see a greater dpi then that on the web.

Color profiling or space refers to how colors are represented as an abstract mathematical model or, simply, by numbers. In digital photography, RGB is the most commonly used with a further choice of Adobe RGB and sRGB depending on the application. Adobe RGB is the industry standard for print reproduction of images and sRGB is commonly used as the preferred web based color space. CMYK is the print standard for graphic design so often, when working within promotional brochures, business cards and other graphic based settings, images will be switched to CMYK to maintain all aspects of the project on the same color space.

How do you check what the color space and dpi are of an image? The easiest way is to select an image in Adobe Bridge and then look at the metadata (in the default location on the lower, left hand corner) as seen below:

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Here you can clearly see all the pertinent information of an image including the dpi or resolution and color space of the image as well as the dimensions, file size, bit depth, file type and file name.

To lower the dpi of an image for use on the web or shrinking it for easier emailing, in the top navigation bar, click on Image, then Image Size and a window will pop up:

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The math on this image is easy – 300 dots per inch by 2 inches equals 600 total dots per square inch. There are several ways to adjust the size of an image – change the pixel dimensions by either lowering the number of actual pixels or by a percentage or change the document size by changing the physical size of the image or lowering the dpi. If you need to keep the image at the same proportions, make sure Constrain Proportions is checked. Scale Styles and Resample Image should be left in their default modes as seen above.

To quickly change the color space to CMYK for use in a brochure or other graphics project, click on Image, then Mode and then check CMYK Color:

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To convert to the image to the commonly used web color space sGRB, click on Edit, then Convert to Profile:

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The window that pops up should look like the one below:

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From here you can adjust the color profile to many different color spaces – ignore them all but the sRGB shown here:

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Notice you can also change to Working CMYK through this method if needed.

Learning about dpi and color space is important for all photographers – amateur and professional alike. The easiest way to keep your post-processing simple and uncomplicated is to set your camera to Adobe RGB and to the highest image quality possible – it is better to shrink images for emailing or use on the web then to risk wasting an incredible image because it is too small of a file for anything important.

To learn more about dpi, color profiling and how they affect your photography, refer to the manual for your camera and check back here for more tips to come.

Tags: Photoshop tutorial: dpi and Color Profiling

Photoshop: Batch Processing

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Photoshop:  Batch Processing

Every photographer makes a mistake now and then – over exposing, under exposing and not changing the custom white balance correction are probably the most common. Whether the mistake is caught quickly or a whole series of images are affected, the post-processing can take hours without the right tools. Do you have a ton of images that all need the same adjustments made? What if you need to do something as simple as renaming all the images in a folder? Then you may want to look at the Batch feature in Photoshop. Batch processing runs the same command or action on all the images in a folder, saving time and serious headaches when you are up against a deadline.
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First, to open the Batch window, select File, then click on Automate and finally Batch… like so:

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The next window that pops up should look something like this:

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The first adjustment to be made is to the Set and Action features so you can adjust the process to exactly what you want to change. In basic Batch processing, leave these as they are – more on these features in later tutorials.

Source refers to where the files you want to process are located. This can include a specific Folder, Importing from a digital camera, scanner or PDF document, Opened Files refers to any files that are currently open in the workspace and Bridge will process any selected images in Adobe Bridge. To save time and energy, import images directly from your camera through Batch processing and change the image name to match your filing system rather then import the images first, then changing their name in another step.

The next set of parameters are the classed as processing options. Override Action “Open” Commands is an advanced feature that overrides the Open commands that refer to specific file names rather then batched files. For now, leave it as unselected. Include all Subfolders is important if you have images in various files and subfolders. To turn off the display of color policy warning messages, select Suppress Color Profile Warnings. Again, the Suppress File Open Options Dialogs suppresses dialog boxes for files that are open, useful when working on camera raw image files.

Destination is self-explanatory. None makes the adjustments to the open image but does not save the file to any specific spot. Save and Close saves the file to the original location with the original name, replacing the existing file so be careful choosing this selection – you must be sure you do not need the original file for any reason. The Folder option is the most commonly used as it saves the new file to a specific spot, maintaining the integrity of the unprocessed original image. You can also change its name and/or extension, have the file number start at a specific number and adjust what operating systems are able to read the image.

The last adjustment is let the program know how to handle any errors it may come across while processing the images. You may have it Stop for Errors if it comes across any problems or the system can Log Errors to File as it works through the batch.

Once all the adjustments are made to how the Batch will be processed, click OK and let Photoshop do its magic.

Save time, energy and a few headaches by becoming familiar with all that the Batch feature in Photoshop can do for you and watch for upcoming articles on how to streamline this powerful feature even further!

Tags: Photoshop Batch Processing

Photoshop Tutorial CS3: Correcting Underexposed Images

Photoshop Tutorial cs3 Correcting Underexposed Images

In this particular tutorial we will be covering how to fix under exposed pictures that we’ve taken. The image that I have chosen for this tutorial was taken at Yosemite national Park and as you may have noticed has been used in several of my other tutorials. First off, open an image in Photoshop that you would like to correct.
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Then duplicate the layer. The quick command for this is control j. for a Mac it is command j.

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then in the blending mode drop down menu select screen

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Then with that first layer selected duplicate the layer again pc control j
Mac command j.

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Each time you duplicate this layer you will see your image getting lighter, duplicate layers until you reach the desired effect.

Just as a little something extra lets say that the clouds are a bit overexposed by the time you get to the third layer duplication but everything else looks good.
One of the things that I sometimes do is create a layer mask in order to put back some of the contrast that formally existed often times this will be in the sky or clouds.

In the layers palette with the last duplicated layer selected click on the add layer mask.

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that will add a layer mask that looks like this

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in order to use this layer mask you must select it by clicking on it, once you have done this it will have a black line around it.

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Now select a brush with a hardness of about 25 and a brush size of about 35. At this point everything that you brush over on your image with black selected as your foreground color will show through to the layer below it and if you switch that foreground color to white it will bring the top layer back the quick and command to toggle back and forth between these two is the letter X.

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From this image we see that the foreground color is set to white if we hit the X key it would switch to foreground color back to black.Now we just paint back the contrast
So now we can look at a before and after

Before

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After

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We will transform your cherished photo into beautiful canvas art

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Tags: cs3 under exposed images, Photoshop fix underexposed images, Under Exposed Images, Under Exposed Images Photoshop

Photoshop Tutorial: How to Watermark Your images

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Photoshop Tutorial: How to Watermark Your images

This type of watermarking images is visible, there is a way to do an invisible watermark witch will be covered in another tutorial  – most often used when working with a client who wants to proof the images before ordering and it is necessary to protect your investment from being copied. Old school film photographers usually had a ‘Proof’ stamp that they would put over the middle of the image but with digital, it is not quite that simple.

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To begin, open the image that you wish to watermark and adjust it as needed – levels, exposure, brightness/contrast, etc. Once that is done, make a note of the image size by selecting Image along the top navigation bar, then Image Size. A window pops up like this one:

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The first set of parameters is the dimensions of the image. If you would like to change the size of the image, this is where you do it. If the image is fine the way it is, make a note of the height and width. Click on OK to close the window.

Next, click on File and New to open to the New document window.

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The first parameter is the name of the New doc – if you have many watermarks to add to a number of images of the same size, then give it a name you will recognize. If the size of the document is a common size, there may already be a Preset. If not, set it to Custom and then add the image size in pixels in the appropriate places. For ease, keep the resolution the same as the image – minimum 300 dpi for print purposes and usually only 72 dpi for putting on the web. The most common Color Mode in photography is RGB Color (although many commercial graphics use CMYK) and 16-bit. Background Contents refers to the color of the background – in our case, we want Transparent. If you click the advanced arrow, you can also adjust the Color Profile, again, usually Adobe RGB (1998) for photography however if the image will end up on the web, sRGB has a smaller footprint. Keep Pixel Aspect Ratio to square for photography.

Once that is all set to your requirements, click OK and the new document will open up:

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From the Tool Palette (far left screen above), select the Text tool – the ‘T’.

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Click on the center of the new document and the information bar changes, allowing for changes to the font direction, the font, font strength, font size, orientation, font color and text warping function. Type in your chosen watermark and make any necessary adjustments. If you would like to apply some style to your text, right click on the text or select Layer from the top Nav bar, then click on Layer Style and adjust as you desire.

Once you have the text looking the way you like, save the file. Find your Layers Palette (usually the bottom right hand side of the screen) and right click on the one layer shown (in this example, it starts Copyright 2008…). Near the top of the list, click on Duplicate Layer and a new window pops open:

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The first parameter in the Duplicate Layer window is the opportunity to change the name. Photoshop automatically uses the wording in the Text and adds the word ‘copy’ on the end. The next parameter allows you to choose where you want to save the file. If you are doing a number of these images all the same sizes, you can save it to the original file and work off of that. If you are organized, you can save it to the image where you want the image to watermark to appear and the layer automatically adds itself to the image file.

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Click OK and the watermark layer automatically appears on the image.

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You can leave the watermark as it appears or adjust it to suit the image. To make the watermark less obvious while maintaining its effectiveness, adjust the opacity of it on the Layer Palette:

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You can also adjust the overall look of the watermark using the Style Palette:

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By using this photoshop tutorial the image is ready to be viewed by the clients as it is nearly impossible to remove the watermark without destroying the image yet they are still able to view the picture well enough to decide whether they want to order it.

Between the Invisible Watermark explained in Part One and the Visible Watermark here, your images are almost safe from theft.

For any out there who would like their pictures turned into canvas prints check out http://picturephotosoncanvas.com/

Tags: Photoshop Tutorial, Photoshop tutorial watermarking, Watermark Your images

Photoshop CS3: Removing Blemishes and Retouching

Photoshop CS3: Removing Blemishes / Part 1

You’ve probably heard the saying “no one is perfect”. That becomes very apparent when we are removing blemishes from portrait photos. The trick is to do it in a manner that looks natural. The goal is to maintain as much of the original skin texture is possible and use techniques that look natural and not pasty and fake. There are a few ways of doing this effectively. In the first technique we will explore the simplest process.

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The first step is to identify the blemishes that we want to remove. These could be moles or any other imperfections that detract from the photograph.

The second step is to choose the Clone Stamp tool in the Toolbox.

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Next identify the Brush Picker which is up in the options drop down bar and click onto that. You may wish to choose the soft edge brush that is slightly larger than the blemish that you want to remove. If you need to adjust the size then choose the Master Diameter slider at the top of the brush picker to dial in the size that you desire.

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Now you’re ready to go to work. If you need to make adjustments while you’re working use the Bracket Keys on your keyboard, the left key makes the brush smaller and the right makes it larger.

The next step is to blend the blemish into the skin. This is easily done by going to the Blend Mode on the Clone Stamp tool to lighten the area. When this function is set to lighten it only affects the pixels that are darker than the sample area. The lighter pixels which represent the average flesh tone will stay intact and only the darker pixels, that represent the blemish, will be modified.

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The fourth step is to find a location near the blemish on the skin that has no spots or darkened areas. Now hold the Option key which on your PC is the Alt-key and click once. This will take a skin sample from that area. You want to make sure that this sample area is very near to the blemish so that the skin tones will be averaged between the two. If you pick a location to far from the blemish then you risk having your repair appear as a slightly different color. So, you want to find something as close as possible that gives you the same skin tone value.

The next thing you want to do is move your cursor directly over the blemish and then left click just one time. Remember not to drag the cursor because this will paint across the picture if you do. If, after you’ve clicked, you’re not satisfied with the result, just hit undo and then center your cursor and click again, just once.

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Now that you have that down pat will get into some further trouble shooting. What if the blemish is lighter than the skin rather than being darker? Here you simply reverse the process. Change the blend mode to darken instead of lighten. It’s just that simple!
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After

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Photoshop CS3: Removing Blemishes / Part 2

There is another way to remove blemishes. This process can work well on larger areas that need to be modified. Go to the Lasso tool in the Toolbox. Go to the select menu and choose Feather. Enter one-pixel as your feather radius. What feathering does is blur the edges of your selected area. This helps hide the traces of the retouch. Feathering has a softening effect on the edges of the selection that you want to modify. This is an important tool that is used frequently as you do touch up.  You’ll want to return to use it frequently.  Find a clean area on your photo that represents the average skin tone of the spot that you need to correct. Now go to the area that you want to duplicate, use the lasso tool to make a selection that is a little bit larger than the blemish you want to remove. Let’s say that it’s a large area of discoloration.

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Okay, now that you’ve soften the edges of your selection hold Option-Command on your PC; this is the Alt-Control command on your keyboard. You’ll see your cursor change into two arrows: one white, one black. This is the signal that you’re going to copy the selected area. Inside your selection, click and drag this preferred skin area over to the blemish. Make sure that you completely cover it.

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On to the next step. Now that you’ve covered the blemish, release both of the keys and your mouse buttons simultaneously. Now you want to press Command-D, which on your PC is the Control-D key. This deselects your selection. Pretty neat! You can see how the skin texture is matched and blended almost perfectly.

Photoshop CS3: Removing Blemishes / Part 3

Let’s discuss another technique for removing blemishes. For this selection the blemish is more than a spot or large area of discoloration. In this case it may be a line, a wrinkle, dark circles under the eyes or something where you need to sweep across the photo to cover the blemish. In this case choose the Clone Stamp tool in the toolbox. Then, when you get your drop-down box from the options bar, choose a soft edge brush that’s about half as wide as the area that needs modification.
The next step is to go to the Options Bar and choose to lower the Opacity of the Clone Stamp tool to 50%. Once you’ve done that, change the blend mode to lighten. Now on your keyboard hold the Option key, which on your PC is the Alt key, and click one time in an area near to the selected area that isn’t affected by the blemish selection.
Now you’re ready to take the clone stamp tool and paint over the areas that you need to remove or modify. Hold down your left mouse button and pass the symbol over the area of the blemish. This may take more than one pass in order to blend the blemish. If this doesn’t work the first time hit undo and try it again. You can also make a second pass using a different Opacity percentage on your clone stamp tool to create a better match.

Photoshop CS3: Removing Dark Circles or Shadows Under Eyes

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First go to your toolbox and choose the Healing Tool that looks like a band-aid. When you get to the flag menu that appears to the right of the symbol you will see a Patch Tool. Choose this.

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Now check to make sure that the patch tool is set to Source in the Options Bar. Make your selection by drawing around one of the circles under the eyes. If you have never used the patch tool it functions much like the Lasso tool. Once you have made your selection and have completed the circle you may modify or alter the area that you have  selected. Do this by holding the Shift key on your keypad and drag the fence to add more area. If you need to reduce the area simply hold the Alt key on the keyboard instead and simply drag the fence in to reduce the area.

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Now that you have your selection, click within the selected area and drag it to a neutral location close to the selected shadow or dark circle. Don’t let go of your mouse button yet. Make sure that this new selection does not overlap other facial features first. You will need a clean feature free area of skin to copy, one that has a color value similar but slightly lighter. As you’re working in Photoshop CS3, you’ll now see two duplicated sections that are outlined with the fence. One of these is the one that you are modifying and the other is the area that you are duplicating. Once you’re happy with your selection let go of the mouse button and the area will be duplicated into the original selected area. The dark circle should have disappeared, cloning in the new patch as the new selection snaps into place.

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The last step is to press the Command-D tab on your keyboard to deselect.

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Tags: photoshop, photoshop Blemishes, photoshop dark circles, Photoshop remove circles, Photoshop Removing Blemishes, Photoshop Retouching

Photoshop Tutorial CS3: Whitening Teeth

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Whitening teeth, remove yellowing

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A common problem with a good portrait is imperfections and yellowing of the teeth. Nothing ruins a good smile like bad teeth. Let’s discuss how we can amend this.
There are actually a number of tools that can be used to isolate the teeth. Two of them are       the lasso tool

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and the magic wand tool

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An alternate is the magnetic lasso tool
if there is enough contrast between the teeth and gums.

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We’ll describe the use of the polygonal lasso tool
but you can use your favorite tool and get similar results.

Select the polygonal lasso tool. The next step is to choose Feather. When you get box enter 2 pixel to fade the edges of your selection. This will reduce the defined edge of the selection that you have made and blend the adjustment better.

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Draw around the teeth that you want to lighten. If you need to adjust around the gums you may press the Alt key to minus areas that you have fenced.

Now, go to the Image menu, find Adjustments, and click Hue/Saturation.

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When you get the dialogue box find yellow from the Edit menu in the top left corner. In the center of the dialog box find the Saturation slider. Drag the Saturation slider to the left to reduce the yellow on the teeth.

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This can be adjusted until the teeth have a natural whiteness.
You have removed the yellow and that looks better but let’s brighten the teeth. Using the same drop-down box switch back to Master, find the slider key for Lightness at the bottom. Slide this to the right to bring the lightness up. Don’t overdo it, you want a natural look.

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When you are satisfied with the results click OK in the Hue/Saturation dialog box. Then press Control-D to deselect and you are done. Nice job!

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After

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Tags: photoshop, Photoshop Tutorial, Whitening Teeth Photoshop

Photoshop CS3: A Basic Overview of Using Layers

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Layers are an integral part of photoshop and even when you open up any image you will find that it will automatically consists of a layer which is usually called the background layer.

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The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the many different types of layers and what you can do with them.

In order to create a new layer which is what you will do if you are making changes to an image, you will choose New Layer from your palette menu. You will then enter a name for your layer and choose the opacity and blending mode settings you require. An easier way to create a new layer is to click on the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

It is important to note, that whenever you use the type tool in photoshop a new layer will automatically be created. This also happens if you drag or copy a selection into an image.

Selecting, Hiding, And Showing Layers

When working with layers it is important that you know that you can only work with one layer at a time. To select a layer to work on you can click on the layers name in the layer palette and this will make the layer active. The layer name will also highlight to show that it is active and the name of the active layer will also appear in the title bar or your image window.

If you want to hide a layer you just click on the eye icon that is the foremost left column of the layers palette, to show a layer, click in the leftmost column to bring back the eye icon.

Reordering Layers

Layers are positioned in the order that they are created. You cannot change the stacking order of the background layer but you can change the order of any other layers in your image.

To change the layer order all you have to do is click and drag the layer name you want to its new position.

Repositioning The Content Of A Layer

If you need to reposition the contents of a layer you can do this by using the Move Tool. With your layer open, select the Move Tool. Position your cursor anywhere on your image and then click and drag to move the layer. You can also move the contents of your layer in 1 pixel increments by pressing the arrow keys when you have selected the Move Tool.

Merging And Flattening Layers

If you are working with a large number of layers it can be useful to merge them especially if you are trying to keep your file size down. There is a merge visible layers command in your palette but beware, as this will only merge the layers that are currently visible.

If you want to merge all your visible layers the first thing that you have to do is hide any layers you don’t want. You will also have to ensure that one of the layers you are merging is an active layer. Next choose Merge Visible from your palette menu or alternatively choose Layer > Merge Visible.

If you want to merge a layer with the layer below it just select the layer and then select Merge Down from your palette or alternatively Layer > Merge Down.

Flattening images is normally used when you have finished editing your image. When you perform this function you end up with a background layer only. This also reduces the overall file size. To flatten your image make sure that all your layers are visible and then choose Flatten Image from your palette or Layers > Flatten Image.

Moving Layers Between Images

With photoshop you can copy a complete layer from one document to another. The first thing to do is to have your two documents open. Click into the document that contains the layer you want to copy and then drag the layer you want to copy into the document you want to copy it to. Position the layer where you want it in your document and then release your mouse.

Selecting Layers, Linking Layers And Locking Layers

You can link layers together to allow you to work on two or more layers at the same time. Once you link layers they will stay that way until you unlink them. To select multiple consecutive layers to work on you will need to select the first layer and then holding down the shift key click on the last layer in your selection. If you want to select layers that are non-consecutive, again select the first layer and then hold down CTRL and then select each layer you want to add to your selection. To remove selections all you have to do is click on any individual layer.

Linking layers is used when you want to keep certain elements of an image on separate layers but you need to make changes to them together. To do this, you will need to select two or more layers and then click the link button at the bottom of the layers palette. When you select a linked layer in all the layers that are linked to it will display a link icon to indicate their status. To unlink a layer just select the layer and click on the link button at the bottom of the palette. All other layers will remain linked until you unlink them.

When it comes to locking layers there are four different levels that you can choose from. Your background layer is fully locked by default. You can completely lock a layer thus preventing any changes being made. This is done by selecting the Lock All option in your layers palette.

To stop a layer being moved you can select the Lock Position Option, to prevent painting tools being used on a layer you can select the Lock Image Pixels option, and if you want to prevent the transparency of a layer being changed you can choose the Lock Transparency option.

Adjustment Layers

Adjustment layers are used when you want to apply some changes to the layer you are working on. The settings on these layers apply only to the layer below it and do not affect the layers above. You can copy and past adjustment layers between images. To create an adjustment layer Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer. Next you will choose the type of adjustment layer from a sub menu. Adjustment layers are great for experimenting and trying out new things and if you don’t like them you can delete them without affecting your image. The setting you apply to an adjustment layer will not have any permanent effect on your image until you merge this layer with the other layers in your image.

Layer Groups

Layer groups are used when you are working with complex images that have a large amount of layers. By combining related layers into layer groups it makes the image easier to manage and work with. To create a layer group click the Create New Group button on the bottom of your layers palette. If you wish to create a layers group using existing layers, you will first have to select the layers you want in your group and then choose Layer > New > Group from Layers. You can also add layers to your layer groups by selecting and dragging them.

Layer Styles

Layer styles are used to create effects and these include soft shadows, bevelled and embossed edges, and inner and outer glows. To apply a layer style, click on the layer you want to use and then choose Layer > Layer Style > Bevel & Emboss. You can also select a layer style by using the Layer Style button at the bottom of the layers palette. This is the fx button. It is important to note, that each layer style provides you with a range of options that are specific to that style. In your layers style dialogue box always make sure that the preview option is selected so that you can see the effect that is being applied beforehand.

You cannot apply a layer style to your background layer, a layer set, or a locked layer. Once you have created a layer style you can continue to edit the effect you have created and there are a variety of commands in the Layer Style sub menu that you can choose from. To edit your layer style settings all you have to do is select the layer and then click on the expand triangle to give you a list of layer effects that you have. Double click on the one you want and edit away. Once you merge a layer that has an effect you will no longer be able to adjust the style settings. To remove styles from a layer, select the layer and then choose Layer > Layer Style > Clear Layer Style.

There are a number of other layer aspects and these include transforming layers, layer comps, smart objects, warping, and aligning and blending layers. Layers are something that you will have to be comfortable with if you are going to work successfully with Photoshop.

Tags: photoshop, Photoshop Tutorials, Using Layers