Archives for June 2018

Have you ever wondered how you can easily invert part of your text when it overlaps other text? I’ve wondered that for a long time and today, I’d like to share the trick for how to accomplish that with you.

When it comes to text effects, the Difference blending mode can be a lot of fun. This is one mode that doesn’t get a lot of play, but I think when I show you its power, you’ll add it to your arsenal of “go to” tools, especially when you’re working with text. There’s a lot you can do with this one.

Before I go any further though, let’s refresh ourselves on what the Difference blend mode can do for us. Or rather, what the Difference blend mode does, in general.

The Difference blend mode “Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value. Blending with white inverts the base color values; blending with black produces no change.”

In essence, most of what you need to remember is that white inverts the color of the background layer and black makes no change. So, if you have a white background layer and a white layer on top of that and apply the Difference blend mode to that white top layer, everything will invert to black.

I know this isn’t the easiest thing to understand, so I’ll do my best to help you out below.

In today’s post, I’m going to offer you two examples of how you can take advantage of this particular blend mode, in order to get some pretty neat looking effects while working in Adobe Photoshop. Really, the extent of the effects are going to be up to you and what your brain came come up with, but I’ll give you the beginnings of what you’ll need right here.

Example #1

For this first example, I’m going to create a simple document that has a white background. I’ll then add one text layer with the text colored black. This is what I have so far.

It’s rather simple, I know. As you can see, the text says, “LAYER.”

Next, I’ll type out some new text on a new layer. This time though, I’ll make the new text white and have it spell out “TYPE.” So you can see the new text, I’ll make it so it overlaps the bottom portion of the first text. Here’s what we have.

Do you see the white text creeping up on the black text from below? That’s good.

At this point, I’d like to apply the Difference blending mode to the “TYPE” text layer. Knowing what this blending mode does, I’ll assume that the parts of the text that are on top of the white background will turn black and the parts that are covering the black “LAYER” text will stay white. Let’s see the result. First, I’ll change the blend mode in the Layers panel.

Now, let’s check out the result.

Yup, just as I suspected. the bottom layer has been partially inverted. Now, if I push that bottom layer down just a bit so it’s more readable and then apply an Invert adjustment layer, I can invert everything in the entire image for an even more creative look.

First I’ll apply the Invert adjustment layer by going over to the Adjustments panel and clicking on the Invert icon.

And then I’ll take a look at the result.

I’m sure you can see the possibilities here. Just with this small amount of information, you should be able to add a lot of flair to all different types of projects. I’m picturing this type of effect having a big role in media types, such as magazines and other types of print.

Example #2

Now that we know what this blend mode can do, let’s apply it to a real-world project. This isn’t going to be any more challenging that what I just did, but it will be better looking.

I’ve got a photo of a girl in a yoga pose here and I’m pretending that I’d like to use this image in a magazine. Right now, the image looks fine, but I want to add a message to it. Let’s see the photo.

What if I write “YOGA” across the entire picture. Would that look good?

I guess that looks okay, but what if I apply the Difference blending mode to the white text? I wonder how that would improve the image. Let’s take a look.

Ah, that looks better. Now we can at least see the text while having the girl fully visible. I wonder if this version is edgy enough though. I think I want to invert everything, just as I did in the first example. That should change things up. I’ll add an Invert adjustment layer, just for fun. Let’s see what that does.

Oh now we’re getting somewhere. I could even change the look further if I change the text from being white to being gray. I could do any number of things, but that’s beyond the scope of this post. What I shared above is what I wanted to show you, so I think I’ll stop there. I’m hoping you can find an application for this.

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I hope I clearly explained how to use the Difference blending mode to establish a text effect in Adobe Photoshop. I also hope I gave you some good examples of how the Invert adjustment can affect these changes as well. If you have any questions regarding this post, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Styles are one of the first places you, as a new editor, will go when you launch Adobe Photoshop. If you’re working with text at all, you’re most likely going to want to add some flavor to that text. After all, boring text is, well, boring. There are a million different combinations of effects that you can add to jazz things up.

In today’s post, I’d like to talk about some preset styles that Photoshop has to offer. As I’ve written in previous posts, we have the ability to add our own styles, one effect at a time. If you’d like to read these previous posts, please feel free to click through the links below.

Layer Effects & Styles in Adobe Photoshop

How to Scale Styles with Object Size in Adobe Photoshop

How to Animate Layer Effects (Styles) with Video in Adobe Photoshop

Preset styles are styles that have been created by the folks over at Adobe. In their most basic sense, they’re individual effects that have been combined with one another to create an overall look. Those “looks” have been saved inside of Photoshop and can be easily accessed to apply to pretty much anything. These effects include drop shadows, beveled edges, embossing and so much more.

Where to Find Style Presets

Photoshop certainly doesn’t hide the style presets. Off the top of my head, I can think of two really easy ways to get to them. First, there’s an entire panel dedicated to them. If you click the Window > Styles menu item, you’ll end up looking right into this panel. In my install of Photoshop, the panel is already available in the right column. It’s nested with the Adjustments panel. To access the styles, I’ll just click the Styles tab.

Another way to access the styles is to double-click on a layer. When the Layer Style dialog box appears, click the Style option that sits at the top of the left column.

Both of these methods will allow you to choose a style to apply to your layer.

Changing Style Views

Currently, the styles are shown as small thumbnails. It’s oftentimes difficult to see exactly what the styles are without descriptions. With this in mind, Adobe has given us the ability to change the way we view those icons. We can create lists with either small or large icons or simple small or large icons without a list (description). The way to access these changes is to, in the Styles panel, click the small menu in the top right corner. A menu will appear that offers many different options. In this case, I chose to change the view from Small Thumbnail to Large List. You can see the list behind the menu in the screenshot below.

If I was in the Layer Style dialog box, I would click on the small gear menu button that sits at the upper right corner of the style box and choose a new view from the menu that pops up. In this case, I chose Large Thumbnail.

How to Append Styles

I’m not sure if you noticed this or not, but I don’t really have all that many styles to choose from. This doesn’t mean that additional styles aren’t hiding in the background, waiting for me to add them to the list of what I can take advantage of. To append additional styles to either of the styles panels I discussed above, I’ll simply click one or more of the available options down in the lower portion of the menu I just showed you.

When the confirmation box appears that asks if I want to replace or append the styles to those that already exist, I’ll click Append. This will add to the existing styles as opposed to replace them.

Once I click that button, I’ll see the available styles grow in number.

Applying Styles

If you’ve never worked with styles before, you’re probably wondering what in the world I’m talking about in this post. Well, let me take this opportunity to show you something. I’ve gone ahead and written out some simple text. It’s black on a white background. It says, “STYLES.”

Now, I’m going to go into the Layer Style dialog box and click on a random style icon. Let’s see what happens.

In this case, I clicked on the Liquid Rainbow style. While it looks really cool, there may be a few things about it that I want to change. The question is, how do I see the individual effects that were used to create the style? That’s easy. Once I choose that style or even if I choose the style, click the OK button to apply it and then double-click on the layer to come back to it later on, all I need to do is take a look at the left column of the Layer Style dialog.

After choosing a style, all of the other optional effects disappear from the left column. All that’s left are those effects that were used for this particular style. If I wanted to change anything or even add new effects to this combination, I could accomplish all that by clicking around the left column and then working in the individual effect areas to the right. Again, to see how to add and manipulate individual effects, please click through those links I added to the top of this post.

Adding Multiple Styles

If you’d like to add multiple preset styles to one layer, all you need to do is hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking on the styles in the Styles panel. As of right now, this trick only works in the Styles panel and not inside the Layer Style dialog box. You’ll know you’ve added multiple styles if you keep your eye, not only on the layer itself in the work area, but also on the layer in the Layers panel. You’ll see the list of effects growing there.

Creating a Layer Style

Let’s say I applied a preset style and then made some modifications to it. Let’s also say that I know I’ll want to use this modified style again in the future. Instead of applying this default preset style to each and every layer in the future and then modifying it again and again, I can modify it just once and save that modification as a new style.

I’ve gone ahead and applied the Shaded Red Bevel style to my demo text. I also went in and made the drop shadow a bit larger than the original called for. Since I’d like to save this as a new style to be used again, I’ll click the New Style button in the Layer Style dialog. When I do this, the New Style dialog box appears, where I can name the new style. I’ll call this one, Shaded Red Bevel – Shadow and then click OK.

Now, if I look at the bottom of the preset styles list in either panel, I’ll see the one I just created.

By the way, this is the style I’m referring to.

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As you can see, there’s a lot you can do with styles in Adobe Photoshop, whether it be to styles you create yourself or to preset styles created by the folks at Adobe. They’re very flexible and should help out a lot with your projects. I hope I clearly explained how to work with preset styles today. If you have any questions regarding this post, please leave them in the comment area below. Thanks for reading!

Did you know that you can make really good looking trees right inside of Adobe Photoshop? I’m not talking about lousy one dimensional trees either. I’m talking about trees that actually look real; ones that you can change and customize in about a million different ways. That’s right, this is one of those virtually unknown features of an application many of us use almost every day of our lives. It’s a good feature too, so read on below.

In today’s post, I’d like to introduce you to the Tree filter in Adobe Photoshop. I’ll create a blank document and then enter the filter area where I’ll explore many of the customization options available to us. I’ll also walk through the process of creating a custom tree and then applying it to the document at hand. It’s such an easy process and I’m sure you’ll love it.

The Tree Palette

Okay, let’s get right into it. I’ve gone ahead and created a new document inside of Photoshop. The document is 700 pixels wide, but that doesn’t matter. The only reason I used that dimension is because it fits well on the pages of this blog. I also made the background white, so each tree I create is clearly visible. If you’re following along, feel free to use any dimensions you wish and any color you wish.

I also created a new, transparent, layer that sits directly on top of the white background layer. The reason I did this is because I’d like to have control over any tree or trees I create. I’ll make a new layer for each tree. That way, I’ll be able to move all the trees around independently of one another. If I were to simply place them on the background layer, they’d all be stuck together and I’d ultimately have very little flexibility.

To get to the Tree palette, I’ll head up to the top of the application and select the Filter > Render > Tree menu item.

Once the Tree palette opens, I’ll see something that looks like this:

Now, just to let you know, there’s already a tree created inside of this palette. You can see it in the previous screenshot. If I wanted to keep that tree and use it, all I’d need to do is to click on the OK button inside this palette and that tree would end up in my workspace. Since most people have a certain tree in mind before entering this palette, I’ll discuss some of the options available to us next.

The palette currently has two tabs; one is called the Basic tab and the other is the Advanced tab. In previous versions of Photoshop, the options contained in these tabs were merged into just one. Adobe has since split some things apart though.

The most important option in the entire palette has to do with what type of tree you’d like to end up with. If I were to click on the Base Tree Type drop-down, I’d have a fair number of types of trees to choose from.

Once I click on one of the tree varieties, that type of tree will appear in the preview area to the left. Currently, there are 34 varieties of trees available to choose from.

As you may have noticed there are quite a few different adjustments someone could make to any tree they’re working on. I’ll list those adjustments and offer some words of explanation below.

Basic Panel

The most widely used options are contained in this panel.

Light Direction: Picture having a large light in your hands and shining that light at the tree you’re creating. You can walk from the left side of the tree all the way to the right side. That’s pretty much what this option controls; the lighting that’s illuminating the tree. This option offers 180 degrees to choose from, therefore, the available slider values are anything between 0 and 180. The lower values shine the light on the left side of the tree and the higher values move around to the right.

Leaves Amount: Do you want a sparse looking tree or a very bushy one? You can control the amount of foliage your tree contains by moving this slider to the left or to the right. The available values range from 0 to 100, with 0 being completely bald and 100 being completely full.

Leaves Size: This option goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. Not only do we have control over how many leaves are on a tree, but we can also control how large those leaves are. The available values for this slider range between 0 and 200, with 0 being the smallest leaves available and 200 being the largest.

Branches Height: At what distance from the ground would you like the branches on your tree to begin stemming from the trunk? You can select from rather low branches to ones that begin almost all the way at the top of the tree. This slider offers values that range from 70 to 300. Here are some examples for you. This is a Zelkova Serrata tree. The first image has the Branches Height value set to 70 (lowest) and the second image has it set to 300 (highest).

Branches Thickness: This option controls how thick the wood is on your tree. It controls the thickness of not only the branches, but of the trunk as well. The range of values for this slider span from 0 to 200. Here’s an Ash Tree with a Branch Thickness of 20. The lower numbers show less wood.

And here’s the same Ash Tree with a Branch Thickness of 200. The higher numbers show more wood.

Default Leaves: If I’d like Photoshop to keep the default style leaf for the selected tree, I’d check this box.

Leaves Type: If I uncheck the above box, I can choose my own style of leaf, no matter what type of tree I’d like. Currently, there are 16 available different leaf types to choose from.

Randomize Shapes: If I’d like Photoshop to choose the shapes and positions of the branches on the tree for me, I can check this box.

Arrangement: If I’d like to choose my own branch arrangement, I can move this slider. The values fall from 1 to 100 and appear to make no sense at all. Continue to move the slider until you find a look that appeals to you.

Advanced Panel

For more advanced, but less used, options, click into this panel.

Camera Tilt: Let’s say you wanted to view your tree from a different angle. You can do that with this setting. The values of this option span the range of 0 through 24, with 0 being as if you were standing on the ground in front of the tree. As you increase this value, it would be as if you were levitating up, off the ground and hovering over the tree.

Use Custom Color For Leaves: We’re also able to change the color of the leaves on all of the available trees. If you were going for an early spring look, you could change the color to a lighter green and if you were going for a late fall look, you could change the leaves to either orange, yellow, red or brown.

Use Custom Color For Branches: Along the same lines as the option above, we can also change the color of the branches. So, if you wanted a lighter wood, you could change the default color to a light brown. The same is true with a darker wood, but you’d go with a darker brown.

Flat Shading – Leaves: The default leaves include a lot of gradient for the sake of interest. To remove this interest, you could give the leaves a flat color.

Enhance Contrast – Leaves: In contrast to the option just above, you can also add even more contrast than the default offers. To increase the contrast in the leaves, simply check this box.

Flat Shading – Branches: To remove any gradient from the wood and to make the color flat in the trunk and the branches of any tree you create, check this box.

Leaves Rotation Lock: If you check this box, you can stop the leaves from rotating three dimensionally. Doing this will create a result that’s much more like an illustration.

Converting to Smart Objects

Remember, after creating your trees, you’ll likely resize them quite a bit in an effort to get the look you’re going for just right. If you convert each individual tree layer to a Smart Object, you’ll save yourself a lot of time by not having to create new trees when you lose resolution from scaling down and then scaling back up again. Smart Objects are key when it comes to this sort of thing.

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I hope I clearly explained how to create a tree in Adobe Photoshop by using the Tree filter. If you have any questions regarding this post, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

I sometimes wonder if I’m the only one on earth who gets excited over the most mundane details of how Adobe Photoshop works. I think it has something to do with my imagination. I imagine people sitting behind their computers trying to find the solutions to all types of quandaries and honestly, I find that idea very motivational. I enjoy helping people and I really like it when something I share makes a project work out or saves a little time for someone.

In today’s post, I’d like to show you a few different methods for creating Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop. Now, I know I’ve already talked about Smart Objects a few times on this website, but rest assured that most of what I’m going to discuss today is new. While working in Photoshop, you’ll discover that there are dozens of ways to accomplish the same thing and sometimes it’s important to learn all those ways so you can speed up your work. Also, at times, one method will just make more sense than another, based on where you are in a workflow, so that’s something to think about as well.

Towards the end of this post, I’ll discuss one very important aspect of linking Smart Objects and changing that linked object to an embedded one. I’m not a huge fan of linking external files to Photoshop files, so this is of particular interest to me. I’ll do my best at explaining the situation below, so you can make your own choices.

Demo Photos

For today’s post, I thought I’d use two different guitar images. I play guitar, so I was attracted to these. Mind you, I could have used pretty much any type of image because it really doesn’t matter what the content of those images is. It’s the process that matters here.

The Situation

Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to open one of the guitar images up into Adobe Photoshop. That image will be in its own tab. After that, I’ll take advantage of a few different methods for importing the other guitar image into the first image’s tab, as a Smart Object. So really, this isn’t a “how to create a Smart Object” post as much as it is a “how to import a file as a Smart Object” post. It’s also a “how to embed a linked Smart Object” post as well.

By the way, if you have no idea what a Smart Object is when it comes to working in Photoshop, please feel free to click through the links below to catch up.

What are Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop?

3 Different Ways to Create Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop

How To Open RAW Files As Smart Objects Directly into Adobe Photoshop

How to Correctly Duplicate a Smart Object in Adobe Photoshop

Importing & Converting with the Rectangular Marquee Tool

With this first example, I’m going to duplicate one of the guitar images and import that duplicate into the other guitar image’s tab (simultaneously). From there, I’ll convert the duplicated layer into a Smart Object, all while using the Rectangular Marquee Tool. This type of scenario happens quite often and layers are frequently copied over into other tabs. Don’t get caught up on what the reason is for me moving one layer in one tab over to another tab, just focus on how I’m getting things done.

Both images are opened into their own tabs in Photoshop. Right now, I’ll head into the cooler looking guitar photo’s tab; the one showing just the strings.

I’ll first go ahead and activate the Rectangular Marquee Tool over in the left toolbar.

With my mouse pointer hovering over the image somewhere, I’ll right click and select the Duplicate Layer option.

When I do that, the Duplicate Layer dialog box will appear. I’ll name the layer I’m duplicating Cool Guitar Strings in the As: field and I’ll choose the other file’s name from the Document: drop-down.

Finally, I’ll click on the OK button to send the layer over to the other file.

From here, I’ll click on the other file’s tab and I’ll see the layer I just copied, sitting there in its own layer.

With the Rectangular Marquee Tool still active and the copied layer selected in the Layers panel, I’ll right click once again. This time though, I’ll select the Convert to Smart Object option from the menu that appears.

And that will complete the first example. As you can see in the Layers panel, the new layer is there, it’s a Smart Object and it’s been renamed. All with just a few easy steps.

Placing Embedded & Converting All in One Step

This example is pretty cool because it’s so easy to pull off. There isn’t much involved at all.

To get this done, I’ll start back at the beginning with fresh images in their own tabs. This time though, I’ll use the warmer guitar photo; the one I copied the other photo over to above. I’ll head up to the File > Place Embedded menu option and click.

When I do that, a window will appear that I can use to browse for the image I’d like to place in this tab. I’ll locate the image, double-click on it and it will instantly be placed into the tab I’m working in. It’ll also have that “Place” bounding box around it.

Because I have my install of Photoshop set up to open Camera Raw when placing images into Photoshop, this particular image opened in Camera Raw first, after I double-clicked on the file. All I had to do to continue with this process was click the OK button in the lower right corner of Camera Raw. Also, because this placed image appears a bit small when it’s put into the tab, I can grab a corner to stretch it out somewhat.

The final step to place this image is to simply press the Enter key on my keyboard. When I do that, the bounding box will disappear and the new layer will automatically be converted to a Smart Object. And the best part is, because I placed this new layer as an embedded object, I don’t have to concern myself with keeping track of any linked files, which I’ll discuss next. This new layer is actually stored as part of the file I’m working on.

Here, take a look at the Layers panel now. You can see that the top layer is a Smart Object as indicated by that little icon in the lower right corner of the thumbnail.

Placing a Linked File

To start this final example, I’ll clear everything out again so I’m dealing with fresh images. What I’ll do this time is follow the same instructions from the example above, but instead of choosing the Place Embedded menu item, I’ll choose the Place Linked item from the File menu. So basically, I’ll use the File > Place Linked menu item. After the file has been placed in the tab, I’ll press the Enter key on my keyboard and everything will appear the same as before. There’s only one problem with this though and that problem is that the placed layer is tethered to a file that’s stored someplace else, away from the project file I’m currently working on. Meaning, the layer that I just placed isn’t actually going to be saved in the Photoshop file that’s currently open. Personally, I don’t like to work this way.

So why would anyone want to place a linked file into a working file in Photoshop? Well, if the file that they placed is absolutely huge and they didn’t want that hugeness to be counted as part of the file size they’re currently working on, then they’d place it as a linked file. If the placed file is small, then they’d likely just place it as embedded. The reason I don’t like to place linked files is because I move things around on my hard drive all the time. I would never remember that the linked file was linked and after I moved it around, the link would break and my project in Photoshop would be screwed up.

FYI – You can tell if a file is linked by looking at the small icon that’s located at the bottom right of the layer’s thumbnail in the Layers panel. That icon will look like a chain link. This placed linked file will also be placed at a Smart Object.

Changing a Linked File to an Embedded One

Because I don’t like linked files inside of my working Photoshop files, I’m going to switch the linked file to an embedded one in this last section. The process for doing this is super simple. All I’ll need to do is go back to the Rectangular Marquee Tool and right click on the placed file. After I do this, a menu will appear. From that menu, I’ll select the Embed Linked option.

When I do this, the linked object will cease to be linked and it will become embedded in the working file. It’s that easy.

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I hope I clearly explained how to duplicate layers and copy them to different files. I also hope I clearly explained some various methods for creating Smart Objects and how to change a linked Smart Object to an embedded one. If you have any questions regarding this post, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Have you ever wondered what the most popular tool in Adobe Photoshop is? It’s the Crop Tool. Isn’t that interesting? I think so. Out of all the fancy things Photoshop can do, the basic task of cropping is what the majority of folks choose to do the majority of the time. I don’t know, I just find that fascinating. I would have guessed the most popular tool would have been one of the selection tools or one of the healing brush tools. Oh well.

There’s a lot to the Crop Tool these days. Back when I first began using Photoshop, I took advantage of the Rectangular Marquee Tool, made a selection around the object I wanted to preserve, visited the Image > Crop menu item, clicked and was done with it. I still use that method sometimes when I want to crop out a certain shape or selection, but those instances are few and far between.

In today’s post, I’d like to visit the Crop Tool and just mess around a bit. I’ll use a photo to experiment with and I’ll attempt to demonstrate some of the functions that are contained within. I’ll also visit the Crop Options area to give you a peek behind what makes this tool tick. Inside of this area, I’ll have the opportunity to revert back to the original Crop Tool (pre Photoshop CS6), show and hide certain aspects of the image I’m cropping and even adjust the opacity of the area outside the crop. This is actually a very powerful tool with tons of bells and whistles, so follow along down below to learn a little something about it.

The Demo Photo

Of course, I needed something to crop, so I decided on a cow in a field. I mean, what else is there? Since the subject is isolated, I think my demonstration will be clear and easy to understand. Here’s the photo.

My Previous Post

I’d like to let you know that I’ve already written a pretty good post that covers a lot of what the Crop Tool can do and how it works. If you’re interested, please click through this link below.

Using the Crop Tool in Adobe Photoshop

In my previous post, I talk about the functions of the tool and how to change many of the basic settings. Below, I’d like to focus more on a few areas I haven’t covered before.

What is Cropping – Really?

If you think about it, the act of cropping is really just an isolation of a part of an image. It’s a focus, if you will. You’re attempting to remove anything other than that on which you wish to work. The strange thing is, back in the early 2000s, I was doing what I just explained. I was isolating areas so I could work on them further. I got rid of everything I didn’t want and I continued on with my projects.

Although my process worked most of the time, I did come across a few issues. I can remember cropping something and then doing a bunch of work to an image and after all that work, I’d tell myself how much I wish I had part of the image back. Meaning, I cropped too much out and because of the old method of cropping, those pixels I got rid of were gone forever. Because of this type of thing, I found myself making backup layers (duplicates) of everything I ever wanted to crop. Things got ridiculous after a while.

One of the areas Adobe has focused on in recent years is making various tools non-destructive. All this means is that, in this case, if I were to crop something out of an image, whatever it was that seemingly disappeared was never really gone. It would always be recoverable. I can’t even tell you how much this has helped through the years. No more backup layers for me – well, for this purpose anyway.

Lesson #1

When using the Crop Tool, never delete the cropped pixels. With the tool active, you’ll see a check box up in the options bar. This box is the Delete Cropped Pixels box and by default, it shows as unchecked. I advise that you keep it that way, unless you’re a master user and you really know what you’re doing.

If you were to go ahead and check this box, you’d be nullifying many of the advancements this tool offers. You’d really be removing the pixels that aren’t used in your focal area and they wouldn’t be recoverable, ever. That’s not a good thing.

Using Classic Mode

As I said, the Crop Tool has grown up a lot over the past few years. If you’re using versions of Photoshop before CS6, you’ll be using what’s known to us futuristic types as Classic Mode. While there are major differences between the classic mode and this new version of crop, the most visible one is the fact that when you click on the Crop Tool icon in the left vertical toolbar, with this new version, you’ll instantly see the crop border surround the entire image. From there, you’d either pull the border in towards the center to shrink the workable area or out to create a larger work area. With the classic version of this tool, you won’t see the border. To crop, you’ll need to click and drag over the area you’d like to keep. While this old way isn’t terrible, I can tell you that you get used to the new way mighty fast. The new way isn’t bad at all.

If you’re using a newer version of Photoshop (post CS6), you can still use Classic Mode if you want to. To activate it, simply activate the Crop Tool and then click on the Crop Options icon up in the options bar. When you do that, a drop-down will appear and all you’ll need to do is check the first box. This one says, Use Classic Mode.

From there, you’ll enjoy the older version of the tool.

The Front Image Option

This one is for all of you out there who have tons of photos to work on that all need to be sized to the same dimensions. This type of situation is so common; it makes my head spin when I try to think about the best way to get these types of edits completed.

As an example of how this feature works, I’ll open two images of different dimensions into Photoshop. The first image (the one with the bull) is 5760px x 3740px.

The other image I have opened is of a fox. This image’s dimensions are 4928px x 3280px.

Both images have a resolution of 300dpi.

Let’s say I wanted to crop the image with the bull in it to the same exact size and resolution of the fox image (or vice-versa). How could I do that? Well, to accomplish this sort of task, I would first click the tab of the image that has the dimensions I desire. In this case, since I want to shrink the bull image to the size of the fox image, I’d click the fox tab so that image is showing in the Photoshop workspace. Then, I’d activate the Crop Tool by clicking on its icon in the left toolbar. After that, I’d head up to the drop-down box and select the Front Image option.

What this option does is set the image’s dimensions into the Crop Tool fields, as you can see in the above screenshot. To crop the other image to these dimensions, all I would need to do is click the other image’s tab to make that one active in the workspace and then, because the Crop Tool is still active and those same dimensions are still in the options bar (they carried over), double-click with my mouse to initiate the crop. Either that, or I could just press the Enter key on my keyboard. It’s that easy.

Creating a Quick Border

Besides cropping, creating borders around images is a very popular thing to do. I think I’ll cover a really fast method for doing this now.

Most people think about reducing an image’s area when they crop, but I’d like to let you know that you can also extend an image’s area just as easily. There’s no reason you can’t click on one of the crop border handles and pull it outward as opposed to inward. This is just something most people don’t think about doing all that much.

To create a simple border around an image, I’ll first click the small background layer lock icon in the Layers panel. This will unlock the layer. Then, I’ll click the Add New Layer button down at the bottom of the Layers panel. I’ll arrange this new layer so it’s underneath the image layer. This is what the Layers panel will look like after I’m finished with these steps.

Next, I’ll activate the Crop Tool, head up to the drop-down box in the options bar and select the Ratio option. This option will lock the shape of the crop bounding box into the same ratio as the one the image has.

Finally, I’ll hold down the Alt key on my keyboard, click anywhere on the crop border and drag outward. I’ll drag until I see the border thickness I like. Holding the Alt key forces the crop box to expand from the center of the image, making the border sides equal to one another.

When I’m done with that, I’ll press the Enter key on my keyboard. That will tell Photoshop to accept and apply the new image size.

To fill in the border with a color, I’ll choose a color from the color picker, click on the empty bottom layer in the Layers panel and then use the Paint Bucket Tool to pour the color into the layer. This is how the result will look.

Pretty cool, right? And it didn’t take much effort at all.

Changing Crop Area Opacity

I’m going to show you something now that you most likely never knew existed. First though, I’ll activate the Crop Tool and click and drag some of the corners of this tool so the edges hug the bull in the photo fairly tightly. Take a look at what I did.

Do you see the area around the crop box? The inside is nice and bright at 100% opacity while the outer area is much dimmer. Right now, 80% of the light in the area around the primary crop box is being hidden, so basically, the outer area is at a 20% opacity. What if that was just too dark for me and I wanted to see the outer area brighter? Or darker? Or the same as the image itself? Well, the opacity value of the outer area is adjustable and I’ll show you right now how to make that adjustment.

I’ll first activate the Crop Tool so the proper options bar appears above the workspace. Then, I’ll click the Crop Options icon again and at the bottom, I’ll click the Opacity slider.

If I push the slider to the left, the outer area will remain brighter. If I push it to the right, it will get darker. In this case, I’ll set the Opacity slider so only 25% of the light is being hidden, which will make the outer area brighter. Then, I’ll click and drag the crop edge inward again. Let’s see the difference between this example and the last one.

See? It’s so easy to change the opacity of this type of thing so you can truly customize your experience while working.

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I hope I clearly showed you some areas surrounding the Crop Tool in Adobe Photoshop that you may not have known about. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this post, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!