Short Cut of the Week [Ctrl]+[A]

This is a handy shortcut when you want to select your entire image. Simply hold down [Ctrl] and press [A] and it will automaticly select everything. Simple as that.

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Comments are welcome.

Soft Focus Trick

One of my favorite photoshop tricks is the Soft Focus Trick. This is a good effect for wedding photos and senior photos.

Start with a photo that is cropped to your satisfaction. For information on cropping check out Easy Cropping Trick.

Step 1. Use the [Ctrl] [J] shortcut to make a copy of the image.

Step 2. Make sure "Layer 1" is selected in your "Layers Pallet". Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Step 3. Your radius setting will vary from photo to photo. Set the radius so that the image is burry but you are still able to see some detail of the subject. Click OK

Step 4. At the top of your layers pallet you will see "Opacity: 100%". Click on the drop down and slide your opacity down to just under 50%. As you move the slide watch your image go from blurry to soft focus. (Tip: Printed images tend to look a little more blurry than they do on the computer. Be careful not to leave it to blurry.)

I added the Black and White trick to finish out this image. I think it compliments the Soft focus nicely.

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Shortcut of the Week [Ctrl] [+] or [Ctrl] [-]

[Ctrl] [+] or [Ctrl] [-]=Zoom image



This is a pretty simple shortcut, but one that can save you a lot of time. When zooming in on an image, instead of using the Zoom tool from your tool pallet, simply press [Ctrl] [+]. Each time you press the [+] key while holding down [Ctrl] will zoom in one more step. Use [Ctrl] [-] to zoom back out.



Keep checking back for more tricks and shortcuts.



Comments, Questions and suggestions are Welcome!

Black and White Trick

There are two ways of doing the Black and White Trick. You can use an adjustment layer or you can simply desaturate your image. I normally use the adjustment layer because you are able to delete it at any time if you decide you want to go back to color.




#1 Desaturate

Step 1. Use the [Ctrl] [J] shortcut to duplicate your image.

Step 2. Go to "Image" --> "Adjustments" --> "Desaturate". Or use Shortcut [Shift] [Ctrl] [U].







#2 Black & White Adjustment layer

Step 1. Go to the "New Adjustment Layer" button at the bottom of your Layers Pallet. (It's a circle that is half white and half black.)

Step 2. You will have a new window pop up. You can play with these adjustments to see how the affect the image, but I usually stick with the default settings. (Tip: At the bottom of this pop up window you will see a "tint" check box. If you check this and set your Hue to 42 and your saturation to 15 you will get a nice "Sepia tone" effect.)

Step 3. Click OK.

Either way is fast and effective. Some older versions of Photoshop don't have the Adjustment layer option. If you have one of these versions just go with the desaturation option.

As always comments are welcome!

Cropping Trick

There are a couple of disadvantages to using the crop tool in photoshop. First, its hard to tell what the crop looks like until you have completed it. If you don't like how it looks you have to undo the action and crop again until you are satisfied with your result. Second, your resolution changes when using the crop tool. I'm going to show you an efficient way to crop your photos without using the crop tool.

Step 1. Use the [Ctrl] [J] shortcut to make a copy of your background image.


Step 2. Make sure you have "Layer 1" selected then use the [Ctrl] [T] shortcut. This shortcut allows you to re size and move the layer that you are working on. (We will be covering this shortcut in an upcoming Shortcut of the Week.)

Step 3. Move your cursor to the corner of the image and click-drag the image to the approximate size that you want. (Tip: holding down the shift key while changing the size of the layer will lock the proportions of your image.)

Step 4. Move your cursor over the top of the image and click-drag to move your image into whatever crop you want.

If your image is bigger than you want simply repeat step 3 to shrink it down.


You can also rotate the image by moving your cursor outside the image and click-drag.


Step 5. When are satisfied with the look of you image press enter.


Step 6. Flatten your image using the [Shift] [Ctrl] [E] shortcut and Save it.


This Cropping Trick gives you the option of seeing exactly how your image will look before committing to the action. Plus your image size and resolution will remain the same as the original image.


Please let me know if you like this Trick. Comments are welcome.

Shortcut of the Week [Ctrl] [Z]

[Ctrl] [Z]=undo last action

For me this is the shortcut I use the most. There are a couple of ways I use this.

The obvious reason would be if you make a mistake or you don't like the result of an action. By pressing [Ctrl] [Z] you undo the very last action you made. If pressed again it will redo the action that was undone. Which brings me to the next use for [Ctrl] [Z].

I mainly use this shortcut as a preview feature. By pressing [Ctrl] [Z] repeatedly you can get a before and after view of your action.

I you need to undo more than one action you will have to use the history pallet to the right of your screen. With most versions your history will contain the last twenty actions that you have made. You can undo previous actions by clicking on the last action that you want to use.

select color trick

The photoshop trick that I am most commonly asked how to do is color select. Color select is simply a photo that is black and white with only one color still visible.

This effect is pretty easy to achive in photoshop with a little practice. There are several ways that you can use to capture this look. I will be showing you the way that works the best for me.

Start by opening the image you want to use for you color select project. Press [Ctrl]+[J] to make a duplicate of the background layer

Step 1. Change your image to black and white. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can go to "Layers"--"Adjustment Layers"--"Black and White". If your version of Photoshop doesn't have this option then you can change the color of your duplicate layer by going to "Image"--"Adjustments"--"Desaturate" or use shortcut [Shift]+[Ctrl]+[U].

Step 2. Select the Item that you want to be in color. Use the "Polygonal Lasso Tool" from your tools pallete to the left of your screen. This is pretty simple on an item with staight edges but if you are selecting an item with curves it might take a couple of tries and a little practice.

Step 3. Right click on your selection and choose "Feather". This will bring up your "Feather Selection" window. Change feather radius to "2" and click "Ok". This will soften the edge of your selection to keep it from looking as harsh.

Step 4. Once you are satisfied with your selection check your layers pallet. Make sure you have the "black and white" layer selected then hit the delete button. This should reveal the original color of the object you have selected.

Step 5. You will now want to flatten your image and save it. Go to "Layer"--"Flatten Image". Now you are ready to save your image. I would suggest saving it under a new name so that you still have your original image to use later.

This is just one way of mastering this trick. For a first timer, practice is the key. The more you do this the more precise you will become with you selection.

Please leave you comments and let me know how this works for you.

Also if anyone has a request for a trick you would like to learn just let me know and I will try to do a future post on that paticular trick.