crop tools Link to heading

  • You can retain the information from the cropped area, if you choose to, for use again in later edits.
  • Specialist options within the cropping tool will allow you straighten images - and either crop out all transparent areas to allow you auto fill theses areas(content aware).
  • Autofill content aware will fill the transparent areas, created by cropping, by sampling the surrounding area and creating information that is similar.
  • You must always check the autofill and make any necessary corrections.

self-healing brush Link to heading

  • Like using the autofill, the self-healing brush will sample the area around it and paint the area to match as best it can.
  • Always do the corrections on a new blank layer above the layer being corrected.
  • In the Spot Healing tool select sample all layers.

layers Link to heading

Photoshop layers are like sheets of stacked acetate. You can see through transparent areas of a layer to the layers below. You move the content on the layer where you want it to appear, like sliding a sheet of acetate in a stack. You can also change the opacity of a layer to make content partially transparent.

  • New files will always have a background layer which is not transparent or movable - unless unlocked when they convert to normal layers.
  • Content can be moved around each layer independently.
  • The transparency of the content on each layer can be changed.
  • For any given layer you can select an area and delete it making that area transparent.
  • Layers can be hidden/shown using the click eye icon in the layer panel.
  • You can add guides to layers to help you align content.

layer mask Link to heading

These are a special type of layer that allow you ‘paint’ it to correspond with the desired areas of the layer beneath as either visible (black) or invisible (white), and let any non-transparent area in the layer below be seen again.

By using a soft edged brush to paint you can blend the edges between the two layers below. Equally you can use a hard edged brush or an geometric shape to create a very different effect.

Layer masks are created by adding a new mask layer from the layer tool and selecting reveal all.