Adobe Photoshop used to be just a complicated photo editing software. It was however revised and updated with features that made it one of the easiest tools to use on photo editing and graphic design tasks. Much more when you learn all the Photoshop tricks we are about to share with you today.
The Photoshop software has been around the market for over 2 decades now but its existence can be traced back 3 decades ago. Since its very first version, there has been so much improvement and many newer photo editors were designed after it.
Adobe alone launched several products like the Creative Suite which has the same function – manipulate photos and create graphics. Unfortunately, Adobe is trying to shift focus on the monthly-paid cloud subscription, making a lot of old-school hobbyists stick with the older version instead.
For those who already have the software, you can simply update the version by downloading the 2019 edition and activating it with a 2019 product key. Remember to stick with genuine. Find the best deals of Photoshop product keys on our shop here at Softvire.
Now, to enjoy the full potential of Adobe Photoshop 2019, there are a few Photoshop tricks you can try to make your work not just easier but more creative and vibrant!
Photoshop Tricks Tips and Shortcuts
-
Fit Image to Screen for Faster Zoom Control
What to press?
- Mac: CMD + 0
- PC: CTRL + 0
With this shortcut you are able to quickly zoom out of your image without the hassle of pressing the minus key repeatedly. A more useful function of this screen mode though is to help you work faster.
It can be frustrating to work on Adobe Photoshop with all the panels, tools, menus and options crowded on the user interface. This leaves us with lesser room for viewing our work.
Our cameras keep on improving every year and images keep on growing in size. This makes finding ways to minimize the interface and maximize our work area extremely important.
Of course, some lucky Photoshop users get to work with dual monitors. Dual monitors let you move your panels to one screen while you view and edit your image on the other. The rest of us, however, need to find a more practical (and less expensive) solution.
Using the Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar option hides some, but not all, of the interface elements. But there’s also a Full Screen Mode in Photoshop which completely hides the interface, giving your image full access to the entire screen.
-
Reposition Marquee Selections
What to Press?
- Mac: HOLD SPACE BAR
- PC: HOLD SPACE BAR
The Marquee tool is the most basic of selection tools and often the one most useful. This tool is used to draw selections based on geometric shapes. Specifically, the marquee tool allows you to draw rectangular and elliptical selections.
Making a selection with the Marquee tool can be annoyingly tricky. By pressing the space bar while you make a selection, you can reposition the selection while it is still being edited! This is an easy shortcut that is definitely a life saver.
-
Open a Flattened Version of a Layered PSD
What to Press?
File > Open and find the PSD file> Click on it once to select > Hold down Shift Alt (Mac: Shift Option) > Click Open.
Photoshop will then ask you if you want to “Read the composite data instead.” Press OK, and a flattened version of that file will open up. This is an excellent way to open a large file that usually takes a long time to open. In case you only want to show it to someone or share it in an email or social media. Remember always to do a “Save As.” Saving the document will override the original file, and you will lose all your layers.
-
Select Any Color From Outside of Photoshop
What to Press?
Click on Eyedropper Tool (i on keyboard) > Left Click+Hold Inside Image > Drag Cursor outside Photoshop > Click on the Color You Like > Release Mouse Button
Voila! Your sampled color will appear as your new Foreground color.
-
Magnetic Lasso Tool
What to Press?
Click + Hold Mouse Button On Lasso Tool > Select Lasso Tool from Fly-Out Menu > Go to Image > Place Mouse on Edge of Part to Alter > Click Mouse Once > Release > Go Over the Edges of Object
Found in plain sight in your Photoshop tool-panel, the Lasso tool is basically man’s gift to photo editing.
This easy selection tool helps you trace and outline the exact part of an image that you’re looking to edit, and then separate it from the rest of your image in order to perform certain actions. For example, you can select and separate a product from its background. Nearly fool-proof, the magnetic lasso tool detects the edges of an object, so it works best when you have a bold contrast between an object and its background with well-defined edges.
-
Dodge Tool
What to Press?
Select the Dodge tool >Choose brush tip > Set brush options > Select from Midtones/Shadows/Highlight on Range menu > Specify Exposure > Click Airbrush Button > Select Protect Tones > Drag over the part of the image you want to lighten
The Dodge Tool lightens pixels wherever you use it. So in other words, it’s the perfect Photoshop tool to do away with “tired eyes”.
Set the Dodge Tool to a soft brush, go to Range setting in the menu bar’s pull-down and choose highlights, set Exposure on around 20%. Then carefully brush over the eye area. Remember not to overdo it, or your model will start to look like an alien. A few simple strokes should do the job.
-
Spot Healing Brush
What to Press?
Select the spot healing brush > Click on the blemishes you want to get rid of
Just like the trivia I shared on social media, Photoshop has seemingly been created to remove life’s little imperfections. The spot header brush is that magic tool that we wish was around in our awkward teenage years to make pimples disappear from every picture. Just place the brush over the area you want to “fix”, make sure the brush is a bit bigger than the blemish and click. Photoshop automatically samples from around the retouched area to color match your image to perfection.
-
Scrubby Slider
What to Press?
- Generate Scrubby Slider by holding down Ctrl/Cmd key on your keyboard.
- To speed up Scrubby Slider, hold down Shift key.
- To slow down Scrubby Slider, hold down Alt key.
Every time you see some value inside text box in Photoshop, there are a couple of options to change the value: by typing, using slider/drop down list, using keyboard numbers/arrows and scrubby slider. In short, scrubby sliders are a fun way of changing values in Photoshop and they also have the option to speed up or slow down changes using modifier keys.
Indicator that you are using scrubby slider is a hand with arrows pointing to the left and right. You can see scrubby slider indicator just by navigating mouse over label next to the text field with the value in the panels, in the options bar or any dialog in Photoshop.
Final Words
These are just some of our favorite shortcuts and tricks on Photoshop. Not enough? Want to learn some more Photoshop tricks? Stay tuned to our blogs as we share some more tricks on our next posts!
