Shortcut Sundays...for Lazy Cats

"Look me in the eye(s) and tell me you don't want to get things done faster!"

I'm quite certain the cat's motto is, "Why do any more than you have to."

It is in that spirit that we continue on with another edition of Shortcut Sundays. Because why should we do more than we have to in Photoshop?

1. Quickly zoom to 100%: If you double-click on the zoom tool (looks like a magnifying glass, just above rt. to the color palettes) the magnification will go to 100%

2. Precise Cursor: When you engage the "Caps Lock" key the cursor switches to precise movement.

3. Background Color: by default, Photoshop brings up a grey background upon which to do our work.

Sometimes, because of the edge color on our photos, the default grey is not the optimum color to be working on. Or, maybe we just want to be seeing OUR favorite color in the background as we work. Well, making your default background any color you wish to is easy as 1-2-3:

1. Choose a color from the color palettes, have it in the foreground position.
2. Activate the Paint Bucket.
3. SHIFT-CLICK anywhere outside of your workspace (not on your photo working area) and the background color will switch to whatever color you have chosen.

4. Quick-Change Brush Tool Opacity: To quickly set the opacity of your brushes, you can use the keyboard numbers (just above the letters, not off to the far-right on your keypad) (to increase by 10% increments). For example, once you have activated the brush tool,
PRESS the number 1 key to set brush opacity to 10%.
PRESS the number 2 key to set brush opacity to 20%
PRESS the number 3 key to set brush opacity to 30% ...
and so on , all the way up to pressing 0 to get 100%.

Well there you go! Another Shortcut Sunday Photoshop Session has ended. Go and piece to create another phabulous Photoshop phenomenon!

I'll be announcing a photo contest later this week, open to members of my Photoshop Tip Card Group only. Be sure to sign up today to join our group if you're not already a member. Then you'll be on the list to receive all the details too, and be eligible for valuable prizes. Current members can just sit tight...details will be coming to you soon.

Shadows that Trail Along...w/Ctrl-E

Here's a small but important tip for anyone who is creating shadows of the kind I've shown how to make on previous postings. (As opposed to the ones we hate to get when taking photographs in the first place!)

The problem I see happening is when you want to reposition your subject AFTER having made the shadow.

Since we have been creating shadows by duplicating our subject layer, blackening it, reducing opacity, move tool to offset, etc., etc., the problem comes when we move our original subject - the realistic shadow we created does not follow along (because it is on a separate layer).

Fortunately, the solution is simple! Ctrl-E

Ctrl-E (keyboard shortcut for LAYER-MERGE DOWN) will combine your shadow layer and your subject layer into ONE layer. Simply select the layer which is on top (orig.subject) and then do a Ctrl-E to merge it down together with your shadow effect.

Now being one layer, when you want to move your subject, the shadow will trail along.

Not just for shadows, whenever you have two or more items you want to be able to manipulate as one group, use Ctrl-E to merge your two (or more) layers together. (Since it will only combine one layer with the one directly below it, combining more than 2 layer will require more than 2 Ctrl-E operations)

In today's photo, once I combined the matchbox with the shadow, I could duplicate it over and over and position each one wherever I want on the photo.

Shortcuts Answer Your Prayers for More Time

Welcome to another edition of Shortcut Sundays!

Today brings many more Photoshop keyboard shortcuts, shortcuts which can be the answer to your prayers for more time.

Each keyboard shortcut can often save 2, 3, or 4 clicks of the mouse, plus your time reading pop-up dialog boxes which may appear at each step.

While one shortcut may not seem like that much of a time-saver, over the course of an entire photo project they can really add up.

Maybe all of them won't be useful for you, but the repeated use of the ones most commonly used in your work will make your life easier...help you get back some of your precious time.

That being said, here are today's Shortcut Sunday tips:

X switches your foreground and background color palettes
B brings up the brush tool
T brings up the text tool
J brings up the healing tool
W brings up the wand tool

Ctrl -Tab when you're working from several photos at once, your desktop can get pretty messy. Using this shortcut lets you quickly switch between layers

Ctrl -Shift-N adds a new layer to your work and includes the dialog pop-up box

Ctrl - Shift - Alt -N adds a new layer to your work instantly, without the dialog pop-up appearing

That's it for today's Shortcut Sunday tips. Be sure to try them out immediately while fresh in your mind. Even if you don't think you'll use them, by trying them just once or twice you may find that you'll remember them at just the right time in the future when you need them.

And for the ultimate Photoshop memory tool...be sure to sign-up for the FREE Photoshop Tip cards. Then, when you're stumped and wasting time because you want to do something but can't remember how, you can simply leaf through the tip cards setting beside your computer to find the answer.

No Google searching! No flipping from site to site! No interrupting your workflow!

If you really want to get through your Photoshop edits in the fastest possible way, and learn new tip and tricks to add pizazz to your photos...get your self a FREE pack of Photoshop Tip Cards today. Sign-up today!

And for even more great resources to help build your photography skills and profits -be sure to check out the other links located along the right side of this page. Personally used by me and tested for value, you'll find excellent opportunities for growth in the resource links provided.

Photoshop Shortcut Sundays Begin!

Welcome to Shortcut Sundays!

Each Sunday I'll be posting some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts. Some of them you may know, some you may not, and some of you may not even be aware that there are keyboard shortcuts. ( I know I played with Photoshop for 8 months before I first learned!)

So, to keep it short...here goes:

Ctrl + press the control key (Ctrl) and the (+) plus/equals keys to zoom in on your photo
Crtl - press the control key (Ctrl) and the (-) minus/underline keys together to zoom out

Hold Spacebar when zoomed in to turn your curser into a hand tool. Then just click and hold the left mouse key to move your selection around to see all the parts.

Ctrl T press control (Ctrl) and the letter (T) to bring up Free Transform to resize your images

Crtl J my favorite! Pressing (Ctrl) and letter (J) will duplicate the layer you are on currently

Crtl I pressing (Ctrl) and letter (I) will Invert, or change your foreground and background color palettes. Great when you are working on a layer mask to change quickly from white to black.

D one key shortcuts...doesn't get any shorter than that! Pressing letter (D) quicly changes your color palette back to the default, black and white

Q pressing letter (Q) brings up the Quickmask feature. then use your brush tool to paint over the area you wish to mask/select. Pressing (Q) again will SELECT the area (dancing ants) and then you can copy it into another layer. Works great as a selection tool for taking subjects out of one scene and putting them into another. Great for the folks in Scott's NewPhotoBiz group.

Well, there you have it. Eight great ways to save yourself precious time when working in Photoshop.

You'll find these shortcuts and more included in my Photoshop Tip Cards. If you haven't already, be sure to sign up at the top right of your screen to join our group. You'll receive your first pack
of Photoshop Tip Cards in the mail FREE just for signing up. Plus you'll get insider tips on many more photography and Photoshop related resources! Go ahead and sign up today...it's free!

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I'll tell you a quick way to get those cool sunrays you see streaming across the Sunrise photo featured today.