30 Days of Photoshop – Day 15

Introducing the Layer Effects

Half-way through our 30 Days of Photography and now we are looking at some of the cool special effects we can apply to layers.

They are also known as Layer Styles, which implies that layers have styles.  They don’t, elements on the layers can have these effects applied to them, but the layers themselves can’t.

You can apply these effects to graphics or text that you might be using in your photo.  Things such as drop shadows, strokes and bevels are easy to apply and can really enhance their. appearance.

Where do you find them?

Open up your layers panel (F7) and along the bottom of the panel are a series of icons.

The second icon from the left simply has the two letters fx, click on it.

A sub-menu appears with the list of effects available to you.

• • • • • • • • • Bevel & Emboss
                • Stroke
                • Inner Shadow
                • Inner Glow
                • Satin
                • Color Overlay
                • Gradient Overlay
                • Pattern Overlay
                • Outer Glow
                • Drop Shadow

In this tutorial I have not gone through every single effect, it would take too long.  Instead, I have given a brief overview, leaving you to explore and experiment on your own.

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