Levels Tip

If you need to lighten or darken the overall image, the Output Levels sliders at the bottom of the Levels dialog box can help. Dragging the left slider to the right will lighten the overall image. Dragging the right Output Levels slider to the left will darken the overall image. Since this change is so global (affecting the entire image across the board), itÕs generally used for special effects rather than for image correction, in which case you would use the Input Levels sliders up at the top instead.

Selection Super Timesaver

If you’ve made a selection in Photoshop, there are a wide range of things you can do with that selection (besides dragging it around): you can feather it, save it, copy it to a layer, transform it, etc. Well, you can access a list of the things that you’re most likely to do with your selection by holding the Control key and clicking-and-holding inside your selected area. A pop-up contextual menu will appear with a list of commands that you can apply to your selection. This is a huge timesaver and keeps you from digging through menus while you work.

Arrows, The Easy Way

You probably already know that if youÕre using the Line tool, you can add arrowheads to your lines by going up to the Options Bar and clicking on the down-facing triangle at the end of the Tool icons.

A little dialog box will appear that lets you determine the Width, Length, and Concavity (whatever that is). ThatÕs math. Math is hard. Maybe thatÕs why Adobe included a full set of very well-designed arrows in Photoshop as custom shapesÑall you have to do is switch to the Custom Shape tool, click on the Shape Picker (in the Options Bar) and from its drop-down menu choose Arrows. Ah, life is beautiful.

Why feathering Is So Important

Feathering affects the edge of your selection, and one of the main reasons to use it is to smooth the transition between your selection and the area surrounding it. Without the feathering there would be a harsh, obvious edge where your selection ends and the background begins.

This is a very popular technique in photo retouching, where it’s used to smooth the transition in areas that have been copied and pasted to hide defects or unwanted elements in the image.

Make multiple Lasso selections

You can make multiple selections with the Lasso tool by making one selection, then holding the Shift key while you make subsequent selections. There’s another way to do this that you might find easier than holding down the Shift key the entire time. After you’ve made your first selection, go up to the Options Bar and click on the second icon from the left (called the "Add to Selection" button), and now you can add additional areas to your selection without holding the Shift key.