Layers are a powerful feature of photo editing software that allows you to work on one part of an image without making alterations to the rest of it.
For someone starting out, the idea of using layers may seem a little intimidating. However once you get the hang of using layers you’ll wonder how you ever managed to do anything without them!
Today I’m going to give you my top tips for using layers when editing your images. For the purpose of this article I will concentrate on Photoshop but the process is generally the same in most photo editing software.
The first thing you need to do is open an image in your software…
When you have your Image loaded make sure you have the layers window open, in Photoshop click on the windows tab at the top and ensure that layers has a tick next to it.
The next thing you need to do before starting any work on your image is to duplicate the layer, this is done by right clicking on your image in the layers window and dragging it to the little square with the turned up corner at the bottom of the window.
In the layer window the transparent parts of any layer are shown by the checkered grid. The area that has the checkered grid will allow the layers beneath that layer to show through. You can turn each layer in an image on and off by clicking on its corresponding eye icon in the Layers palette.
If you have a complexed image with many layers you can easily lose track of where you are so in this situation it’s a good idea to organise your layers…
You can arrange them into layer groups by going to Layer > New > Group…. Each layer group will display in the same way as any un-grouped layers in the Layers window.
A layer group is represented by a folder icon. You can collapse or expand layer groups by clicking on the triangle to the left of the folder icon, and place layer groups within each other by dragging one folder icon into another.
To delete a layer just drag it to the dustbin icon at the bottom of the layers window.
To lock a window so that it cannot be changed, highlight the layer then select the padlock icon from the top of the layers window.
You can unlock the background image by holding alt and double clicking the background layer. Use with caution the background layer is locked for a good reason.
To help you keep track of what you are doing you can rename the layers by double-clicking on the individual layer names.
You can merge a highlighted layer into the one beneath it by pressing Ctrl- E. However If you have several selected layers, this shortcut will then merge those layers together.
To change the transparency of a highlighted layer use the slider in the opacity bar at the top of the layers window, setting the slider to around 80% can be invaluable if you are merging two images together but need to see the image below the layer you are working on. When you have finished just put the slider back up to 100%.
If you want to duplicate a selected layer, you can do this by pressing Ctrl-J. As I mentioned earlier you can also duplicate a layer by dragging it down to the square with the upturned corner.
A quick way to select multiple layers is by holding down Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and clicking the layers you want to select. This links the selected layers together and allows you to move them as one, using this method you can also delete them all at the same time also.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, most people learn best by doing, so have a play around with layers and see what you can do. But remember to use an image that you can afford to alter and not worry if it all goes awry.
