Layer Style Techniques for Photohraphers

dangtruong

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If you are a photographer, this tutorial is specially for you. This will explain concept and fundamental knowledge for using Layer Style in Photoshop in details one by one. Finally, I would show some practical techniques for photography works.

The Drop Shadow uses the Multiply blending mode to create an offset shadow behind the layer object. The default color is set to black using Multiply blend mode at 75%. But you can change this so the shadow effect uses some other blend mode and you can alter the opacity to produce a stronger or lighter shadow. Below this is the angle setting, where you can either enter a numeric value or use the rotary control to manually set the shadow angle. The Use Global Angle comes into play when you want to link the angle set here with those used in other layer effect settings such as the Inner Shadow or Bevel and Emboss layer effects (and that of any other Layer Styles layers). Deselect this option if you want to set the angles independently. Below this are the main shadow effect controls. The Distance slider will determine the number of pixels the drop shadow will be offset by. The Size slider sets the pixel size increase of the shadow and the Spread slider should be used to control the softness of that shadow. At 100%, the shadow will have a harsh edge. At 0% it will be at its softest. The Contour shape will determine how the shadow fades out (the linear contour is best for most shadow creation).

Figure 1 Drop Shadow Layer Style dialog.

Adjusting the drop shadow settings directly

Note that while the Drop Shadow Layer Style dialog is open you can set the drop shadow angle and position by simply dragging with the cursor in the document window area.

Inner Shadow

The Inner Shadow controls are more or less identical to the Drop Shadow effect. The only difference being that this particular effect applies a shadow within the layered type or object area. The result may appear to be either that of a recessed shadow or will give a convex 3D appearance to the layer object. It all depends on the angle you choose and the size and distance of the shadow

Figure 1 The Inner Shadow Layer Style dialog.

Adding Noise

The Drop Shadow and Inner Shadow layer effects have a Noise slider control. It is often a good idea to add a little noise, such as around 2-3%, when creating a shadow so as to reduce the risk of banding appearing in the image.

Figure 2 Here is an example of a still life product shot that was taken in a hurry against a simple white card background. As you can see, there is some spill light causing flare around the edges of the subject. I made an outline selection of the lens and copied it to its own layer and then applied the Inner Shadow settings shown in Figure 1, which used a distance of zero. This layer style was able to counteract the lightness around the edges.

Outer Glow

The Outer Glow is also much like the Drop Shadow, but is defaulted to the Screen blending mode, and the effect spreads out evenly from the center. The glow layer effects can be used to apply either a solid or a gradient-based glow effect.

Figure 1 The Outer Glow Layer Style dialog.

Any color you want

The layer effect colors can easily be edited. Yellow is chosen as a default for the glow color settings because I guess yellow could be used to simulate the glow from a light bulb. But you don’t have to use just yellow. You can select any color you like here.

Inner Glow

The Inner Glow contains options for edge and center glows, again using the Screen blending mode. Used in conjunction with the Inner Shadow, you can achieve a smooth 3D ‘contoured’ appearance with the centered Inner Glow setting. The glow layer effect can apply either a solid or a gradient-based glow.

Figure 1 The Inner Glow Layer Style dialog.

Any color you want

The layer effect colors can easily be edited. Yellow is chosen as a default for the glow color settings because I guess yellow could be used to simulate the glow from a light bulb. But you don’t have to use just yellow. You can select any color you like here.

Bevel and Emboss

The Bevel and Emboss effect adds a highlight and a shadow edge 180 degrees apart from each other. When you adjust the height or angle settings of the light, the two move in sync, and this can be used to create an illusion of depth. Bevel and Emboss is often used to create contoured type and 3D web page buttons. But this layer effect can sometimes be used in photography, like the molten ice image that is shown on page 440 in the book.

Figure 1 The Bevel and Emboss Layer Style dialog.

The Structure settings are used to establish the type of bevel and emboss you want to create, such as an outer bevel, an inner bevel, or pillow emboss plus whether you want the bevel to use a smooth or hard chisel technique. The Shading options can then be used to enhance the bevel and emboss structure where you can adjust the lighting direction, the shadow and highlight properties. The Gloss Contour options (see: Layer Effect Contours) can be used to add some interesting metallic-looking effects to the surface of a beveled object. If you check the indented Contour option you can apply a separate contour to define the bevel edge and if you check the Texture option below that, you can add an embossed pattern texture to the surface.

Figure 2 The Contour and Texture options can be used to adjust the bevel contour shape or add an embossed texture to the surface of the beveled object.

Figure 3 This example shows an image where I applied a Bevel and Emboss layer style to a shape layer using the settings shown in Figure 1, which also included a small amount of drop shadow.

Satin

The Satin layer effect can be used to add a satin type finish to the surface of the layer or type. You will want to adjust the distance and size to suit the pixel area of the image layer that you are applying the effect to.

Figure 1 The Satin Layer Style dialog.

Figure 2 Here is an example of a layer style which combines the Bevel and Emboss and Satin layer effects, using the settings shown in Figure 1.

Gradient Overlay

The separate Opacity and Blend modes can be applied to create subtle combinations of gradient coloring. The Align with Layer option will center align the gradient to the middle of the layer, although you can drag with the cursor in the image window to move the gradient, while the Scale option will enlarge or shrink the spread of the gradient.

Figure 1 The Gradient Overlay Layer Style dialog.

Pattern Overlay

To add a Pattern Overlay, select a saved pattern from the presets. The Opacity and Scale sliders will modify the appearance of the overlay pattern. The Link with Layer option will lock the pattern relative to the layer object.

Figure 1 The Pattern Overlay Layer Style dialog.

Figure 2 Here is an image that was created using a Photoshop Pattern preset called ‘Stones’ which can be found in the Rock Patterns collection.

Figure 3 The Rock Patterns collection is one of several Pattern presets that you can are included in the default installation of Photoshop. You just need to go to the Pattern presets menu and highlight a collection name to append or replace the current selection of Patterns.

Color Overlay

This Layer effect will add a color fill overlay to the layer contents. All you need to do here is select a color, vary the opacity and set the Blend mode and blend opacity.

Figure 1 The Color Overlay Layer Style dialog.

Stroke

The Stroke effect applies a stroke to the outline of the layer or text with either a color, a gradient or a pattern. The options in this dialog are similar to those in the Edit Stroke command, except as with all layer effects, the stroke is scalable and will adapt to follow any edits or modifications made to the associated layer.

Figure 1 The Stroke Layer Style dialog.

Layer effect contours

The layer effect contours in Photoshop will affect the shape of the shadows and glows for the Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow and Inner Glow layer effects. The examples on this and the next page show the results of applying different contours and how this will affect the outcomes of these various layer effects. The Bevel and Emboss and the Satin layer effects are handled slightly differently. In these cases, the contour will affect the surface texture appearance of the layer effect. The Bevel and Emboss dialog refers to this type of contour as being a Gloss Contour and you can generate some interesting metallic textures by selecting different contour shapes. The Bevel and Emboss edge itself can be modified with a separate contour (see the Bevel and Emboss Layer Style).

Figure 1 Here is a Layer style applied to a filled shape layer. The silky texture can be attributed to the use of an inverted cone contour being combined with the Satin layer effect.

1 The linear contour is the default. In all these examples a Drop Shadow effect was added to the Star shape. Bevel and Emboss and Outer Glow effects were applied to the pi shape layer.

2 The Gaussian curve contour accentuates the contrast of the layer effect edges by making the shadows and glows fall off more steeply

3 The single ring contour can produce a subtle bevel type shadow when applied with a slight displacement. The Outer Glow was made with Range set to 100%.

4 The double ring shape produces a more graphic type of layer effect. As can be seen here, the shadows look like contoured neon lights and the Bevel and Emboss resembles a chrome type effect. The Outer Glow Range was set to 70%.

5 A triple ring contour shape can produce a similar effect to the double ring shape. The Outer Glow Range was again set to 70%.

6 Clicking on the contour shape icon will open the Contour Editor dialog (shown opposite). Use this to load and save custom contour shapes. You can create your own customized contour and save as a new contour to add to your current set. And you can preview the effect the new custom contour has on the current Layer Effect. Check the Corner box if you want to make a point into an angled corner.

Saving Layer Styles

If there is a chance you may wish to reuse a combination of Layer Style settings again in the future, it is well worth saving custom layer style settings as a reloadable Layer Style. Just follow the steps below.

Figure 1 When you have found an effect setting or a combination of settings which you would like to keep, you can save these as a style. First make sure that the layer style you wish to save is active by checking it is highlighted in the Layers palette. Then go to the Styles palette shown here and click in the empty area. Or, you can click on the New Style button at the bottom of the Layer Style dialog. Either action can be used to save the current layer style combination as a new style.

Figure 2 Next you will be shown the New Style dialog where you can give the Style a name and the new Style will be appended in the Styles palette.

Figure 3 There are many preset styles that you can load in Photoshop. The Styles palette shown here is using the Large Thumbnail view setting. To permanently save the styles you have currently loaded in this palette, go to the fly-out menu and select Save Styles… To remove a style, -click on a style in the Styles palette.