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[ 59 ]- USE PUPPET WARP TO ROTATE AN OBJECT
AROUND A PLACED PIN LIKE A HINGE
A really weird, bendy hinge, that is. Try this next time you’re using
Puppet Warp (Edit>Puppet Warp): After you click to add control pins
on the mesh, click on one of the pins to make it active. Hold down
Option (PC: Alt) and hover over the active pin. If your cursor is directly
over the pin, you’ll see a pair of scissors for deleting the point, but if
you move the cursor a slight distance away, you’ll see a circle appear
around the pin. This allows you to use the pin not just as an anchor
point within the mesh, but a pivot point as well. Just click-and-drag
to rotate the subject around that pin. Perfect for those instances you
need a slight angle adjustment for your subject.
you click in the document. Instead, with the Move tool active, simply
hold the Command (PC: Ctrl) key to temporarily engage Auto-
select, and then click on an object in the composite to make that
the active layer.
Next, always keep Show Transform Controls turned on. This
enables you to instantly transform any active layer. If you click
anywhere on the bounding box that now appears around the layer,
Photo shop initiates Free Transform. From there, you can Right-click
on the image to access all the transformation options, including
Warp and flipping the layer. It’s all in the Move tool.
- EFFORTLESSLY ADD A NONDESTRUCTIVE
FEATHER TO A MASK
Sometimes you just need to add a bit of blur to the edge of a mask
to help it sit better within the composite. While Select and Mask can
always help finesse your masks to perfection, here’s a super-easy way
to add just the basic feathering.
Once you have your mask more or less set up for a layer, double-
click on the layer mask thumbnail (next to the layer name in the Layers
panel) to open its Properties panel. Drag the Feather slider as much as
needed. You can always change your mind and go back into the Proper-
ties panel and try another Feather amount. - CLIPPED CURVES ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
TO CONTROL BLENDING MODE EFFECTS
Adding a clipped Curves adjustment layer directly above a blend-
ing mode layer, especially for blending modes such as Multiply and
Screen, is a fantastic way to gain more control over the effect of the
blend. Press Command-Option-G (PC: Ctrl-Alt-G) to clip the Curves
adjustment layer to the blending mode layer below it, and add points
to the curve in the Properties panel (Window>Properties) for total
control. Nifty, right? - PRECISELY CHANGE THE TRANSFORM REFERENCE
POINT LOCATION WITH A SINGLE CLICK
If you ever find yourself needing to rotate or scale an object around
a particular point, try this tip. With the Move tool (V) active, and
Show Transform Controls turned on in the Options Bar, enter Free
Transform by clicking anywhere along the edge of the bounding box
around your layer. You’ll now see a checkbox in the Options Bar next
to the Reference Point Location icon (grid). Make sure this check-
box is turned on. The Free Transform bounding box should have a
reference point in its middle (the default). Next, Option-click (PC:
Alt-click) wherever you like inside the bounding box to place the
reference point at that position! Scale or rotate as desired based on
this new anchor.
49. STOP A CURVES ADJUSTMENT LAYER
FROM AFFECTING THE SATURATION
Whenever you’re using a layer adjustment such as Curves, and you
find that it’s altering the color saturation in your image more than you
like, try changing its layer blending mode to Luminosity in the Layers
panel. Voilà! Now the light and dark values change without affecting
the saturation!
50. USE A BLACK & WHITE ADJUSTMENT
LAYER TO CONTROL COLOR VALUES
WITHOUT ALTERING SATURATION
If you ever need a nondestructive way to adjust the lightness or dark-
ness of a color, add a Black & White adjustment layer, and change its
blending mode to Luminosity. This blending mode will revert your
image back to color, but now all the sliders in the Properties panel
(Window>Properties) for the Black & White adjustment layer will only
affect value—not saturation. Lighten blues, darken reds—go wild—
all without a single selection or mask.
ALL IMAGES THIS SPREAD BY BRET MALLEY