The Photoshop Tip of the Week for the Clients and Friends of Ben Willmore (www.digitalmastery.com):

Let's start your week on a positive note with some tips about Photoshop's layers:

Did you know that you can hold the Command key (Ctrl in Windows) when you click on the New Layer icon (it looks like a piece of paper with the corner folded over) and you'll be creating a new adjustment layer instead of a normal layer?

Or, when you click on the Trash icon at the bottom of the Layers palette, you can hold Option (Alt in Windows) to avoid that annoying "Delete this layer?" message.

You can even Command-click (Ctrl-click in Windows) on the name of a layer (in the Layers palette) to get a selection of everything on that layer. Try it… most people are amazed when they first see this. Just make sure the layer you're clicking on has some transparent areas so it doesn't select the entire screen (like it would with the background layer).

You can also Option-click (Alt-click in Windows) one of the eyeball icons in the Layers palette to hide all the layers, except the one you just clicked on. Option-click it again and all the eyeballs will be turned back on.

To lower the opacity of the currently active layer, make sure you're in the Move tool and then press the number keys at the top of your keyboard (2=20%, 23=23%, 0=100%, etc.) This is especially useful when you are attempting to position a layer so it lines up with the underlying image.

When the Move tool is active and you have your cursor over your image, you can Control-click (right mouse button in Windows) to get a list of all the layers that are directly below your cursor. Watch the Layers palette when you release the mouse button because the layer you chose from the list will become active! I use this technique everyday I'm in Photoshop… it's that useful!

Well, I think that's enough for today. I was in Santa Fe last week presenting a hands-on workshop. I had a great time and want to thank the twelve people who participated (including the good doctor from the back row)... talk to you all next week.

-Ben Willmore
Founder, Digital Mastery