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Each of us has his or her own favorite keyboard shortcuts when using Photoshop or any other program for that matter. I am referring to those keyboard shortcuts or keyboard plus mouse click combination we use to perform certain tasks in Photoshop that would otherwise takes more time to execute.

Here are my personal favorites when it comes to Photoshop tips and tricks. I have been using most of these techniques over the past decade. I learned some of these Photoshop tips and tricks from attending Photoshop classes while most are learned from reading magazines and researching online. This roundup is intended for beginners although some advanced users may find a few tricks that they have not stumbled upon yet.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 01 – In the blink of an eye

This is my favorite especially when I am working on a Photoshop file that involves multiple layers. So if you need to view just a single layer or if you need to make a complex editing on a certain layer and do not want to be distracted by other layers, just hold down the Alt (PC) or Option (Mac) and click on the eye icon next to the particular layer that you want to view. All the other layers will become invisible.

To view all the layers again, just hold down again Alt/Option and click on the eye icon. All the layers will become visible again.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS TRICKS 02 – Hide the palettes

Most of the time, especially if you are working on a complicated design, you have to have many palettes opened all at the same time. This makes your monitor cluttered and worse, you might not be able to view the entire image you’re working on. So if you need to view your image to check your overall progress without distractions, just hit the Tab key and the palettes will disappear.

Hit the Tab again to get them back.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 03 Brush Picker on the Fly

If you are using several brushes for your design, it can be a real pain having to keep visiting the Brush Picker or Brushes Palette to change the brush or alter the diameter. But there’s a tricky shortcut. With the Brush tool selected on the Tools palette, right click (PC) or Ctrl-click (Mac) on your artwork or image and the brush picker will appear. Pick the brush that you would like to use. If you need to adjust the brush size at this point, just hit the open ([) to reduce or close (]) braces to enlarge.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 04 – Open a layered file as a flattened image

It is always a good idea to always keep a backup of any image you create, in all its layered glory.However, if you need to just take a quick look at the file, it can be frustrating to wait for all the layers to load. You don’t have to wait actually. Just go to File>Open and find the layered file that you want to load. But there’s an extra step that you need to perform before hitting the Open button. If you are on a PC, hold down Shift+Alt or Shift+Option (Mac) then hit the Open button. Photoshop will open a flattened version of your file.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 05 – Smarter Way of Editing Type Color

When working with type, we usually edit the its color by highlighting the text and then picking a new color by double clicking on the Foreground color and choosing from the Color Picker. Problem is, because the text is highlighted, you can’t see the color change. To get around this, select the Type layer on the Layers palette then click the color square on the options bar. As you change the color, you’ll see the type alter accordingly.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 06 - Saturate a Landscape by Burning

The quickest way to get the heavily saturated images you usually see in advertisements, use the Color Burn blending mode. This mode darkens colors and boosts contrast, which looks particularly good when applied to landscape shots. Simply duplicate your original photo, change the mode to Color Burn and see what you end up with. If it’s too strong, reduce the Opacity slider.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 07 – Fix Overexposure or Underexposure

A great way to sort out underexposure in an image is to bring blending modes into play. Open the image you want to edit then duplicate it. Select the top layer and change the blend mode to Multiply. This will make the image darker, which is perfect for overexposed images.

On the other hand, if you are working with an underexposed photos, set the blending mode to Screen and things will lighten considerably. You can adjust the effect of the Screen or Multiply effect by reducing the Opacity slider.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 08 - Angles

If you want an image to follow a certain angle, you can do it by using the Measure tool (located in the Eyedropper tool’s flyout menu). With your image open, select the Measure tool then click and drag a line to the angle you want. Then go to Edit menu and choose Transform>Rotate. The layer will then snap to the line you drew.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 09 - Transform and copy

If you need to use a single object object more than once in a document or maybe you want this object to be in different angles or sizes, try pressing CTRL+Alt+T (in PC) or Cmd+Alt+T (in Mac). Then, modify the copy of the original object using the Free Transform tool as you normally would. Your transform will take place on a copy of your object, leaving the original completely intact. This step will surely save you time than creating multiple layers and doing everything manually.

PHOTOSHOP TIPS AND TRICKS 10 – Extract textures

The Extract Filter may be your favorite tool for extracting images or objects. Let’s enhance this option by adding a few more steps. . When working in the Extract interface (Filter>Extract), locate the Extraction Image checkboxwhich you can find at the right-hand panel. Tick this and the tool will search for edges by examining texture.