Using Layer Styles in Photoshop^®

Contributed by Lindsey Michael Miller

There are several layer styles to choose from, including Bevel & Emboss, Inner Shadow, Color Overlay, Stroke, and several others. If you want to access the layer style box, all you have to do is double-click a layer in the palette.

I recommend playing around with them, and if you don’t like the change, click “Undo Typing” from the“Edit” menu at the top of the screen. Otherwise, you can read below to find out what many of the layer styles can do.

Outer Shadow

Outer shadow creates a back-dropped shadow behind the image that you select. It’s good for outlining different objects in your photograph. All you have to do is select the object and then choose the outer shadow function. This is great to use for images that you want to stand out in your photo or graphic.

Inner Shadow

Inner shadow puts the shadow in front of the outside edges of the image, rather than behind the outside. It works much to the same effect as outer shadow, by highlighting the image out of everything behind it. But it makes the object appear as if something else is overshadowing it.

Inner Bevel

Inner bevel works similarly to the other two, but instead of placing shadows in front or behind, it outlines the object from underneath. This gives the image a “weighted” appearance, and is often used with text and images that sit in the foreground of the design.

Pillow Emboss

Pillow emboss takes the image and pronounces more by outlining it. As opposed to the shadowing techniques, embossing something sets it apart entirely—whereas the shadowing effects make the image still look like it fits into the greater part of the design.

Outer Glow

Outer glow, as by now I’m sure you can imagine, is much the same as the shadowing effects, but with a “glow” feature rather than a shadow feature. It can be useful in graphics where you want to pronounce something of greater value in the design to bring attention to it in a positive way. This is not to say that the shadowing effects produce something negative, but they seem to be subtler than the glowing effects.

Inner Glow

Inner glow would seem to do the same effect as outer glow, but to its reverse. However, don’t let this one fool you, because it actually makes the image appear “de-highlighted” and sets it into the background of the design even more than it was before. If you want a part of the design to be less pronounced, inner glow is a good choice.

Stroke

Stroke is a fun tool that allows you to outline a particular object with any color. You can magnify or decrease the strength of the color as well as its scope. This is a fun tool to play around with to get loud and eye-catching results on your images.

Satin

Satin is pretty self-explanatory. If you use this layer style, it makes the object appear like it has a “satiny” texture to it. It does this by moving the colors up and down by small variances. It’s a fun tool, but don’t over use it.

Color Overlay, Gradient Overlay, and Pattern Overlay

The overlay tools allow you to take an object and place a filter over the top. You don’t actually change the color of the object entirely. You simply change the hue. You can put gradient and pattern effects over the image as well. This can be a complicated tool, but you can mix and match colors, patterns, and gradients to change the image almost entirely. You can use the filter for the whole design or just part of it, and you can also use several colors in the filter, slowly moving from one to the other, creating a rainbow effect on the image.

That’s most of the often used layer styles, but there are a few others; and there are thousands of variances and secondary effects and sub-categories you can use within these primary styles. Above all, I recommend that you take some time to play with the program, and it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a Photoshop tutorial or manual to help you discover all the tools available.

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About the Author:
Lindsey Michael Miller is a writer and freelance journalist living in Brooklyn, New York and writes articles for newspapers and magazines around the country. He’s currently working on a MFA in creative writing at Long Island University and recently published his first book entitled The Circus.

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