**Program Tutorials** : Photoshop Elements : *Program Basic

By and © Stacy Fox-Myers 2004 DOWNLOAD PRINT PDF VERSION HERE. This tutorial will show you how use drop shadows to add depth and a more realistic “paper scrapped” look to your layouts in PSE.

•  In the Layer Palette , click on the name of the layer to which you want to add a shadow. Your active layer will have a paint brush icon next to it in the Layer Palette
Hint : By default the Layer Palette is located in the Palette Well. You can grab the Layer tab and pull it down into your work area, so that the Layer Palette will always be open. Then you can more quickly make adjustments to your layers.

•  Now go to the Palette Well and click on the Layer Styles tab.



Click on the down arrow in the Layer Styles window and select Drop Shadows

Click on the thumbnail for Low shadows.


Your active layer will now have a low drop shadow applied to it, but you may want to play with the drop shadow settings to achieve the look you want



•  In the Layer Palette , double click on the “f” to the right of the layer to which you just added a drop shadow.



In the Style Settings window adjust the Shadow Distance to an amount that you like. You can move the slider bar or type a size in the input box. Then click OK . Typically shadow distances of 5 – 12 pixels look good for photos, tags, mats and other flat elements
 
Things to remember about this technique: •  For the most realistic look, have all shadows use the same lighting angle . This duplicates the look of one light source creating all the shadows for the elements in your layout. •  Taller, bigger elements cast larger shadows than flat elements. The shadow for a button should be larger than the shadow of a photo mat. Notice in the example at the beginning of this tutorial of a layout with shadows that the hemp fiber has a much larger shadow than the photo mat or pictures. •  You can also use this technique on text for titles to create a dramatic look. Try using a hard edge shadow to give your text more definition.

© Copyright 2003-2005 by Scrapbook-Bytes; & original creator/s of tutorials/articles

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