Photoshop Tips - Adobe Photoshop and Text
July 20th, 2008
The use of photographs as a way of expression has traversed a long and creative route. From scintillating images that were once considered the forte of niche artists, to using images as a captivating means to bring everyday necessities like calendars, e-cards and even online albums to share with the rest of the world, the modern-day perception of this art is indeed multifarious. When it comes to the more unconventional applications of photography, you may often find that a few words of wisdom, or humor as the case may be, often packs in a lot more punch than simply using the images themselves. In the days of yore, this option was considered a veritable taboo, in light of the tacky effect a caption or a tagline brought about. With Photoshop, however, this qualm is wiped away with the plethora of alternatives which have literally revolutionized the way the world views digital image editing.
Photoshop relies on the principle of Anti-Aliasing, which literally blends the text in with its background, so that the final result of your editing efforts is not a scintillating image and a few well-thought over words but an image of which the text and the photograph are fundamental parts. Anti-Aliasing works on the pixels of your text, partially filling in the edges to have them merge with the image. And this remarkable tool also allows you to be flexible and discreet in the extent to which you use it. If you are looking for an effect that is well-blended and yet retains the distinctiveness of the text, the ‘Sharp’ option allows you just what you’re looking for, while the ‘Strong’ alternative makes the text heavier than the rest of the image.
When working with text that is very small in size and falls under the threshold of 10 or 12 points, it is advisable that you refrain from using Anti-Aliasing, as this may modify your text in an inconsistent manner. The same applies to images that are not of a very high resolution which may lead to the text being blurred at certain points. To smoothen or sharpen the text, you can choose the similarly labeled alternatives while the ‘Crisp’ option lets you meander midway, with the text preserving its conspicuousness and yet not standing out too blatantly from the rest of the image. To use Anti-Aliasing on your image, go into the ‘Type’ layer in the ‘Layer Palette’ which brings you to the Anti-Aliasing menu. It is from this menu, which you will find in the ‘Options’ bar or in the ‘Character Palette’ that you can select the most viable alternative to apply to your frame.
A swift way to reach for the Type tool is with the letter ‘T’. This brings the Type Tool options to the Options bar, from where you can use the ones you want to work with. The first two buttons let you choose between creating a Type Mask, or a Type Layer, which you can, depending on what you’re more comfortable with. If you have a large amount of text you want to fit into your image, the best way to go about it is to create a Type Layer, click and drag a rectangle or square to size your text and fit it in the section of the image where you want the text to be featured. If you plan to type directly onto the document, you can save on a lot of time and effort by referring to the I-beam that appears on the image. The small horizontal line that cuts across the beam indicates the baseline, which you can use to align your text with the image, even as you’re working on it!
While Photoshop does allow you to preview the font and the character size of your text before you type it in, sometimes it can be quite difficult to figure out what the final product’s going to look like at the very outset. And if you are befuddled about which font you want to stick with for your text, you can simply fill it in, highlight in and then choose the font and style that seems most appropriate to your text and overall image. Color is yet another avenue where you can let your imagination run wild. Photoshop lets you coordinate the color of your text from character to character, or even hue your image in an assortment of colors, all within a single layer! You can either choose your color from the Color-Picker window or from the image itself by moving over the pertinent segment of the image while the Color-Picker window is still open.
Once you added your text and granted it all the enhancements you could think of, you may want to take a minute to gloat over your accomplishment. To do this, exit the type mode with the ‘Enter’ key on the ‘Numeric Keypad’. You can also exit the ‘Typing mode’ by selecting any other tool in the toolbox or clicking on the checkmark in the Options bar. And if you still aren’t satisfied with the text you’ve added, you can re-enter the Editing mode by double-clicking on the ‘T’ icon in the thumbnail area of the Layers Palette. For a quick-fix job where you just want to resize the text or move it around, remember to hold down the ‘Shift’ key while dragging the text to adhere to the proportions. Not doing so will lead to your text becoming taller or wider than it originally was and if that’s what you’re looking for, proceed the same way you would with the exception of holding down the ‘Shift’ key.
As Photoshop continues to advance and develop, it also expands in the opportunities it offers photography enthusiasts of every level of skill from beginners who are exploring new avenues to experts who seek challenge to rein their creativity. Learning your way about this software can seem an uphill task, in view of the expansive features that it boasts of, and all the possibilities it opens new doors to. If you haven’t begun already, master Photoshop today and let your ingenuity startle you with the heights it soars to!
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