Get the Image You Want: Essential Photoshop Editing Techniques

Control visual focus with the Gradient tool

There are times when visual clutter in a digital photo is good, especially when it's used to convey a sense of complexity or disorder. But generally, just as its name suggests, visual clutter tends to confuse the viewer and muddle your message. This is why we try to avoid it when composing a photo.

But there are times when no amount of framing, cropping, or selective focus will keep your composition simple. This can be due to any number of factors, such as available lighting, lack of setup time, or even subject location, as shown in Figure A. But whatever your obstacles, one way you can control the visual focus in your images is with Photoshop's Gradient tool. Not only is it easy to use, but it provides ...