Inside Photoshop® CS

Trick 10: Fixing a Chopped-Off Drop Shadow

I have been putting drop shadows on everything in the Inside Photoshop books for years. The famous Gaussian blur drop shadow is extremely overused, starting with PC Magazine and ending up on both the Mac OS and Windows XP Plus! Pack interfaces. So why do I apparently succumb to peer pressure? The answer is simple: The drop shadow adds dimension, so you are not stuck reading a “flat” book for hours on end. If I get you to refocus every now and then, I've provided a valuable service and will be sending you my ophthalmologist's bill.

Seriously, there are hazards associated with drop-shadowing everything. One big hazard occurs when you apply a drop shadow, make a few editing moves, and then move a drop-shadowed ...