Photoshop® Elements 6 for Dummies®

Chapter 11. Playing with Filters, Effects, Styles, and More

In This Chapter

• Fooling with filters

• Getting familiar with the Filter Gallery

• Making digital taffy with Liquify

• Fixing camera distortion

• Enhancing with effects

• Using layer styles

• Changing colors with blend modes

• Compositing images with Photomerge

After giving your images a makeover — edges cropped, color corrected, flaws repaired, focus sharpened — you may want to get them all gussied up for a night out on the town. You can do just that with filters, effects, layer styles, and blend modes. These features enable you to add that touch of emphasis, drama, whimsy, or just plain goofy fun. We're the first to admit that often the simplest art (and that includes photographs) is the best. That gorgeous landscape shot or the portrait that perfectly captures the expression on a child's happy face is something you may want to leave unembellished. But, for the times when a little artistic experimentation is in order, turn to this chapter as your guide.

Having Fun with Filters

Filters have been around since the early days of digital imaging, when Photoshop was just a little bitty program. Filters, also called plug-ins because they can be installed or removed independently, change the look of your image in a variety of ways, as shown in Figure 11-1. They can correct less-than-perfect images by making them appear sharper or by covering up flaws, as ...