Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual

Adding Effects

Like filters, effects give you loads of ways to really change the appearance of your photo—from adding green slime textures to surrounding your photos with classy picture frames. Although you apply effects with a simple double-click of your mouse, these clicks actually trigger a sequence of changes that Elements applies to your image. Some of the effects involve many complex steps, although Elements works so quickly you might not even notice all the changes taking place.

Adobe puts effects in two places: in the Effects palette, and in the Content palette. In Elements 6, you'll still find some basic photo effects in the Effects palette, but most of the frames and all of the Text Effects have moved over to the Content palette, which works a bit differently from the Effects palette. The Content Palette explains how to use the Content palette, and there's more about Text Effects on Text Effects. This section is about working with the Photo Effects from the Effects palette.

Note

You usually can't customize or change an effect's settings. Effects are typically an all-or-nothing deal. For example, if you use one of the Frame effects, you either take the frame size as Elements applies it to your image, or you don't. No need to ask if you can adjust the scale of the frame relative to your photo—you can't. (This is why most of the frames are now Smart Objects (Creating Multipage Documents) that you apply from the Content palette.)

You apply effects from the Effects palette (choose ...