10 Hidden Photoshop Features Every Designer Should Know

Adobe Photoshop is packed with a multitude of features that even experienced users often overlook. This article highlights ten hidden gems that can enhance your workflow, reduce repetitive tasks, and help create more polished, professional results. Dive into these underutilized features, and see how they can transform your design process.

1. Content-Aware Fill

What It Does: Content-Aware Fill intelligently fills in selected areas by analyzing surrounding content, making it ideal for quickly removing unwanted objects from photos.

How to Use It: Simply make a selection around the area you want to remove, then go to 'Edit > Content-Aware Fill'. Photoshop will replace the selected area with pixels that blend naturally into the surrounding background.

2. Layer Comps

What It Does: Layer Comps allow you to save multiple design variations in a single document by capturing the visibility, position, and appearance of layers.

How to Use It: Open the 'Layer Comps' panel under 'Window > Layer Comps'. This feature is particularly useful when presenting design options to clients or creating A/B comparisons without duplicating files.

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3. Blend If

What It Does: 'Blend If' enables you to control layer blending based on brightness, making it easier to isolate shadows or highlights.

How to Use It: Double-click on a layer to open the 'Layer Style' dialog, then adjust the 'Blend If' sliders under 'Blending Options'. You can fine-tune blending by holding the Alt/Option key while dragging.

4. Vanishing Point

What It Does: This tool is perfect for adding graphics to surfaces in perspective, like billboards or product packaging.

How to Use It: Go to 'Filter > Vanishing Point'. Define a plane by creating a grid, and paste your image into the grid to ensure it follows the correct perspective.

5. Select Subject & Object Selection Tool

What It Does: With Adobe’s AI-powered 'Select Subject' and 'Object Selection' tools, you can quickly isolate specific elements in an image, saving time on complex selections.

How to Use It: Simply select 'Select Subject' under 'Select > Subject', or choose the 'Object Selection' tool from the toolbar. This feature is ideal for removing backgrounds or isolating people and objects.

6. Camera Raw Filter for JPGs

What It Does: The 'Camera Raw Filter' brings powerful editing tools typically reserved for RAW files to any image, including JPGs.

How to Use It: Access the 'Camera Raw Filter' under 'Filter > Camera Raw Filter' to make precise adjustments to color, exposure, and more. This filter gives you granular control over basic edits that go beyond simple adjustments.

7. Smart Filters

What It Does: Smart Filters allow you to apply filters non-destructively to Smart Objects, so you can edit or remove them at any time.

How to Use It: Convert your layer to a Smart Object by right-clicking and selecting 'Convert to Smart Object'. Then, apply your filter as usual. You’ll see the filter listed under the layer, where you can double-click to adjust settings.

8. Actions

What It Does: Actions let you record and replay a sequence of steps, making it possible to automate repetitive processes.

How to Use It: Open the 'Actions' panel and hit 'Record' to capture your workflow. You can then play this back whenever needed. Actions are invaluable for batch processing, such as resizing multiple images.

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9. History Log

What It Does: The History Log tracks every step of your editing process, making it useful for documentation or reviewing changes later.

How to Use It: Enable it under 'Edit > Preferences > History Log' and select the desired level of detail. This feature can help you keep track of edits, which is useful for client work or when working on complex projects.

10. Match Color

What It Does: Match Color helps you harmonize colors across multiple layers or images, which is especially useful in compositing.

How to Use It: Go to 'Image > Adjustments > Match Color', choose a source image, and Photoshop will adjust the colors of the current image to match. This tool can quickly unify color tones in multi-layered compositions.

These hidden Photoshop features can streamline your workflow, improve the quality of your designs, and even unlock new creative possibilities. By experimenting with each, you can find new ways to optimize your work and produce more sophisticated results.