Do any photographers really wish they spent more time in Photoshop than out shooting images? We can think of very few, which is why we’re always on the lookout for ways to speed up the editing process in Photoshop.
In the below video tutorial, software guru Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect shares what he says is an often overlooked and underappreciated feature that “saves hours of Photoshop frustration.” You may have come across the tool before and not thought much about it. It’s called Lock Layers and it does just that.
“Discover one of the most underrated but extremely useful features in Photoshop,” Dinda says. “In this video, learn how to use Lock Layers to prevent damaging hours of Photoshop work, just by an accidental movement or choice. This tutorial will cover all kinds of Layer locks and how you can use them, such as transparency lock, brush lock, position lock, and artboard lock.”
The reason this Photoshop tool is such a time-saver is that it literally “locks in” your edits so you don’t mistakenly alter them.
“Here’s the frustration,” he adds. “Whenever you’re doing something that involves a lot of brushing like dodging and burning or even removing blemishes, we zoom in and zoom out a lot. And, to do that, we hold the control or command and the space bar. Sometimes, by accident, while we are doing this, we can only hold the control or command and forget to press the space bar. And if we move it a little bit to the right hand side, everything moves. Now, as you’re zoomed in and you’re working with your work, you might not realize it and you might continue to do dodging and burning in many of the areas, just to figure out when you zoom out, you’re life has probably become a mess.”
Yes, we’ve been there before, and it can be incredibly frustrating. To stop this from happening to you, watch below as Dinda walks you through the various ways to use Lock Layers to help safeguard your edits from errant movements.
