Photoshop filters allow you to make changes to an image quickly and easily. You can transform an image from a photo to a painted appearance, add motion blur, even make things glow.
Basic Rules for Filters
- Filters are applied one at a time. You need to make one set of adjustments before you can make the next. You can use the History window to go back and undo a set of changes at any time.
- Filters can be applied to the entire image, or just a portion. Filters will work only on the currently selected layer. If you want multiple layers to have the same effect, you'll need to apply the filter to each layer, or flatten the image before applying filters. You can also select a small portion of the image using the Marquee or Lasso tools and apply the filter only to that area. Note that this won't work if you've converted the image to a Smart Object.
- Filters use slider controls. The main functions of a filter are preset, and you can only enhance or reduce the effect with the slider controls. You can't change the basic nature of what a filter does, but you do have some control over most of the effects.
- Some filters change image colors. Always check the preview function to see how your image will be affected. A few filters replace the colors in an image to add outline effects or convert color images to black and white.
Types of Filters
There are 11 main categories of filters in Photoshop:
- Artistic: These filters transform your image so that it looks like it was drawn or painted.
- Blur: Filters that add motion effects or lens distortion.
- Brush Strokes: Can be used on their own to make an image appear drawn or painted, but they work best to enhance the effects of Artistic filters.
- Distort: Lets you twist or alter images to make them appear like they're being seen through glass or ocean ripples.
- Noise: Allows you to add or remove the appearance of light damage to the image. This can be very useful for restoring antique photographs.
- Pixellate: These filters enhance the individual pixels in an image to create effects. This filter set includes a color halftone converter and the artistic Pointilize filter for Georges Seurat fans.
- Render: Includes the Lens Flare and Lighting Effects filters, which can be used to dramatically alter the appearance of an image.
- Sharpen: These filters allow you to manipulate the sharpness of an image, typically by enhancing the contrast between pixels.
- Sketch: Another set of filters that will make the image appear like a drawing or print, but unlike the Artistic filters, these will alter the colors in the image, replacing full color with two or three colors.
- Stylize: There are a variety of effects here, all of which will distort the plane or the colors of the image.
- Texture: Filters that apply patterns to an image, making it look like stained glass or something printed on cloth. The Film Grain texture can be very useful for giving modern digital pictures an antique look.
Additional Filters
A second set of filters can be found under Image>Adjustments>Photo Filter. These filters allow you to change the color balance of the image to make it appear as if certain lens filters were used when it was taken. The Photoshop Sepia Filter is included in this menu, which makes it easy to convert modern images into antique-looking sepia-toned prints.
Third-party Photoshop plug-in filters can also be bought and added to your collection. Many of these filters offer enhancements over the basic functions of Photoshop filters, giving you more control over the results.
