Help with scrapping in Photoshop CS6

maryinaz said:
They are actions I had in CS3 - some from Pioneer Woman and some from 4 Hens. And when I click on one, nothing happens. It's probably something silly, like I don't have something selected. I just tried what worked in CS3 and that was just clicking on the action.
Click to expand...

Are you pushing the "play button" or just clicking on the name of the action!?!?!
 
You need to click on the action that you want to highlight it and then press the play button

actions.jpg
 
To crop a photo to a shape, I do something different that lets me tinker with the crop a bit more. I right click on the template's photo layer and select 'Select Pixels'. Then I go back to the layer with my photo, select it, right click, and choose 'Create Clipping Mask'. Then I can move around the photo inside of the mask to get just the perfect crop... I can also resize it and rotate it within the shape. You can also create a vector mask which is similar, but it allows the mask to sit on the layer next to your photo.

Hope this is not too confusing!
 
OK, I'm actually getting there! :thumbup:

Elizabeth, no I was not pressing play. However, I got rid of the Actions menu and now that I brought it back, the click seems to be working. I have no idea how! LOL

Brook - I will try and see if I can make that work.

It seems like everything is just a tad more difficult in this - more clicks, etc. I could almost scrap one-handed with PSE (except for C+G!) but now I seems like I'm holding down keys a lot more.

And I'm glad my dumb questions are helping others. :)
 
YepBrook said:
To crop a photo to a shape, I do something different that lets me tinker with the crop a bit more. I right click on the template's photo layer and select 'Select Pixels'. Then I go back to the layer with my photo, select it, right click, and choose 'Create Clipping Mask'. Then I can move around the photo inside of the mask to get just the perfect crop... I can also resize it and rotate it within the shape. You can also create a vector mask which is similar, but it allows the mask to sit on the layer next to your photo.

Hope this is not too confusing!
Click to expand...

I have a faster workaround for this. I put the photo or paper onto the template, then I lower its opacity to 50%. I can see through it to the shape I'll be clipping it to, resize the photo (or the shape I plan to clip it to), drag it into position, then just clip and raise the opacity back to 100%.
 
YepBrook said:
To crop a photo to a shape, I do something different that lets me tinker with the crop a bit more. I right click on the template's photo layer and select 'Select Pixels'. Then I go back to the layer with my photo, select it, right click, and choose 'Create Clipping Mask'. Then I can move around the photo inside of the mask to get just the perfect crop... I can also resize it and rotate it within the shape. You can also create a vector mask which is similar, but it allows the mask to sit on the layer next to your photo.

Hope this is not too confusing!
Click to expand...

hmmm.. okay.. I just clip the photo to the layer, resize it as I want and arrange, and then merge down.
 
rach3975 said:
I have a faster workaround for this. I put the photo or paper onto the template, then I lower its opacity to 50%. I can see through it to the shape I'll be clipping it to, resize the photo (or the shape I plan to clip it to), drag it into position, then just clip and raise the opacity back to 100%.
Click to expand...

I used to do that too. But now I can use masks much faster and get an idea for the finished look while cropping (for example you don't see the edges of the photo while cropping). I like to see the photo clearly when cropping, and play with the positioning a bit more as I scrap. Using the vector mask (the icon on the bottom with a white circle in the dark square) allows me to drag the mask to different papers & photos... I can swap out things as I scrap really easily without having to commit to anything. Then I apply all the masks when I'm certain.
 
YepBrook said:
To crop a photo to a shape, I do something different that lets me tinker with the crop a bit more. I right click on the template's photo layer and select 'Select Pixels'. Then I go back to the layer with my photo, select it, right click, and choose 'Create Clipping Mask'. Then I can move around the photo inside of the mask to get just the perfect crop... I can also resize it and rotate it within the shape. You can also create a vector mask which is similar, but it allows the mask to sit on the layer next to your photo.

Hope this is not too confusing!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I totally get what you're describing, haha, but Ctrl+Alt+G is the shortcut for creating a clipping mask (so is the Alt+click between layers shortcut) so I think you're all describing the same thing? What does the Select Pixels step do? I use clipping masks for everything and that step seems unnessessary to me so now I'm curious.

And FYI: the Mac & PC shortcuts are the same - the only difference is you use Cmd instead of Ctrl so just swap those if you're giving directions to a non-Mac user.
 
I definitely need 2 hands to scrap with CS5, which makes it hard to do with a babe on my lap. The CTRL+ALT+G drove me crazy at first, too. I think you can change your preferences for resizing to keep the right dimensions. I usually just get it about where I want it and then click the little link chain on the bar at the top.

I feel dumb when I'm trying to use PSE now. I live my CS5, and CS6 looks amazing! Although the major differences I notice in my workflow between the two have to do with photo editing. Oh, and my background with AutoCAD as an engineer makes the 2 handed thing normal for me. I love my hot keys.
 
Nettio said:
I'm not sure I totally get what you're describing, haha, but Ctrl+Alt+G is the shortcut for creating a clipping mask (so is the Alt+click between layers shortcut) so I think you're all describing the same thing? What does the Select Pixels step do? I use clipping masks for everything and that step seems unnessessary to me so now I'm curious.

And FYI: the Mac & PC shortcuts are the same - the only difference is you use Cmd instead of Ctrl so just swap those if you're giving directions to a non-Mac user.
Click to expand...

Yup. I kind of mixed two different methods of making a mask. One, the clipping mask, I just right click and select "create clipping mask" and it clips to the layer below it. The other, the vector mask, I select the pixels of the shape then select the photo layer and click the icon at the bottom of the layers palette for "create layer mask". I now realize that Mary's ctrl. + G clip was the same thing as the clipping mask. I don't use hot keys very often, so I didn't know ctrl. + Alt + g does the same thing. :o I actually use the vector mask more than the clipping mask.

Sorry if I confused anyone! :unsure: Promise... I was just trying to be helpful.
 
YepBrook said:
Yup. I kind of mixed two different methods of making a mask. One, the clipping mask, I just right click and select "create clipping mask" and it clips to the layer below it. The other, the vector mask, I select the pixels of the shape then select the photo layer and click the icon at the bottom of the layers palette for "create layer mask". I now realize that Mary's ctrl. + G clip was the same thing as the clipping mask. I don't use hot keys very often, so I didn't know ctrl. + Alt + g does the same thing. :o I actually use the vector mask more than the clipping mask.

Sorry if I confused anyone! :unsure: Promise... I was just trying to be helpful.
Click to expand...

No worries! I really was just genuinely curious since I know there's a million ways to do the same thing and as a template designer, I'm always curious how people are using them. I didn't realize you were referring to both layer masks and clipping masks, that makes more sense. So when you use a template and want to mask your photo to the photo shape layer, are you using a clipping mask or a layer mask to do it?
 
Milmomma said:
I have mine In button mode. It takes just one click. :)
Click to expand...

I didn't mind pushing the play button but I just switched to button mode (after some googling to figure it out) and I love that even better because they are all such pretty different colors and it's easier to disquisition them!!! :thumbup: Thanks for mentioning that!!! :thumbup:
 
I use a layer mask (vector mask) 98% of the time. I love how it reduces the # of layers in my palette (the mask sits beside the photo on the same layer). Right after I make the mask, I delete the shape from below it. The layer mask automatically linked to the layer (for those that don't know) which I love, but I also love that I can unlink to resize or rotate the photo or paper within the mask.Then, if I want to switch out papers or photos I can drag the mask to different layers... know what I mean??? :) I do a lot of trying out different papers in different places. It's quick to do with layer masks.
 
YepBrook said:
I use a layer mask (vector mask) 98% of the time. I love how it reduces the # of layers in my palette (the mask sits beside the photo on the same layer). Right after I make the mask, I delete the shape from below it. The layer mask automatically linked to the layer (for those that don't know) which I love, but I also love that I can unlink to resize or rotate the photo or paper within the mask.Then, if I want to switch out papers or photos I can drag the mask to different layers... know what I mean??? :) I do a lot of trying out different papers in different places. It's quick to do with layer masks.
Click to expand...

Oh interesting! I use layer masks for lots of things but I've never used them quite that way. I try lots of papers too but usually I end up duplicating the paper a bunch of times and clipping them to multiple shapes till I decide what I want. Then I just delete the layers I don't need. That makes sense though - thanks for sharing!
 
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