Photoshop for beginners: Drop Shadows

When used correctly, the drop shadow tool in photoshop can create very professional images.

Looking at the image above, we can see that a more subtle shadow looks more professional, the version at the top is the standard set for photoshop.

To create a drop shadow on some text, start by double clicking the text layer to reveal this window:

Go ahead and tick the "Drop Shadow" option, then select it to reveal the controls.

It's often a good idea to set the "Size" value larger than the "Distance", to achieve the affect above, I used an angle of 90, distance of 1px, size of 2px and set the opacity to 41%:

you can use a variety of sizes, blend modes, colours, distances and contours to achieve different effects