Select a layer you want the shadow to appear on and go to:
Layer menu > Layer Style > Drop Shadow. Adjust to heart's content!
or, if you want to shadow a selected area within an existing layer:
1. click on the layer, lasso or select an area you want to make shadowed
2. a) make new layer via copy [cmnd 'J'] from the selection (which leaves the original layer intact)
or
b) click on a layer, select the area to shadow, go to Layer > Add layer mask > Reveal selection
3. Layer menu > Layer Style > Drop Shadow.
Adjust to heart's content!
Thanks for the great tutorials, but I didn't really make myself clear as to what I wanted to do (gee, can you tell I'm new to photoshop?). I want to make it appear that my picture is raised off the paper with a drop shadow behind it when I print my photos. The tutorials seem to be more for creating a drop shadow for text or a certain object in the picture.
If you look in the layers palette and your photograph is on one layer, called background, double click the tiny thumb and choose Okay.
Then add a new layer and drag it behind the layer that is your photograph.
Then, go to Image > Canvas Size and pick a size that's larger than your current photo.
Fill the background layer with white or whatever color you want if there's some transparency or the wrong color.
Then go back to the layers palette and double click on your photograph's layer again, but this time click on the name of the layer.... The styles dialog box should pop up... Check the checkbox that says drop shadow and then click on the name drop shadow and adjust it so that it looks good to you. Then click Okay.
That's perfect Alia, exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much. And thanks again to everyone else for the great tutorials, I learned something without even meaning to hehe.
