Free Transform is a Photoshop Elements command that lets you size and locate design elements in your photo or graphic file.
You’ll most often see it in one of the following situations:
- Adding a texture to an image (locate and size the texture to fit the image)
- Watermarking an image (place the watermark and size it appropriately)
- Building a storyboard (size the photo to fit the frame)
- Sizing elements in graphic design or scrapbooking
Free Transform is accessible in PSE several ways. My favorite way to get to it is by typing the shortcut (command or control t).
You can also go to the Image Menu, select Transform, and then Free Transform.
This feature is also activated each time you use the Place Command to put another element over your image.
(Have you ever found that you are stuck in Elements? You can’t do anything and it keeps beeping at you? Odds are, you are either in Free Transform or a text box and there is a green check mark that you need to click on somewhere to commit your changes. Yep, I’ve learned that one from experience. Like 47 million times.)
Say you want to place a watermark over your image. You can copy and paste, drag and drop, or go to the File Menu and select Place. When you select the Place command, you will be prompted to navigate to the location on your hard drive where you saved the watermark.
I like the Place method because you don’t have to leave Elements and as soon as that watermark is on your image, you are automatically in Free Transform mode.
Once you’re in Free Transform, this is what you do.
- To move the graphic element, click inside the box and drag until you are happy with the placement.
- To resize it, look at your tool options at the top. Make sure that Constrain Proportions is checked. Then, click and drag on one of the corners – drag in to decrease the size, and out to increase it. Without Constrain Proportions checked, you can hold down the shift button (just like in full Photoshop) to constrain proportions as you resize. Without constraining proportions one way or the other, your photo will distort as you drag.
- To rotate this item, move your mouse just outside of the free transform rectangle. When your cursor changes to a double headed rounded arrow, you can move your mouse to rotate.
Every once in a while, you’ll be in Free Transform but can’t see the rectangle or corners. You just need to zoom out to fix that – type “command/control – ” (command or control and the minus sign) until you can see the edges of your free transform box.
Actions that Use Free Transform
Be prepared to encounter Free Transform when you run the following actions:
- MCP’s Free Texture Applicator (to apply textures to images)
- MCP’s Blog It Boards (to create collages for the internet)
- MCP’s Print It Boards (to create collages to print)
- MCP’s Finish It (to size, sharpen and brand photos, plus apply a watermark – all for internet posting)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Ahhh, thank you for that tutorial. It’s those little tips that say ah hah! – I’ve been using the place command and didn’t know about the constrain proportions. So I was always having to be so careful about making it bigger. Thank you for the tip!
You are welcome!
My husband does free transform the way you do, he learned Photoshop as a photographer. I simply keep the Auto Select Layer and Show Bounding Box options checked for my Move tool. Then when I click on something, the transform controls appear and I can use them. I think the difference is that I come to Photoshop from a graphics background and I assume when I activate a layer by clicking on it that I’m going to want to transform it!
But since I use PS and PSE for scrapbooking more than photo editing, it’s easier for me not to have to use the CTRL T command, and just have my bounding box always available just on a click.
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