Filters and smart objects

How it works#

Filters change texture, sharpness, blur or the overall visual treatment. The available families include Blur, Sharpen, Noise, Distort, Pixelate, Stylize and Render. Start with a filter that addresses the actual task: sharpening can clarify detail, a blur can reduce distraction, and distortions can create a deliberate graphic treatment.

Filter dialogs preview their result on the canvas and respect an active selection. Preview at a useful zoom level, because a strong effect that looks subtle in a small overview may damage detail at full size. Reduce Noise and sharpening also interact; apply them thoughtfully rather than increasing every strength control at once.

A smart object preserves source content and can carry smart filters. These filters remain available for adjustment, visibility changes, reordering and masking, which is valuable when experimenting with several looks. Direct filtering on a raster layer commits a different kind of edit. Keep the source or a duplicate before applying destructive filters. Large blur radii and complex compositions can take longer in a browser than on the desktop, so evaluate performance on your actual document.

Try it#

1. Select a layer and decide whether it should become a smart object.
2. Choose a filter from the relevant Filter submenu.
3. Preview the effect, including any active selection boundary.
4. Keep smart filter settings editable or save a copy before committing raster edits.