How To Use Photoshop Free Transform Tool For Beginners (2020)

So have you ever wondered what all these options do in the Photoshop Free Transform tool? In this video, I’ll show you how to scale, rotate, flip, skew, distort, and warp images, all using the Free Transform command in Photoshop Let’s get started.

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So in this example, we’re going to transform this butterfly. This is an image that I cut out, the butterfly out of a white background, and I put it in this image, where the tree branch is here, and I brought it in, and it looks like that now. So Photoshop will let you transform pixel layers, type layers, shape layers, and smart objects.

So before we start here, I’m gonna right-click on this layer where the butterfly is, and convert it to a smart object. So now all the changes I make to this butterfly layer, I can go back and make changes because it’s a smart object. Also, because I’m gonna be resizing or scaling the butterfly layer, I don’t wanna lose quality, so that’s why I converted it to a smart object. If you wanna know more about smart objects, there is a card above, and I’ll put a link in the description.

Scale Using Photoshop Free Transform Tool

And to use Free Transform, I’ll come up here to Edit, and you see Transform. These are all the commands we’re gonna go over. But now, what is easier to do, is use Free Transform. So I’m going to say, Command + T, and right away you notice there are handles at various points around the butterfly. These are the Free Transform handles that we’re gonna be utilizing. Notice up here at the top, as soon as we got into Free Transform, there are options at the top menu bar. And we’ll be going back and forth, explaining those as we’re going through each of the functions of Free Transform.

First, at the top, I wanna point out this chain right here. If you click that, it’ll maintain the aspect ratio while you are scaling. If I grab a handle right here and just scale the butterfly, you see it’s scaling proportionally. If I take this chain off and then drag the handle, you see it’s unproportional scaling. So even with that chain off, if you want to toggle back and forth between proportional and unproportional scaling, you hold down the Shift key. So I’m gonna turn this chain back on, because I don’t wanna have to hold down the Shift key too when I’m scaling. So there’s a proportional scaling.

And if I want to scale from the center, I hold Alt or Option, and I’m scaling the butterfly proportionally from the center. And let’s make the butterfly this big, and click this checkmark to commit our changes. If I hit Command + T to Free Transform, and I want to scale numerically, up here at the top, in the menu options, for height and width, you can slide your cursor over and the height and width changes both together because, remember, this chain right here is selected and it’s maintaining the aspect ratio. So besides dragging the handles, you can come up here to the menu options on the top and drag the width and height and scale numerically.

Rotate Using Photoshop Free Transform Tool

So now let’s rotate the butterfly in this image. Hit Command + T, and when I bring the cursor up to this handle, you can see that it changes to the double-sided arrow. So all I need to do is just move it up and down to rotate. I can also rotate it with this angle option up here on the options bar, and just change it. And if I hold down the Shift key, it angles in increments.

And this is a good time to bring up something, right here in the middle is called a control point. So right now, this is the point where the butterfly is being rotated on, right in the middle. And what I can do is I can bring this control point down anywhere. I’m gonna bring it over here by this end of the wing. And now, if I rotate it, it’s rotating by that control point. That control point is made visible by this check mark up here. You can toggle that reference point or control point. If I turn it off, I don’t see it anymore. So I click that. And I’ll click the check mark to commit that change.

So here’s a couple of tips. Once you’re in the Free Transform mode, Command + T, and you wanna get out of it without making any changes, just hit Escape. If you’re in the Free Transform mode and you right-click, you can see all of the functions that you can do with Free Transform. Now we’re gonna go over some keyboard shortcuts, but if you don’t remember them, this is the quick way that you can use the menu options for Free Transform.

Distort Using Photoshop Free Transform Tool

So the next option, which is Distort, press Control key on Windows, or Command key on Mac. So notice now, when I’m in Distort, the cursor changes to a white arrow, and I can drag this handle. And you can see it’s distorting on this one end.

So now, to skew, press the Control + Shift on Windows, or Command + Shift on Mac, and drag a side handle. So Command + Shift, and as you drag, you see that the cursor changes to a arrow and that there is a double-sided arrow right below it. And here I’m skewing the butterfly. So that’s how you know that you’re in the skew mode, just by that cursor changing like that. And now press the check mark to commit those changes.

And here’s a couple of tips about the reference point. So this X and Y up here is actually positioning. So this is the, set the horizontal position of the reference point, and this is set the vertical position of the reference point. Right now the reference point is right in the center, and as you see this reference point location indicator, it is in the center, but I can change the location. You can see, here’s my X point moving, and here I can change the Y point, all at the top of the options menu. With this reference point indicator, I can change the reference point to any of the handles. So if I click, it’s at the top, it’s at the bottom handle. And so I can position the reference point around by these options. So that’s the reference point locator, and X and Y points of the reference point itself.

Apply Perspective Using Photoshop Free Transform Tool

So to apply a perspective, hit Command + T, and press Control + Alt + Shift on Windows or Command + Option + Shift on Mac. So I’m on a Mac, so I’m gonna hit Command + Option + Shift. And I’m gonna drag this corner handle. And when I do, the arrow head is gonna become a gray arrow. And here I’m changing the perspective. And I can hit the check mark to commit my changes.

Apply Warp Using Photoshop Free Transform Tool

Now, the last option is Warp, Command + T to get in the Free Transform mode. And up here at the top in the menu bar, you get the Warp Modes button. When I hit that, now you drag the control points to manipulate the shape of the item or choose a warp style from the warp popup menu in Options bar. So I can drag any of these control handles here to warp any way I like here. So that’s one way to use the Warp Modes button. And I commit these changes here.

And another option for the Warp, after I hit this Warp Modes button. I can come over here and I can change to any of these custom settings right here. Just for the heck of it, I’m going to choose Arch, and it changes the warp of the whole, in this case the butterfly, to a different shape. And you can try out different things. Like I just chose Fish. But that’s how you would use the custom drop down up here for Warp. And I’ll commit my changes.

So here’s a quick example here. And I wanna put this image of this young lady on the motorcycle here in the computer screen. First thing I’d do is right click and create a smart object, ’cause I’m gonna scale down this image. Command + T, and I’m scaling it down, and I’m gonna kinda position it. So remember, we have all these different tools here that we can use that we were learning. Now I’m gonna put that corner right there. And now I’m gonna use my control point here. I’m gonna move it right in that corner. And I’m gonna rotate the image. And now I have all my other tools to work with. I press the Command key, I can distort it on one corner. And I can keep on working with this, do it to each of the corner, distorting and positioning it like that. So I probably could have done it a couple of different ways, but there you go.

So now the question of the day. What do you think of the Free Transform tool in Photoshop? Are you going to use it more? Let me know in the comments below. If this video was helpful, give it a Like, and don’t forget to subscribe. If you want more short tutorials, see the ones above, and remember, it’s never too late to learn. Thanks for watching. See you in the next video.

See my photography website here 👉 https://www.charlescabreraphotography.com

See the article on using curves in Photoshop 👉 https://charlescabrera.com/the-power-of-curves-in-photoshop-3-best-tips/