Add shadows, strokes and glows with layer styles
Drop shadow, stroke, outer and inner glow, overlays and bevel, added as live styles that follow the layer's shape and never change its pixels.
Beginner4 min readUpdated 25 September 2026Editor · Layer styles
On this page
Layer styles add effects such as a drop shadow or an outline around whatever is on a layer: a cut-out photo, a logo, text or a shape. They follow the layer's outline, update when you move or edit the layer, and never change its pixels, so you can switch them off or tweak them at any point.
The eight styles
| Style | What it does | Its own settings |
|---|---|---|
| Drop shadow | A shadow cast behind the layer | Colour, Angle, Distance, Spread, Size |
| Outer glow | A soft glow outside the edge | Colour, Spread, Size |
| Bevel and emboss | A raised edge lit from one side | Highlight and shadow colours, Light angle, Size, Depth, Soften |
| Inner shadow | A shadow inside the edge, as if cut into the page | Colour, Angle, Distance, Choke, Size |
| Inner glow | A glow from the edge inwards | Colour, Choke, Size |
| Colour overlay | Fills the layer's shape with one colour | Colour |
| Gradient overlay | Fills the shape with a two-colour gradient | From and to colours, Angle, Scale |
| Stroke | An outline around the shape | Colour, Size, Position (Outside, Centre, Inside) |
Every style also has Blend mode and Opacity. Size, Distance and Soften are in pixels; Spread and Choke are percentages.
Add a style
- Select an image, text or shape layer. Adjustment and filter layers cannot take styles.
- Choose Layer > Layer style and pick a style, for example Drop shadow…. The style is switched on with sensible defaults and the Layer style window opens on it.
- Adjust the sliders. The canvas updates as you go.
- Click OK to keep the changes. Cancel, or closing the window, puts everything back as it was when you opened it.
Other ways in: the Layer style button (fx icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel, Layer > Layer style > Blending options…, and the Layer styles panel from the Window menu.
The Layer style window
The list on the left has Blending options and the eight styles. Tick a box to turn a style on or off, click its name to edit it. The right side shows the settings for whatever you clicked.
Blending options holds the layer's own Blend mode, Opacity and Fill opacity. Opacity fades the layer and its styles together. Fill opacity fades only the layer's own pixels and keeps the styles at full strength. Set Fill to 0% on text with a Stroke and you get outlined, hollow lettering.
Styles are drawn in the order of the list. Drag a style by its handle to change the order, which matters when, say, a Colour overlay and a Gradient overlay are both on. Clear all at the bottom removes every style.
Quick presets and the Layer styles panel
Open Window > Layer styles for a faster route. Six presets set up a finished look in one click:
| Preset | What you get |
|---|---|
| Soft shadow | A light, wide drop shadow |
| Outline | A 6 px white stroke |
| Neon | A pink outer glow with a soft white inner glow |
| Emboss | Bevel and emboss at its defaults |
| Sticker | A 10 px white stroke and a small drop shadow, like a die-cut sticker |
| Gradient | A violet to coral gradient overlay |
Below the presets, the eye next to each style shows or hides it, and clicking a name opens that style in the Layer style window. There is also a Fill slider and Edit styles….
Shadow straight from Properties
For images and shapes, the Shadow section in Properties edits the same drop shadow without opening a window. Pick a Colour to switch it on, then set Opacity, Blur, Distance, Angle and Spread. Clear the colour to turn it off.
Reuse a style on other layers
- Select the layer with the style you like and choose Layer > Layer style > Copy layer style.
- Select one or more other layers in the Layers panel.
- Choose Layer > Layer style > Paste layer style. Every selected layer gets the same styles, replacing any it had.
The same two commands, plus Clear layer style, are in the right-click menu of a layer in the Layers panel.
Tips for good-looking styles
- Keep shadows soft and low. A shadow at 30 to 40% opacity with a large Size reads as real; a hard black shadow at full opacity reads as a mistake.
- Use the same Angle for every shadow in a design, so the light seems to come from one place.
- On a cut-out photo, a Stroke set to Outside with a white colour gives the sticker look. Use Remove background first so the stroke follows the subject.
- A Stroke set to Inside never grows the layer's footprint, which helps when the layer sits against the edge of the page.
Good to know
- Styles follow the layer's mask. Paint part of a layer out and its shadow and stroke go with it.
- Styles are part of the layer, so they are included when you export.
- Styles from PSD files are rebuilt as editable styles where possible. See Import PSD and PDF.
- Layer styles work in every browser, Safari included.