When it comes to effects, something that can add a bit more interest to a page is a drop shadow. Doesn’t have to be anything crazy or elaborate, just something that makes an image in an album pop.
How do we do this? Once your page is set up to the correct dimensions, and you’ve placed your images on your spread, select an image in a frame that you’d like to add effects to.
Once that image is selected the frame will turn blue indicating it’s ready for an effect. Select the Object command at the top tool bar. Then scroll down to effects and select Drop Shadow.
InDesign will then request additional information about your preferences for the drop shadow however keep in mind that it will also select default preferences based upon what it recommends for usage.
For Drop Shadow Preferences:
Select: Blending Mode-Multiply
Opacity-about 38% ( you can increase or reduce depending upon the results of the look you’re trying to accomplish) to obtain a clean and not too thick drop shadow around the image
You can select a direction for your drop shadow or global light in order to determine the appearance of the drop shadow around your image.
You can also select the addition of noise for a more grainy drop shadow appearance, or change the distance of the drop shadow if you’d like it to extend beyond the default distance to give a longer more exaggerated appearance.
Using the settings recommended above, your drop shadows will appear something like the image below:
