Go with the mask instead. Photoshop converts transparency into an opaque color, hidden by the new… Think about what happens when you use the eraser tool: it erases pixels. Click the save selection as channel button, … And the process is as simple as adding the mask to the layer. There are two primary types of masks: clipping masks and layer masks. Practice makes perfect, just be bold and never become intimidated by a masking job that seems too complex. Shift + Alt/Option – allows entering or exiting Quick Mask Mode. Combine several photos into a simple photo composition, remove background, object or a person easy and fast. Make your image editing in Photoshop much easier with the following Photoshop filters, that can be applied to all kinds of photos in a matter of seconds. It turns out one of the best ways to handle this task is to use a couple of unlikely candidates: the Dodge and Burn Tools. A clipping mask hides a part of the layer. So how do the pros start with the image above and create a mask like the one below? This Photoshop action will highlight and intensify green objects like trees, bushes, grass or mountains. But layer masks are easy to use. Then, load the file with the mask we received on Step 2 to Photoshop. The term “mask” isn’t immediately understandable to someone outside the realm of graphic design. A layer mask allows merging several pictures into one composition or cropping something out of the picture. Once you’re done here, hit Command-Shift-I to inverse the channel so that the cat is white and the background is black like in the image below. All of the work is done with the Brush Tool, so go to the Toolbar and choose the Brush tool. This image shows a layer with no mask applied. Learn how to mask in Photoshop and use masking for photo editing with layers. Paint over hidden areas of the image. Click the Mask thumbnail in the Layers panel. Go to Layers Panel to Select a Layer. Flatten the image and save the mask in the folder where your photo is stored. Wondering how to put a special emphasis on a person against a busy street? The shack image is on the bottom and the fire is on the top. Use the Quick Selection tool. At this point you encounter one of the trickiest steps of the entire process. What you learned: Make a creative composite by combining images using a layer mask Start with a document that has at least two images, each on a separate layer. Step 1: Select The Layer That Will Be Clipped Envato Elements starts at $16 per month, and is the best creative subscription we've ever seen. … For an image layer, the layer mask allows […] Select any of the editing or painting tools. In this scenario, the eraser tool is plastic surgery. 2 00:00:24 First place texture background above main photo. Hit the layer mask button. Lion. Let's see how you can apply an alpha mask to the image. With a selection loaded, return to your cat layer and click the New Mask button. If we apply this mask to a layer, this is the result: Clipping masks are very similar to layer masks only they use one layer to determine the transparency of another. All of that fine hair detail means making an accurate selection will be time consuming. You’ll want to zoom in and watch the hair detail on the fringes of the fur to make sure you’re not clipping too much. Make a copy of the blue channel, select it and hit Command-L to bring up a Levels Adjustment. So in our case, we want the channel with the darkest cat and the brightest background, which turns out to be the blue channel. By pressing the D key on your keyboard, you will change colors to their default values of black and white. Select New... to create a new document. By dragging around the wood layer, you move the position of the texture inside the bounds of the letters while the letters themselves stay stationary. Run "Photoshop." There are a ton of different types of images to mask and therefore a million different tricks and techniques to figure out along the way which can be mixed and matched on a per-project basis. At its simplest definition a mask is a way to apply something to a very specific portion of an image. In this Quick Tip, Julieanne reveals a simple technique to paste content directly into a layer mask in Photoshop. At the bottom of the Layers panel, you will see Add layer mask button – click... 3. If you want the entire layer to be at 30%, you would lower the opacity, if you want just the left side of a layer to be at 30%, you would use a mask. This may sound like a time-intensive task, and it can be for some images, but in truth the Dodge and Burn Tools feel like magic when you’re using them and take much of the work out. Go to the top layer, right click on it, choose “Create Clipping Mask.”. To accomplish this, we’ll need to add a mask to the fire layer. Masking is one of the most powerful, yet misunderstood features in Photoshop. This is simply a horrible way to work. Click on “File” and select “Place Embedded” in the drop-down menu. This is an almost hidden command that has the ability to yield some amazing results. With complicated masks like these there is always room for improvement but you’ll find that the point of diminishing returns on your time spent becomes easier and easier to spot as your skill level improves. To directly edit layer transparency, do the following and create a mask: In the Layers panel, select the layer. Step 3 The Magic Wand or even the Pen Tool are of no use to us here. Woman. The easiest way to create a shape is to take advantage of the marquee tool (it is also called a selection tool or “marching ants”). Mask & Replace Photo Background Tutorial : CLICK HERE TO WATCH TUTORIAL 1 00:00:13 How to Change Background With a Lot of Hair in photoshop. From blending images to stylizing texts, there are hundreds of uses of masks in Photoshop. I won’t cover them closely now because it would take so much time but I encourage you to dig in and play with all of the controls to get a feel for what they do. Step 3 We’ll go over the basics of what masks are, what they’re used for and how wielding them properly will take your Photoshop skills to an entirely new level. Select the duplicate layer and click the icon at the bottom of the layers palette to add a layer mask. If you’re ready to find out, keep reading as we undertake this feat! Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection or Hide Selection. To change the size, press Ctrl + T. After that, select and hold down the Command + Shift key and drag the edges of the image in or out to achieve correct proportions. Voila, we now have the effect we were going for. This sun ray overlay creates a slight bokeh effect. This will make all of the black pixels transparent, which blends the two images together nicely. A layer mask is one of the most helpful and powerful creative tools at your disposal in Photoshop Elements 11. Be careful to no go too far with this adjustment. To bring it back, we simply paint white. LEARN ALL ABOUT PHOTOSHOP MASKING IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES! freebies. To see the actual mask, Option-Click (Alt-Click on a PC) on the little mask preview in the layers palette (Shift-click to hide the mask completely). After you create a shape, you will need to fill it with the color. With a mask, you not only have the ability to make remarkably detailed decisions about the transparency of a layer or group of layers, even better, you have the freedom to go back and refine or scrap those changes at any time. For instance, here’s what happens if we select the text layer and add an Inner Shadow. On this invisible canvas, you can paint white, black or any level of gray in-between. Mask. We can differentiate two kinds of masks: clipping masks and layer masks. The good news about the cat image is that there is plenty of contrast to work with. A Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, with a white layer mask thumbnail, appears in … Furry animals make particularly difficult masking subjects. read more, 70 Free Photoshop Plugins for Photographers, REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR BEGINNERS. This time you should switch between black and white while painting on a layer mask. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use layer masks in Photoshop. A Luminosity Mask lets you alter color and contrast, do digital blending, dodging & burning selectively, as well as make an accurate hard line selection. Clipping masks fun, functional and underrated, but the truth is that layer masks are far more common in every day use. Their concept is similar but they have different functions. As you can see in the image below, it went a long way toward reducing our halo. Where the text layer was opaque, the wood layer is now opaque and where the text layer was transparent, the wood layer is now transparent. Getting rid of this can literally take hours of tedious work if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are a few ways to do this but the easiest is just to Command-click on the channel to load a selection. Where layer opacity controls the transparency of the entire layer at once, a mask gives you more precise controls over very specific areas. Select the layer you wish to turn into the mask. At the bottom of the Layers panel, you will see Add layer mask button – click on it. How To Create A Clipping Mask In Photoshop Clipping masks use the content and transparency of the layer below to control the visibility of the layer above. I grabbed the two images below from photographers Adrian Durlea and Erik Soderstrom.