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Masking in Photoshop! Dumb question but I'm stumped

Rachel Foster

New member
I've done this before, and it's worked, but usually it doesn't. For some reason, I can't seem to encode the final step.

Working with layer masks, as described by Asher and Tim, I get to this step (in bold):


Open up a file with a picture of green grass and select and drag that image to the brides picture. Move the layer so it's between the two copies of the brides picture.

Select the asphalt path. Drag that layer to the bottom of the layer dialog box to the mask icon. You'll now see a white rectangle to the right of the image icon in that layer. Make sure this is selected. Now fill the selection you made of the asphalt with black: Edit, fill, black.

Now the grass layer below will show through.

Go back to the mask layer. Reselect the white box which has now black in the center.

Use a black soft brush (vary the size with the [ for smaller brush or ] for larger brush size) and set the percent at the top of the Photoshop command bar to be 10% and then paint either black to make more grass gradually appear or white to bring back the dress that you accidentally obscured.


and then I'm stuck. What on earth do I do now?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Rachel Foster

New member
Managed to do the edit without layer masks. The original image (converted to b&w)


sm9954bw-2.jpg

Contemplation in Black and White (before edit) by Jacob Eliana

I liked the black and white but the blown highlights at the base of the statue bothered me. I had thought to do away with them using layer masks. Instead, I duplicated the image, selected the base, adjusted it with levels, copied, drop and dragged. I also burned the young man's arm, losing some of the distracting brightness there.



The image edited with copy, drop and drag:

smallchurchedit2.jpg
Contemplation in Black and White by Jacob Eliana

I'm still befuddled by layer masks, but this is an improvement on the first attempt.
 

Leonardo Boher

pro member
The idea with layer masks is that you can show or hide portions (or 100%) of the layer revealing the under layer. By using a soft brush, you can fade the edges of the mask against the under layer avoiding noticeable flaws and all is re-editable, therefore, re-fineable since you're working on a layer mask. By using different types of opacity, you can apply different amounts of translucency to the masked layer as well. A good thing is using a brush flow of the 1-8% in order to perform a better fading.

Hope this helps,

Leo :)
 

Rachel Foster

New member
I must be doing something wrong because the new layer doesn't show after I brush. Back to the drawing board (or mouse, as it were).
 

John Angulat

pro member
Regarding PS skills -
If you are not already a member, you should consider joing NAPP.
Their tutorials on PS alone are worth the price.
There are very many, easy to follow vids on masking, levels adjustment, etc.

Rachel, you take your photography very seriously and dedicate a great amount of effort with regard to improving your skills.
To lack similar skills in PS is leaving you at a severe disadvantage. You're not being fair to yourself.
No matter how hard you try behind the lens, no matter how much potential an image may have, it will be all for naught if you haven't mastered the basics in your editing software.
 

Rachel Foster

New member
I know, John, and I'm doing my dead level best. I've struggled with PS since the beginning. I really don't know what else to do.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Rachel, here's a generous list of tutorials on masking for Photoshop of various versions. Start with Russel Brown and see if you can find even masking in PS 7 or CS1.

By the time you are at CS4 the options for masking are amazingly rich and you don't need those for the next 5 years, LOL! Russel Brown has lots of free videos. You don't really need to buy anything, although I admit that I have been a member of NAPP for some time but I rarely get as much as the free tuturials online from so many people. His voice really rasps like a finger squeaking on glass and his sing song way of explaining things like he's doing some magic show for 7 year olds is annoying, but if you can let that go by, he's a wonderful teacher. Very basic and you will get the idea quickly.

The good thing about NAPP is that you get a nice magazine with some useful and fun tutorials but really, NAPP, seems to be mostly a marketing organization for a group of friends/in people with Adobe to sell their teaching materials and books as much as any professional association.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Rachel,

Try this. JChoose a picture that's little over-exposed.

Now add a a curve layer, without adjusting the curve! Set to multiply and then reduce that to 10%. OK the picture is punched up a bit.

Now select the little white box in the curves layer so it gets a tiny double border.

Now use a black pant brush to pant over parts you want the original lightness. Now refine that by painting back dome of the bold effect from the layers.

Change the size of the brush by [ or ], feather with a soft brush and that's about it!

Asher
 

Rachel Foster

New member
There are steps missing. I think I'm going to just stop fussing with it until I can find someone local who can sit down with me and show me in person.

Thanks all!
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
You now have the tools to use parts of a layer. With that you can combine parts of different pictures. In each layer, make a mask. Make part of each layer black where you want a featued of the layer below to show though. That's it!

Example.

Man with hand out with apple on his hand. Layer below has a frog in that position. Just paint the mask of the top layer with black over the apple and the frog will now take its place.

If you want the apple back, just paint the area of the mask white again.

Asher
 

Leonardo Boher

pro member
Probably because you have not set the colors to default. Hit the D key in the keyboard to set the colors to white and black. X key changes between white and black, so you can paint to hide or reveal very quickly. Another problem may be that your brush is set to some blending instead normal.
 

David Thomasson

New member
Yes, but how do you finish it? How do you combine the layers?

You don't need to combine (i.e., flatten or merge) the layers. If you want to save
the edited image as a jpeg, go to File > Save As, and choose jpeg in the Format menu.

When you work with layers in Photoshop, you're well advised to save the .psd file
with the layers intact. Then you can return to it and make further adjustments if needed.
 
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