A small tutorial - Adjustment Layer Masks

I'm always surprised by the number of Photoshoppers who make their adjustments with adjustment layers first, then mask the intended areas in or out second.

So, I finally got around to writing a short tutorial about it:
http://www.damiensymon​ds.com.au/tut_masks.ht​ml

I hope some new users find this useful.

(I know that most of you are across this, and to you it probably seems an insignificant and trivial subject for a tutorial. But if it helps somebody, then it's been worthwhile.)

Clear and concisely written tutorial nailing a simple but important point. Well done, Damien!

As someone who doesn't really know her way around more than the very basics of photoshop, this was a very easy tutorial and a good one to add to those "lightbulb" moments when having someone point out a seemingly small thing really helps.

Thanks!

johncolby wrote in post #6828275
Clear and concisely written tutorial nailing a simple but important point. Well done, Damien!

Thank you.

kja wrote in post #6828539
As someone who doesn't really know her way around more than the very basics of photoshop, this was a very easy tutorial and a good one to add to those "lightbulb" moments when having someone point out a seemingly small thing really helps.

Thanks!

You're welcome.

The thing with masking is that you have control over the intensity of your adjustment. It is not either masking in or out, but some parts of the image can use a stronger adjustment than other parts of the image. So painting in with different opacity gives you more control over your adjustment. On top of that, in your example you have a nice and sharp distinction between what you do want to adjust, and what should stay the same. But for example with different shades in the face, you don't have that luxury, it takes some more creativity than drawing a straight line.

In the end it is all about the result though, so there is no one right way, but only the way that works for you best.

That's fantastic-- even if I had thought about the histogram showing results other than what was wanted, I wouldn't have assumed it updated automatically. I just learned something great! Thanks.

Good one, Damien. I'll add it to my links.

Good howto. It's easy to follow and makes sense.

I think that both methods have their time and place. I use both of them, sometimes even in the same image.

Thanks.

luukie wrote in post #6829030
The thing with masking is that you have control over the intensity of your adjustment. It is not either masking in or out, but some parts of the image can use a stronger adjustment than other parts of the image. So painting in with different opacity gives you more control over your adjustment.

You can do exactly that using a quickmask first

Thanks for sharing, great help for a novice PS user like me.

luukie wrote in post #6829030
On top of that, in your example you have a nice and sharp distinction between what you do want to adjust, and what should stay the same. But for example with different shades in the face, you don't have that luxury, it takes some more creativity than drawing a straight line.

Please understand that my tutorial is not about Quick Mask per se, rather about the selection-to-mask route as a whole. So I didn't dwell on that manner in which I'd made my selection in the example.

However, I can tell you that was made with a big soft brush, so my subsequent adjustment bled into the sky a little. The fact that you can't tell that it has done so is testament to the value of the method.

It is a common trait of new Photoshoppers, I believe, that they try to mask with much too much precision. With my example photo, a new user would almost certainly try to use any means available to make a sharp, accurate selection of the grass area - whether it be with lasso, magic wand, or Quick Mask with a small/hard brush.

A more experienced operator knows that one broad sweep with a big soft brush in Quick Mask will achieve excellent results, in a fraction of the time.

When you've made as many millions of selections as I have, you'll know what I mean.

Pyromaniac wrote in post #6830523
I think that both methods have their time and place. I use both of them, sometimes even in the same image.

Yes, perhaps I should make mention of that. If an adjustment is to be made to all but a small part of the image, then sometimes it's ok to adjust first, mask later. However, the same two problems occur - inaccurate histogram, and inability to preview adjusted area in comparison to non-adjusted area.

very good, thanks for putting it together and sharing

Arise from the dead.