Photoshop Foundations: Masking
Masking, to some it is the best thing since sliced bread, for others it is about as enjoyable as soggy waffles. However, masking is one of the most important topics to learn early on in your Photoshop endeavors. With masks, you can nondestructively edit your photos very quickly.
In this course, we will break masks down from the very basics to some pretty advanced techniques. We will demystify masking by breaking them down into three specific types. Ever heard the term Luminosity Masking? We will even break those down too. It doesn’t stop there, once we have discussed the types of masks, we will discuss the many ways you can refine them to make pinpoint accurate masks. We will even go into Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom and explain how to make masks on the raw level of editing.
If you are new to masking this course will be quintessential, if you are a veteran, well, I can guarantee you will pick up some new tricks and refine some old habits. Let’s do this!
What you will learn:
- What are masks?
- Why do we mask?
- The essential Selection Tools to make masks
- The types of masks you will use in Photography
- Modifying masks with precision and efficiency
- How to use Adobe Camera Raw to make Masks and Luminosity Masks
Included in this course:
- 117 Minutes of formal education and practical application using Masks in Photoshop©
- 27 pages of documentation
- All of my follow along images
Programs Required:
- Photoshop© (CC, CS6, CS5). Not included in the purchase of the course. Some features may not be available in CS6 and CS5
Lessons
Lesson 1: Intro to Masking
Lesson 2: Masking Basics
The basic concept of masking In this lesson, we will discuss how to mask and the basic concept behind masks and how they work. There is the old adage, “Black Reveals, White Conceals” that may help you when you are working on your photos, just don’t get them backwards or it is confusing 🙂
Lesson 3: Masking Tools
The tools of the trade In this lesson, we will discuss how to make selections for masks using selection tools. We will look at the Marquee, Lasso, Magic Wand, and Quick Selection Tools. Of all of them, you will probably be most inclined to use the Quick Selection Tool while editing photos.
Lesson 4: Manual Masking
The First of Three Mask Types In this lesson, we will discuss the first of our three mask types, the Manual Mask. These masks are created from selections made by your hand. They use tools like the Quick Selection Tool, Marquee Tool, or brushes on the mask layer.
Lesson 5: Automated Masks
The Second of Three Mask Types In this lesson, we will discuss the second of our three mask types, the Automated Mask. These masks are created from selections made from either Luminosity Masks, Channel, or the Color Range Tool. These are extremely powerful because they can make a more natural selection for your mask with lots […]
Lesson 6: Clipping Masks
The Third of Three Mask Types In this lesson, we will discuss the last of our three mask types, the Clipping Mask. These masks are not really masks, but a property assigned to a layer that allows it to steal all of the transparency data of the layer it is assigned to. It does not […]
Lesson 7: Modifying Masks
The many ways to modify a mask In this lesson, we will discuss how you can modify your masks after they have been created. We have already discussed the Select and Mask feature, but here we will look at copying, borrowing, deleting, and refining masks. We will even show how masks can be disconnected from their base […]
Lesson 8: Adobe Camera Raw or LR Masks
ACR and Masking? Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom are built on the same engine and do have masking built into them. While they may not appear the exact same way as Photoshop they are just as handy! With the release of Photoshop CC 2018, we now have some amazing tools for making masks in these programs. […]
Lesson 9: The Conclusion to Masking
In Conclusion In this lesson, we will discuss everything we talked about in the previous 8 lessons. Sometime sit is just so helpful to take a step back and look at everything from 10,000 feet. I think what you will find from up here is that we covered a lot of territory in a short amount […]