Photo editing 101: Master the layer mask
Remember the last time you gave your walls a fresh coat of paint? You probably used a roll of blue or beige masking tape to cover the baseboards and windows so you wouldn’t get paint on them. Masking tape’s digital equivalent—called a layer mask—is a timesaving feature in Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements (version 9+), and the affordable yet powerful Pixelmator. Here’s a quick primer on how to use this great tool in your digital image editing program of choice.
Masking basics
Layer masks make for a far more flexible editing experience because you’re hiding pixels instead of erasing them. For example, say you’re treating yourself to some head-swapping (fantastic for breakups, pranks, etc). If you use the Eraser tool and accidentally remove an ear, there’s no getting it back without some heavy undo action. However, if you use a layer mask to hide pixels instead, you can easily fix an accidental ear cover-up.
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