A couple of masking techniques in Photoshop

Two of the most useful masking techniques in Photoshop: clipping images to a shape, and using the overlay blend mode for non-destructive dodge and burn.

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A couple of masking techniques in Photoshop (featured image)

Clipping mask

A clipping mask is probably my most commonly used mask. It’s great for sizing images accurately, to a shape or making sure other layers are contained within a base layer.

You hold alt and hover between two layers and click to make a clipping mask. Or the keyboard shortcut cmd/ctrl alt g.

Non destructive dodge & burn

Dodge and burn are more useful for photo editing, however as websites feature photos more often than not. This should have its uses for you. Being able to darken/lighten parts of a picture can be handy for overlaying text.

Add a layer that’s #808080 (50% grey). Set the blending mode to overlay and do your dodging and burning over it.

A short post this week but I find these techniques very handy while I’m designing.

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