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A couple of masking techniques in Photoshop

I think the variety of masking techniques there are in Photoshop are part of its strongest features. In this post I’ll show you the ones I use most frequently. How to clip images to a shape and how the overlay blending mode can be used as a mask to dodge and burn non-destructively.

Design

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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.