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Understanding masking
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Mar 11, 2019 18:37:07   #
Iankahler Loc: Seattle WA
 
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other software for post processing effect and so on, but I have to ask. Is there some kind of secret to understanding masking and using masking????
I have photoshop and corel paintshop pro. I totally gave up on understanding masking in Corel and I have tried masking in photoshop with pretty much zero success.
Is masking REALLY worth all the hype about it??? Or is it just a toy for graphic effect.
What do you all think???

Ian

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Mar 11, 2019 18:46:39   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
It's simply a way to selectively edit your image while working with layers.

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Mar 11, 2019 18:50:29   #
Iankahler Loc: Seattle WA
 
I understand that Linda, I know what the process is, but it seems that I just do NOT understand how to use this tool.
I am kind of ay a place where I figure it is one of those "roadblocks" where I just have to find a way of getting around it by convincing myself that it is just NOT an option.

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Mar 11, 2019 18:52:02   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
Iankahler wrote:
I understand that Linda, I know what the process is, but it seems that I just do NOT understand how to use this tool.
I am kind of ay a place where I figure it is one of those "roadblocks" where I just have to find a way of getting around it by convincing myself that it is just NOT an option.
Have you viewed videos and read multiple explanations/examples? It took me quite awhile to learn, but I'm glad I stuck with it

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Mar 11, 2019 18:58:50   #
Iankahler Loc: Seattle WA
 
yes I have Linda, but to no avail. I just can't seem to find a TUT that explains it to me so that I can understand it. AS I said in my OP I am at a crossroad where I am considering pretending that this option does not exist :)

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Mar 11, 2019 19:07:18   #
Patsworld Loc: Idaho
 
Don't be hard on yourself, I am fighting that demon too. Try looking at Topaz videos on YouTube. They seem to explain it a little better. Good luck

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Mar 11, 2019 19:07:35   #
Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington
 
At its most basic: in whatever area of the mask you paint black, the edit does not show.

I applied a layer of denoise to the below. I wanted the sky to receive the full effect, the mountains a bit less than full effect and the foreground I wanted to keep untouched.

My mask would be white at the top (all the "strength" of the denoise layer is applied) gray along the mountains (partial strength) and black at the bottom (concealing all of the denoise effect).


(Download)

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Mar 11, 2019 19:07:51   #
jak86094
 
Iankahler wrote:
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other software for post processing effect and so on, but I have to ask. Is there some kind of secret to understanding masking and using masking????
I have photoshop and corel paintshop pro. I totally gave up on understanding masking in Corel and I have tried masking in photoshop with pretty much zero success.
Is masking REALLY worth all the hype about it??? Or is it just a toy for graphic effect.
What do you all think???

Ian
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other so... (show quote)


Ian,

Maybe this will help. If you apply some effect in a layer, e.g. increasing brightness, and use a mask, the effect will be applied to any part of the image where the effect’s mask is white. It will NOT affect the image where the mask is black, and it will partially affect areas where the mask is gray. The basic rule is: black conceals; white reveals.

Maybe this will help. Say you apply a black and white filter layer over a color image. When created, the black and white filter layer comes with a layer mask that is pure white. Because of the filter, the entire image appears in black and white. Let’s say the image is a walkway lined with colorful flowers. To show color flowers on the B&W image, take the paint brush tool, set the brush color to black, and after selecting the mask for the B&W layer, paint over just the flowers with the black paintbrush. The black paint will block (mask) the B&W filter from affecting the flowers, which will no longer be black and white.

Hope this helps.

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Mar 11, 2019 19:19:04   #
Nanarozzi Loc: Brentwood, TN & East TN
 
I like the Phlearn tutorials. Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but Phlearn uses masks in many tutorials with many types of masks on curves layers. Everyone learns differently, so this may or may not help you. I guess it’s worth a try!

This is one of his very basic tutorials:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h5yW5hHjQrE

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Mar 11, 2019 19:35:23   #
kpmac Loc: Ragley, La
 
Masking in On1 is quite easy to learn. Try it.

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Mar 11, 2019 19:38:59   #
Cany143 Loc: SE Utah
 
Iankahler wrote:
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other software for post processing effect and so on, but I have to ask. Is there some kind of secret to understanding masking and using masking????
I have photoshop and corel paintshop pro. I totally gave up on understanding masking in Corel and I have tried masking in photoshop with pretty much zero success.
Is masking REALLY worth all the hype about it??? Or is it just a toy for graphic effect.
What do you all think???

Ian
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other so... (show quote)


Masking itself --as you've likely learned-- isn't all that difficult in or of itself; the trickier part is knowing whether or when --or especially why-- you need to mask something in the first place. There are lots of different kinds of masks and uses for them, from hard edged to soft to locally selective and on and on, and when the use of one is warranted, and coupled with layer blending options, can (or as easily cannot) take an image to where your mind sees it going. Guess what I'm saying here is that before anything else, masking or otherwise, your mind needs to 'see' where you want the image to go. That's the predominantly tricky part. Otherwise, masks are no more a hype or a graphic 'toy' than simple cropping or minor color correction or anything else is.

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Mar 11, 2019 19:45:09   #
bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA
 
This may NOT be what you meant, but using masking.....

1- Take a picture of a favorite person with an ugly background. Cut the person out with scissors. Take a picture of a beautiful background. Put the favorite person cutout on top of the beautiful background. You have two layers and you masked out the ugly background.

2- Put your camera on a tripod. Take a picture of a scene with an ugly tourist in it. Wait until the ugly tourist moves a few feet and take another, identical picture. Cut out the ugly tourist and put that picture on top of the second picture. Although the ugly tourist is still in the bottom picture, you don't see him/her because he or she moved. You have two layers and you masked out the ugly tourist.

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Mar 11, 2019 19:54:50   #
minniev Loc: MIssissippi
 
Iankahler wrote:
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other software for post processing effect and so on, but I have to ask. Is there some kind of secret to understanding masking and using masking????
I have photoshop and corel paintshop pro. I totally gave up on understanding masking in Corel and I have tried masking in photoshop with pretty much zero success.
Is masking REALLY worth all the hype about it??? Or is it just a toy for graphic effect.
What do you all think???

Ian
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other so... (show quote)


Yes, it is worth it. I was the same as you. I could not wrap my head around how to make it work properly Stick with it. Eventually it will click and you will wonder how you ever edited anything effectively without it. I watched dozens of videos and even bought a couple of dictionary sized books. I threw up my hands and gave up. About a year later I tried again and the light came on. It changed everything I did with my photos.

The best way to learn is to do it. Whether you learn best by video or book, get in front of your computer, and do the steps one at a time. Adding a black/conceal mask puts a black box beside the image icon in the layer stack, and hides the layer, so you can only see the layer beneath it. Adding a white/reveal mask puts a white box beside the image icon in the layer stack and that is the layer you see. If you paint with white on the black box you can then see the part of that layer's image that you painted. If you paint with black on the white box, you will hide the part you painted on and you'll see what's beneath the painted part instead.

Most people make a few simple mistakes that confuse things even more than necessary. Make sure the layer you want to work on is highlighted/active. And when you paint on a mask, make sure the mask itself is highlighted/active. If the mask is not behaving as it should, you have usually somehow begun to work on the wrong layer or on the image itself rather than the mask. The easiest way to practice is with a couple of layers that are filled with different colors, till you get the hang of it, then move on to more complex practice.

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Mar 11, 2019 20:31:25   #
Iankahler Loc: Seattle WA
 
Thank you guys, for your input.
@bsprague, yes this is exactly what I am saying :)
@minneiv, I still do not fully understand layers.
So... it was worth a try one more time, but I will just have to accept that I cannot wrap my brain around this process.
AS it has been said... we all learn differently. There are always solutions... just as there are many paths to the same truth. I have learned to use selections that blended and otherwise altered to produce similar, but by most standards; substandard lol.
I will just have to accept this truth, and work with what I am capable of understanding, and be satisfied.

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Mar 11, 2019 21:33:42   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
Iankahler wrote:
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other software for post processing effect and so on, but I have to ask. Is there some kind of secret to understanding masking and using masking????
I have photoshop and corel paintshop pro. I totally gave up on understanding masking in Corel and I have tried masking in photoshop with pretty much zero success.
Is masking REALLY worth all the hype about it??? Or is it just a toy for graphic effect.
What do you all think???

Ian
I know a lot of us use Photoshop, and other so... (show quote)


Imagine that you have a piece of paper with some type on it from bottom to top. But you only want type in a circle in the center. You take a second piece of paper, cut a hole in the center, and then put the second piece of paper on top of the first piece of paper. You have just successfully created a mask. It's simply a way to layer information, which can come in many forms, and then choose what you want to show up in the last, top, layer. It takes some time to figure out and become skillful at it. The only way to do this is to simply do it and make mistakes. The saying in PS is that "white reveals and black conceals" and this is because you use the brush tool on the mask and choose a white and black color, but the colors don't show on the mask, instead the color either erases or adds from the layer below. I mask for several reasons, adding a background to an image, creating a composite scene, creating images using a light box, changing out a sky among them. Read the PS help manual and see if that helps. A class would most likely help you a lot. Or a book and carefully follow the instructions. I love being able to mask images for a variety of reasons and I love to play with software. See the image below for a recent example.



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