#mask layer

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The seaside city

Mask Layer

Street and Pier.

Open Photoshop

Stack the layers on top of each other with the pier on top of the street.

Create photo compositing.

Street merges into pier using masks. Important bit is to get the positioning of the 2 images correct.  It needs to be very precise so the images merge together correctly.  This photo has been taken with a specific composition - leading lines leading to vanishing point - 1 point perspective everything leads to a vanishing point. One vanishing point. Very carefully align the 2 photos so the perspective matches.

Blend them together using the vanishing points to help you.

Reduce opacity of pier down to 40% so you can see through it.

Road and Pier vanishing points need to align with each other. But the perspective in the 2 photos is different. Vertical leading lines don’t match so need lines on edge of pier to be parallel to lines on edge of road. There are 2 tracks on the pier and the street has tram lines.

Make the tram lines merge seamlessly with the yellow lines on the pier.

Artificially Adjust Perspective.

Click Ctrl for Bounding box and then Ctrl + Shift. Pull it out automatically with a straight bottom line.

Need to keep coming back and keep pulling it until it matches as closely as you can.

Need to warp it until you get it right. 

There are 2 different widths of lengths so it will take time to match.     Picture doesn’t cover it fully.

Stretch out image:

Shift + Alt hold down stretch out from centre point.

Click on bounding box.

Zoom out.

Keep pulling and stretching.  Lines will hopefully match more or less. When happy press Enter to confirm changes.

The point the horizon matches is on top of the bus.  Lines running roughly parallel. 

Put opacity back up to 100%.

Drop city layer on top.

Use whole blend using mask.

Click Japanese Flag icon to add a layer mask.

To conceal parts of the city you need black brush.

Foreground colour black 60% brush size.  Paint left side of image – you can use a big brush and do it quite quickly in order to blend them together.  So you will get rid of the buildings and reveal the water underneath.

Some parts of the image need more skilful masking – the skyline and buildings brush won’t be good enough as it looks fuzzy.  Ghostly image of bus needs to be sharper.

Select Pen tool.

Zoom in quite close and use Pen tool to trace outline of building and skyline.

Turn off mask by pressing Shift and click on mask which will disable it.

Then with the pen go round edges of buildings. But if image of building is more defined it is easier to go round it.  Ignore the flag pole – don’t worry about going round this, just get rid of it.  

Use the photo of the city to trace round buildings but remember you need to go back to the pier to reference back to horizon line. So straight line down across bus.

Stop path when get to horizon line - where the sea runs along the horizon. 

Ctrl+ Z if make mistake.  

Path stops at horizon line - Close path.

Right click on middle to turn into selection.  Now have box with ants.

Click on mask to re enable it.  Make sure on mask and not layer.   It will only change selection on the inside.  Anything on the outside is safe and won’t change.

Select - Save Selection – call it ‘Buildings’.  Click OK.

Ctrl + D to stop selection.

Focus on bus and cars.  Ghostly bus and car in image.

Use Masks – disable mask by holding down Shift.

Click on Pen Tool.  Carefully pen tool round bus and car.  Should have path running round bus and car.

Make it into a selection.

Enable Mask by clicking on it.

Reveal bus using white brush.

Buildings look false.  You need to straighten lines with a soft blend. 

Go back to selection – Selection - Load Selection.

Click Channels - Click on building.   You can see selection (ants) on image.

Use a soft brush.

Press B for brush - use white to reveal.

Bring opacity down to 5 % = a very soft/gentle brush.

 Add a very soft feather to buildings.

Paint softly round the edges of buildings.  Bring detail back in.  Be careful just a subtle adjustment.

Brush then change to 2% and go round wider to feather the two images together.  

Alt and click on Mask thumbnail. Look at mask in isolation.

What does grey do?  

Grey is the same as opacity - how much we can see through a mask. 50% grey will give 50% opacity 20% grey reduces opacity  to 80% 80% grey reduces opacity to 20%

Why use grey? A grey will show some reveal.  Masks grey will merge to create a mid-point so it will be partly opaque.

Blend on sky doesn’t look quite right.  Want to make light on sky look similar to buildings.

Click Layer 1 – Pier.

Duplicate it – CTRL + J

Create a copy because you are doing destructive editing on it so you need a copy in case you make mistakes.

Click O on the keyboard for the Burn and Dodge tool.  Burn makes things darker (this is the hand/fist icon).

Dodge tool is the lollipop icon.  Click on the lollipop icon.  Select a fat brush – 1200

On the top bar menu - Range to Shadows. Expose to 82%. This will create a more natural flow between tones.

Click on sky a few times.

Then bring expose down to 40% and click on sky again.

Then expose down to 21% and click again. 

The aim is reducing the colours of the sky to get blend as smooth as possible.

To make 2 images work together.  

Tonal range needs to match.  One side of the image has stronger shadows.

Click on Level Adjustment Layer.  But you only want levels to effect the buildings.

So you need to use Clip-In Mask.  In the Properties box bring in the left slider to between 10-14.

Make small changes to the images until it looks like the same photo.

Apply a Global Photo Filter.

The Properties box comes up.

Select a warming filter.

Go through the list to see which one is right for your image.

The two images of the pier and street are now merged.

Composited together.

Save it.

See  my screenshots below outlining the Photoshop process.

Landscape

Photoshop

Tutorial on Masks

Image of a lake with mountains in the background and a cloudy sky.   What is a Mask?  Layer mask – you put this onto a layer to mask parts of an image out.

Process:

Go onto Moodle – Unit 34 Week 3, Task 1 - Landscape.

Open in Photoshop

Create masks.

Apply layer mask to a layer – click on the Japanese Flag icon.  White brush reveals everything but to conceal things I need to use a black brush.  If I put this directly onto a layer mask I can conceal part of the images.

Make a mask – using Selection (ants/dotted lines appear).

Click on the Marquee tool then click on Japanese flag.  A box will appear over the image.  It will get rid of all things outside the box.  Conceal all on the outside of it but keep things the same inside.

Mask - Mask Selection.

Adjustment Layer using Masks.

Image of lake, mountains, trees and sky.  How do we enhance it or improve it? Image looks a bit flat.  Want to add richer tones, stronger colours, more saturated and richer.

Adjustment Layer

Hue/Saturation – Properties box.

Increase saturation - pull slider up – +55%.  But this effects whole of image.  

Editing whole of image or part of image – Whole of image– global editing. Part of image – Selective editing. So it is now on global editing but I want to do it selectively.

Close down box.  Look at adjustment box. Icon next to it is a layer mask.  When making layer adjustments it comes with mask.  Areas can be concealed and revealed.

Change hue and saturation until happy with tress.  Just look at trees.  Use your eyes to make the decision.

What hue/saturation works?  Don’t focus on anything but the trees.   We can see a problem – trees look good – but sky and lake looks purple.

Apply saturation layer selectively using masks.

Go to layers menu.  Select mask – CTRL + I invert it.  Mask black and won’t see changes.  Invert it and have it black.  It is better to start with black mask and then this will slowly start to reveal things.

White on mask click B – brush. 

Foreground colour pure white – change brush setting - 0 hardness.  Opacity 35%.  Use square brackets to change size of brushes. Paint trees changing size of brushes where needed. 

What happens – Using adjustment layer it brings out saturation on the trees but by using mask it only affects trees.    

Using Eye icon click it on/off to see what image looks like.  

Do the same process with the water.

Hue/Saturation – global adjustment.  Set it to the right colour – maybe a rich blue colour with a touch of purple.  Just concentrate on the water.

Move slider back and forth until the colour is right.  Find the colour you like.

Ctrl + I, mask brush using the white brush.  Paint over the water using the brush. 

Curve adjustment layer.  Add more detail in sky.  Properties box – Curves. On the graph drag line to an S curve. 

Go onto mask invert it and paint the colour back into sky. 

If you change your mind about water and decide you don’t like the colour.  Double click Yin/Yan symbol, Adjust Properties - play around with hue and saturation

Similar to RAW?  Why?  Use brushes in both. In raw adjustment the brushes change specific areas.  Raw is better to use the adjustment brush.  But it is also useful for photo compositing.  

Water of lake – looks flat and needs more tonal variation.

Water layer create new levels adjustment layer.  Needs to sit between curves of sky and hue saturation of water. Use Make an adjustment until you are happy with the amount of shadows and contrast in water.  It is on Global Change so changes everything not just water.

Invert mask and use brush to paint it all again. Quicker way.  Layer mask but also a Clip In mask.  Alt click between layers or click the icon that looks like a box with an arrow pointing down.

Use Adjustment Layer selectively to reveal and conceal changes.

Change hue saturation of individual parts of the photo using brushes and masks.

Isolate bottom layer to see what it looks like on its own.

Alt + I to isolate the layer.

Click on it again to turn it back on.  So you can then see where you started and where you are now. 

Save as JPEG for Tumbler and PSD

See  my screenshots below outlining the Photoshop process.