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Paste on Mask

Lesson 6 from: Adding Texture to Photographs

Dave Cross

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Lesson Info

6. Paste on Mask

Next Lesson: Clipping Mask

Lesson Info

Paste on Mask

So this is just another raw file. I don't again know exactly what I want to do. So I'm gonna experiment by just saying, Well, for now, just open it the way it is. So I like this texture, but let's put it back to normal and then do a little bit of blend. If so, weaken, See an example here, something like this Have to be careful when I'm teaching this class. Sometimes I'm just like I'll be with you in about 20 minutes. I'm just gonna, like, try stuff here because it's tempting to do that because it just so many who I could do this. I can try that. Okay, so let's just do a couple things in here. I'm trying to keep it so you can still see the fact that I wouldn't leave it that way, But just you can see that I still have a mixture going on. So the other way to use texture, which is really interesting to me, is in the last class. We talked about layer Mass and how it's this whole concept of painting with black and white and shades of gray. But what if we took a photograph and use that as a l...

ayer mask. That could be interesting, but there's a trick to it. So here's the photograph that ultimately I want to use as this layer mask texture idea. So I have to select the whole thing and copy it. When I come back to here, add a layer mask to my top layer. But if I just paste right now, it would ignore the fact that have a layer mask. Just make a new layer, which I don't want, So I just went paste. That's not what I want to do is undo that. So somehow what I have to do is make sure Photoshopped knows I'm trying to paste onto the mask to be able to pace onto the mask you. So we have to look at it so you option are all. Click on the layer mask thumbnail. Now I'm looking at the mask. Now when I choose, paste it, paste it on the mask. So now let's look at this mass for a second. I have a mask that's fairly light shades of gray, which means that my texture layer by nature will be mostly visible right, because shades light shades of Gray means don't hide that much. So I might like that or my not Let's see, I don't know. I don't really did not pre rehearsed any of this. I'm just going with the flow and seeing what happens here. So I look at it. It's pretty subtle, hasn't really changed like and kind of see a little bit here and there, so it hasn't really done that much to it. So this is the first thing I will say today. Probably, which is about as a game goes against my grain of being non destructive. But I don't have any choice. And that is if I want to adjust that mask now to make a darker It can't be nondestructive. So the adjusting of a mask by doing an adjustment like, say, levels or curves. It's a one shot deal, so this is something you just have to sort of live with. It's one of the few times where I've tried to come up with other ways around it, but it's like if I just want to dark in that a mask, then I just really have to do it in a way that I have because I have to do it this way, using something like levels. So now if I dark in the mask, see how it's affecting. I go this way. Not as much. Of course I go this way. It's gonna show it completely so. But the key to this is this is one where you have to sort of look at from one agok. Do I really want to do that? Cause once I click OK, it's not like an adjustment layer. It's just I've adjusted the pixels on that mask and it's it's not. I guess you could successfully argue that well, I could always redux levels again later on, but it's not quite the same as an adjustment, a recon turn on or off. It just means I've got a bit of, ah, place to maneuver. But not a lot, not as much as the other methods. But if you duplicated that layer of first, you'd have the original untouched. You can always go back to You could, Yeah, I mean, it's just it's then you're gonna start. Oh, yeah, that would work. You just have to have I don't have a great system for remembering. Labeling like this was my original And so, yeah, there's always ways around it. But it's just the main point is it's not as flexible as every other method that we've talked about. Okay, now for me, what I will often try as well. It's a I'm not sure that may maybe work. Go back to this one because this is still a camera smart object and try it again. But do something different, like push the exposure and maybe the clarity way up and saturation. Let's try that now. Do it again. Copy. Often I'll click on the mask paste, so I've got a different look than I did a moment ago. So that's a little different, perhaps, and I had before. Now that I've done that, maybe I would adjust the blend if sliders because it's a different circumstance than it was a moment ago. So that's another option, and you can. This is where things like some of these type of textures that just have like a big blob of black but with other things around the edge might be nursing choice to paste on a mask because you're gonna be able to focus on one particular area. Let's try it, select all copy option. Click on her mask paste. Now, what's gonna happen if I leave it this way? Gonna have a big hole in the middle because that's black in the military. Need to invert it. I mean, unless you want a big hole in the middle. But I'm thinking we probably want something more like that. And once again, now play with the blend of sliders. Little bit to blend it in, or the blend mode or poor or okay. I mean, I shouldn't say that. Maybe you do want a big hole in the middle? I don't know. You could Hey, so pasting on a mask opens up interesting possibilities. The trick to it is the first time you do it. If you're like 89.3% of the people, it won't work the first time because you just go pace and go. Hey, why didn't it go on the mask? You have to make sure you're viewing the mask so that it paste on the mask. But again, once you've done that, then you know that that's you know, that possibility can be done for lots of different things.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Example Textures Package

Ratings and Reviews

Beatriz Stollnitz
 

Great class for anyone looking to blend a photo with a texture for a creative effect. Dave discusses Blend If, smart objects, Apply Image and many other techniques that enable us to get the most out of Photoshop when adding texture to photos.

Laura D
 

Loved this class. Dave covered exactly what I needed to know to add textures, including a multitude of ways to make the texture more or less subtle. I learned a lot. You do need some Photoshop background to understand all the content.

Student Work

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