Using Layer Masks to correct your photos

One thing we all have in common is that we all love to take photos. If you are anything like me, you’ll have a few (or a bunch, lol) that capture the moment perfectly, but the photo itself is not quite perfect. Thank goodness for the magic of photo editing!

Today I’m going to show you how to use a layer mask to isolate parts of your photo. This can be done in both PhotoShop and PhotoShop Elements. I will give the PS instructions first and then show you the little cheat to make it work in PSE.

I wanted to put together a photo collage for my living room using black and white photos. I started with this candid shot of my daughter.

I converted it to black and white using an action from Pioneer Woman (PW’s B&W) and removed the edge burn. Then I merged all the layers together.

Parts of my photo were a little too dark and her face was a little washed out. I’ll need to do some more editing to try to fix that.

First, I duplicated the layer and ran the highpass filter on it (set at 10) to bring out some of the details. I changed the blend mode to soft light.

I duplicated the base layer again and moved it to the top layer. I then changed the blend mode to screen at 74%. This lighted up the background.

But then her face was pretty washed out. And lots of her facial details were lost.

I really need to just make adjustments to that part of the photo now and not the whole thing. So I’m going to use a layer mask to work on just that area.

First I duplicated my base black and white layer again and moved it to the top layer. The next part is a little different for PS and PSE users.

Ø In PS, click on the “add vector mask” button. This will give you a layer mask on your photo layer. Click inside the white layer mask box in the layers palette.

Ø In PSE, click on “create a new adjustment layer” and select “Hue/Saturation”.

Now move this adjustment layer below your top photo layer. CTRL+G to clip your photo to the adjustment layer. This makes a layer mask. Now click on the Hue/Saturation mask layer and then click in the white box.

Now type “D” on your keyboard to set your color swatches to default. Now hold the CTRL key and press the backspace key. This will change the white box to a black box. When you use a layer mask, anything that is black on the mask will hide those areas of the layer they are attached to. Anything in white on the mask box will show on that area of the layer. By filling the box with black, we are hiding the entire layer.

Since her face is washed out, I want to make it darker. So I select a soft white brush (make sure you have clicked on the black layer mask box) and use it to brush over her face. Then I changed the blend mode on the layer to multiply and lowered the opacity to 38%. It really brings back her facial features. I then lightly (with a brush opacity of 20%) went over her hands to bring out more details in them.

I’m almost happy with this picture now. The background needs to be a little lighter, so I duplicated the main layer again and brought it to the top and applied another mask. I filled the mask with black again and then I brushed over the dark areas with a white brush. Then I changed this layer to screen at 30% opacity to lighten the background even more.

Here is what the 2 photos look like side by side…

The final version on the right has a much lighter background but her facial features are no longer washed out!

Now your challenge is to use a layer mask to do some corrective editing in your photos. You can use them to correct light and dark areas as I have or you can use them to slightly blur out a background or apply a filter to part of your photo. Scrap that pic to get some points!!! I’d love to see the before pics – but you don’t have to post them.

If you do not use Photoshop/Photoshop elements – please don’t be mad it me for making a PS specific tut :blusing: Show us how you can do some selective editing in your program and earn some points too!!

Now for the rules/guidelines:

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of June to complete this challenge for June MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Hello! Hello! Trista here to share with you a fun technique for my very first ever Saturday Special hostessing gig! I hope you all brought snacks!

Soooo, Let’s make some waves.

Adding a wavy edge to a strip of paper is fairly simple. Please note that I use Photoshop 7, so these instructions may take a little tweaking on your part to achieve the same affect with other photo editing software. Here we go!

1. Open a new transparent document in Photoshop. I start with 12inx12in (300dpi) in size.

2. Select the Polygonal Lasso tool from the tools palette.

3. Click the mouse to create a starting point. (Something to note: Clicking beyond the boundary of your open document is best to assure the wave is from one edge of the open document to the other. Continue to click the mouse to draw a wave across the open document. Don’t forget to draw the sides and bottom so that the mouse is back to the starting point. Marching ants appear around the selected area. There is no need to worry that the edges are not smooth. That is next on our to do list.

4. Select “Edit in Quick Mask Mode” on the tools palette or press the shortcut key “Q”. This is the first step in smoothing the rough edge on the wave that was just created.

The non selected part of the document will be pink. This is a mask.

5. Next, from the top menu, select Filter, then Noise, then Median. Reduce the size of the preview image in the popup window so that the curve can be seen. (From what I have read, but have not tested the work around in Photoshop Elements for smoothing the edges is to paint/erase with a soft brush, reduce stroke opacity, or to feather the mask with the Gaussian Blur filter.)

6. Toggle the Radius slider to 93. This will smooth out the edge of the wave. Click OK.

7. Return to regular editing mode by selecting the Edit in Standard Mode icon on the tools palette or by pressing the shortcut key Q again. This action removes the pink mask and returns the marching ants from the previous selection, but now the wave is smooth.

8. Now it’s time to decorate. Fill the wavy border with color or paper and you are on your way to a fabulous layout.

For those that find it difficult to create a smooth wave, there is still another option. You can let our fabulous designers here at ScrapMatters do all of the hard work and use some of the premade curve templates that are in the store. Here are some examples.

Behind Me Curves Template Pack from Graham Like the Cracker.

Wendy of wm[squared] has Got Curves? Templates. There are three versions.

More than Just Curves from Happy Scrap Girl

Happy Scrapping.

My page using Serenity by Andilynn Designs

I gotta show ya what the team did!

Kayla used a wave element from Harbor Bay from Dream Big Designs .

Chel used Up All Night: Boys from Whimpy Chompers

Kairyn used Let Me Be Me from Band Geek Designs and Got Curves? Vol. 1 Templates from wm[squared]

Sharon used Got Curves? Vol. 1 Templates from wm[squared]‘s and Opening Night from Stolen Moments Designs and Britt-ish Designs.

Now on to the details of the challenge. Create a wave using the instructions in the tutorial above (you may use a template). Place the wave somewhere on a layout. That is it! Be sure and upload your finished page to The Saturday Special Challenge gallery and then post in the MOS Challenge forum.

Challenge reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of May to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Hello fellow scrappers,

Kayla aka keepscrappin here with today’s Saturday Special Challenge. If you’re anything like me, you want to get the most from your scrappin’ supplies, so today I’m gonna to show you one way to get more outta those alphas you’ve got in your digi stash. Sure we all use alphas to title our layouts, but how about using those alphas as embellishments for our layouts? Don’t worry, it’s easy and fun too!

The basic idea is to look at your alphas in a different way. Is that an exclamation point? Yes, but it could be a flower too just by duplicating it and rotating each new layer 30 degrees…. continue until you’ve gone all the way around.

How about using that asterisk as a flower or in a scatter. Take that period and use it as a flower center or part of a scatter. Combine those Y’s in a circle to make a snowflake. The possibilities are endless, so just let your imagination go wild and have fun!

Here’s a small sampling of some ideas you can do with alphas.

My favorite letters to work with from alpha sets are: asterisks, periods, exclamation points, v’s, i’s, and y’s; but really you could use any letter you want. Just look at the shape of the letter and see what you can come up with. Don’t be afraid to resize, duplicate and rotate your letters or even delete part of your letter to get the look you want.

Here’s a layout I made using a couple of alphas to embellish my page.

I used the alpha that came with the On the Front Porch kit from Plum Dumpling Designs for my scatters and I used the Frosty Alpha from WM[Squared] Designs to make some flowers.And here’s some pages from the ScrapMatters Creative Team

from Melissa using Sprocket By Elise’s Pieces

She made flowers from the asterisks and turned her title sideways to use it as a vertical embellishment on her page.

from Trista using Grandpa’s Garden and Grandpa’s Garden – Veggies by Chelle’s Creations

She used the I, l, V, 1, and, – from the alpha and clipped green paper to create grass.

from Melanie using Be Inspired – JennV, Oh Snap! Mega Mini & Oh Snap! Word Art all by WM[squared] Designs

She duplicated and rotated the v to make stars.

from Kelli using Gimme Space Templates – Band Geek Designs, Blessed to Be Your Mother – Jady Day Studio, Blessed to Be Your Mother Add on Alpha – Jady Day Studio, Stitch Me Up Frames – Chelle’s Creations

She used the lowercase L to make a tab for her date.

Aren’t they all great?

And here are some alphas from the ScrapMatters store that would make good candidates for this challenge.

Wet Paint Alpha

Stamped Foam: Primary Alpha


Frosty Alpha

And many more in the alpha section of the store, so go check ‘em out!

Got enough ideas now? Good, then let’s get to the challenge. Your challenge is to use an alpha as an embellishment on your layout. [ I want to see you use an alpha in some way other than just as your title]. Please make sure you tell us what alpha you used and how you used it as an embellishment. (ie. I used the lowercase L in the Frosty Alpha from WM[Squared] Designs to make a flower.)

And the fine print!

• You will receive one point for posting in the forum thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new ScrapMatters products but, please add a note in your post here to say that you used a new product to ensure you receive the extra point. At the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!
• You have the entire month of May to complete this challenge for MOS points.
• Remember no double dipping, your layout must be unique to this challenge.
• You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we love it when you do!

Have fun and keepscrappin’

Howdy, Howdy Howdy!  It is Liz and I am bringing you the last challenge of April 2011!  I am very excited to share this technique with you.

When using colors on our layouts, it is important to balance the colors by varying the amount of each color.  This is often called the galllon/quart/pint rule or concept.  Your main color is what you use a gallon of on your layout.  You one or two secondary colors are the quarts on your page.  And finally an accent color is a pint, used sparingly as a pop on a page.  Your challenge is to apply this concept to one of your layouts.  I want to be able to clearly tell what is your “gallon”, “quart(s)”, and pint.

Here is my page:

Note:  my gallon is black, my quarts are the pink and purple, and my pint is the gold.
This is using Belle of the Ball by Band Geek Designs

And here are some lovely layouts from the CT ladies here at SM:

Heidi:

Bonnie:

Sarah:

Kendall:

[B]Now for the rules/guidelines:[/B]
-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge for April MOS points or wait to post in May for May MOS points!

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Hi there, Simona here! I am so nervous because this is my first challenge ever as a SM CTM!

For this challenge I thought about something which was challenging for me as well. This week I am challenging you and myself (!) to do a layout using a photo collage. What’s the difference between a photo collage and a multi photo layout? Well, basically, a multi photo layout can be more well ordered than a photo collage. Image yourself with a bunch of photos in your hands, leave them falling on the table, the way they naturally land on the table, overlaying each other, that is my meaning of a photo collage.

For this challenge you have to use at least 7 photos, the photos can be all different or the same ones repeated. Each photo must be touching at least one other, no singles allowed!

Since I am normally a single photo scrapper so this one was out of my scrapping comfort zone and a way to get a page with lots of pics done for my 2009 vacation album, too!

Using Capture a Memory by Stolen Moments Designs:

And here’s some more inspiration from the amazing ScrapMatters creative artists!

By Kelli using Belle of the Ball from Band Geek Designs:

-

By Ami using LoveBirds by Jeanine ~ The Kit by Jeanine DeOre:

-

By Fiona using using Heartbreaker, Retro Clear Alpha and Round About Alpha, all by Stolen Moments:

-

By Kim using Great Escape and Family Matters Alphas by WM[squared]:

And by Trista using Autumn Splendor Collab from the Scrap Matters Design Team:

I really hope you were inspired by these amazing creations and willl play along and overwhelm me with all your pages full of pics!!

———————

Challenge reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Welcome to the Saturday Special…and do I have an artsy, fun challenge for you!!

Today we’re going to learn how to transform your photos into pencil drawings. My friend, Maria, created a layout almost a year ago that I was fascinated with. It featured her son as a pencil drawing and it made her layout so interesting. So here’s my recreation. I used Photoshop – hopefully those of you who use other programs will be able to follow along.

1. Start with selecting your photo. Crop, resize and balance out the ligh in it first so you have good contrast. Try to pick a photo where you have clear detail.

2. Remove the color. Create a new adjustment layer by selecting Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. When the Hue/Saturation dialog appears, slide the Saturation slider all the way to the left, removing all color from the photo.

3.  Duplicate the Photo on a new Layer. In the Layers palette, click and drag the original photo onto the Create a New Layer button at the bottom of the palette. This creates a duplicate of your original photo.

4.  Invert the Colors on the New Layer. With the new layer selected, click Ctrl+I to invert the colors in the photo. Your picture will look strange – like an old school negative.

5.  Set the Mode to Color Dodge. Change the blend mode of the new layer by choosing Color Dodge from the blend modes drop down menu at the top of the Layers palette. Dodging lightens the underlying image. The lighter the upper layer is, the more it lightens the bottom layer. The resulting image will be almost pure white because the two layers contain opposite versions of the same image.

6.  Apply Gaussian Blur. This will get some interaction between the two layers. Blur the Inverted, Color Dodged image slightly. Select Filter > Bur > Gaussian Blur. As you change the number of pixels for the blur, the pencil sketch will start to appear. The amount of blur will depend on your image. I used 5.8 pixels on my image. The greater the blur, the wider and darker the lines and shadows will be.

You can also use Motion Blur, Radial Blur or the Blur More filters. See what they do for your image. You can also change your blend mode from Color Dodge to Linear Dodge if you like the effect better. It’s personal preference.

7.  Burn and Dodge. You can stop here, or you can use the Burn and Dodge tools to lighten and darken certain areas of your photo. I used Burn to take off some of the shadow on my son’s face.

8.  Tweak your Opacity. After looking at what I had created, I wanted to bring back a little of the natural color in the photograph. I did this by lightening the top layer in the Layers Palette. Instead of using 100% opacity, I lowered it to almost 50% to get a hint of the original colors. You can tweak this to your liking, or leave it as is.

Here’s my final “sketch”

And here’s how I used it in my LO:

I hope this is a new and fun tutorial for you and that it inspires you to try something new. Post your creations here and link us up so we can leave you love in the gallery. Here’s some inspiration from our awesome CT:

By canadianmommy
(Using Sketchy by Erica Zane):

By Chel
(Using Amy Stoffel’s Only the Sky & the background is blended with a Kraft paper from Sarah Bennett (retired))

Here are the Rules…

-You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the The Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Welcome to the first Saturday Special in April…and boy do I have a fun challenge for you!!

Let’s try combining two different templates! Maybe you want more pictures and need help with the placement of adding photos, or maybe you like the paper layering on one but really like the element placement on another. Are maybe you have tons of template packs that you have used the single templates but would really like to get more use out of your stash. Combining templates is a great way to create a whole new layout out of products you already have!!

What I do first is find to templates that are a little different but I know will work beautiful together. I upload them both into my editing software and put them side by side. Next, I hide everything on the templates except for the back ground papers. Then I open a new 3600×3600 blank file. When I decide which parts of the background I want to use I start moving them to my blank file.

Then I unhide the photo placements on each template and decide which ones I want to use and add them to my blank file.

Be sure to move layers around so that your photo are covered up and make it so it works how you like it!

Next you can merge the template elements or you can just work with what you have and add your embellishments later depending on the kit you are using.

I decided to combine geniaBean Scraps – Lots Layers v1 and uses SMDT Warm Fuzzies

and check out the awesome creations by our creative team:

Kairyn:

It combines True Blue – Sweet Spring Set 1 combined with KimB Page Formers 3 and uses Laurie Ann’s – April Grace

Melanie:

It’s a mix of all four of HayNay Designs – Don’t Be So Negative Templates. Uses My Magical Place, My Magical Place: Add-On, My Magical Place: Grunge it Up and Dotted Dates all by Hanynay Designs

Becca:

It combines Erica Zane/Denise Beatty Originals EZ Originals V.1 template and WM[Sqaured] Fun and Funky volume 1 template. Uses WM2′s Springy: The Alpha, Inspiration by Day’s Sew Springy, and KimB’s Carefree Solids, Carefree Prints and Carefree Elements, all from the April Mix A Kit Collection.

Amanda:

It combines Carefree Templates by True Blue Studio and Don’t be So Negative by Haynay Designs and using the SMDT Mix a Kit April

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in The Saturday Special thread & in the The Saturday Speical gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Can’t wait to see what you create! Have FUN!!