The other thing I used layer Mass for quite frequently is when I need to replace a sky in an image. So here I have a photograph in that's overcast skies rather boring, and I would like to put this guy in it, so I'll use my move tool. In this case, I'll click within the sky image. I'll drag up onto the tab for the other document. And then before I like over the mouse button, I'll make sure to move my mouse into that image. So it's not on the tab and said it's within the image and I'll let go. And then I can reposition this and hopefully get it to fill the frame. I'll close the other file because I already have incorporated into this one. So click it's Little X on the other tab to get rid of that, and now I'd like to use a layer mask, too. Be able to see the building that was there now I could work this way where the sky is the top most later, and Adam asked to it, or I could reverse the order of my layers input the image on top and in this case, with only two layers. It doesn't really m...

atter. But let's say I wanted to try out five different skies, and I want all five of them to be in the same document. So when a client shows up, I could just quickly change the eyeball icons in the Layers panel to show them various versions where they have different options for which sky to use. If that was the case, it would probably be better to have the building on top because of the buildings on top. And it was the layer that contained layer mask. I could just have multiple layers underneath and just turn off or on their eyeballs, and it would determine what shows up behind the building. If, on the other hand, I do it in the order it's currently in, I would put my layer mask on the layer that contains the sky in. If I need to put three or four more skies in the picture and they're gonna be above the building, each one of them would need to have a layer mask attached to prevent it from covering up the building. So I'm gonna change the order of these layers. But when you have a layer called background, I won't be able to drag a layer underneath it. And I won't be able to grab the background and put it on top. The background layer is stuck at the bottom. That is, unless I double click on it to change its name or I click this lock symbol toe. Unlock it. Now it's a normal layer. And now you could either move it on top or move the other one underneath. However you'd like at this point I want to select the background. So maybe I could come up here to the Selectmen, you and see if it would work. Just told to select the subject. Be nice if it knew where everything waas. Yeah, it looks like it didn't select the right side of the building, so that's not gonna be quite good enough. So instead, I'll come over here. Maybe I'll use the, um, object selection tool. I couldn't hold down the shift key to say Add to the selection. We already have enough circle around this area here to indicate what I really want selected about like that. And it looks like the area it got the building and it got part of my wife, Karen, but down below her, it's not selected. If you can't tell what selected, you can type a letter. Q, which will turn on quick mask mode in any area covered in red, is not selected, so you can see that we have a lot of the building. But the road in the portion in between the arms and legs there are not type queue again. To get out of that all, then hold down the shift key to say when I add to my selection and I'll tell it, I want to add this bottom portion and hopefully the object selection tool will be able to accommodate me. It still wants to not select the one area, so I'm going to say, Screw it, I'll do it. After it's a layer mask, I'm gonna add a layer mask to this layer by clicking on the layer mask icon. It'll convert my selections on Lee. The areas that are selected will be visible, and therefore that area between the legs and arms will disappear. Won't look right, but I can always grab my paintbrush tool in any area where I paint with white is going to become visible. So in this case, I'm just gonna come in here and paint with white right here. I see this. Ah, the word stop in the road is broken up. I can see my wife's hand is missing. Well, let's see how it could be how it could be easier for me to paint, cause right now it's hard for me to tell exactly where I needed paint in where I shouldn't. So there's a way to disable a layer mask. I should do that. In previous image. You hold down the shift key and you click on the layer mask, icon or the layer mask a thumb. Now, then you're layers panel. But now I can't tell what was hidden by the layer mask because it's disabled, so everything's visible. Well, there's a trick. There is a way to make the layer mask show up as an overlay on top your picture where it looks like quick mask mode where you get that red overlay, and the way you do it is on your keyboard right above the return or enter key. There's the backslash key, and if I hit back slash, it should make that layer mask. Be a red overlay now in some international keyboards that might not work, and if it doesn't work, let me turn it off by hitting back slash again. I don't know of, ah, alternative keyboard shortcut, but I can show you the manual method for doing it. If you have a layer mask attached to a layer in that slayer that's active, you should be able to switch to the channels panel. And if you do, you're going to see that the layer mask is actually a temporary channel showing at the bottom of your channels panel. And it'll be what's active and right there. You see a hint of that keyboard shortcut. There's the backslash. You just don't need to command backslash. It's just backslash all by itself. But if backsides doesn't work, just click right here to turn on that eyeball because that's all the backslash is doing is toggle ing that eyeball. So if the keyboard shortcut doesn't work because you're on a non English keyboard and they just didn't wire it up, that's how you can get around it. So now I'm gonna paint with White and I'll click right here if you want to draw a straight line, you can hold shift and click somewhere else. It'll snap a straight line between the two. Actually got too far up there, though some shoes undo and manually do that. Any way to get that overlay? I just work on a layer that contains a layer mask, and I end up hitting the backslash key. And then I can touch up all sorts of things. Like here. I can see the red is overlapping. The building red is what's gonna be hidden. So I don't want the edge of the building to be hidden. I'll click down here near the bottom, and here I might try to do a straight line. If you hold shift and click somewhere else, it will draw a straight line from where your last clicked, where you're clicking now and so I can probably touch this up as long as I don't go too close to that edge. Maybe look down the other side to make sure that side of the building looks appropriate. I think I see just the tiniest bit of a red overlay there. There's just a little nook right there that it's missing. I doubt it would be important. We put a new sky in, but I might as well fix it anyway, I'm going to paint with black right now. We've been painting with White and I'm going to hit the letter X, which exchanges my colors. I'm just gonna fill in that little gap and then I'll hit extra paint with white and get the over spray. I just added off of her foot. Here we go pink with black down here. Touch it up wherever you need to. And so it could be a nice way to double check that your mask was accurate for the purpose you need. And I'm guessing I might have an issue right at the tip of this. You see how the red is kind of overlapping that? So if I turn off the overlay with backslash and I enable the mask again by shift clicking on the mask to turn it back on, watch the tip of that tower, you see how it's going away. So I'm gonna disable it again by shift clicking on the mask and I'm gonna show it as an overlay again with backslash. So you see how that's useful. Then I'll paint with white and click about their hold shift Click about there to make a straight line. Same with on the other side. If I need that little what would you call it? Little Spike at the top. I just need a smaller brush. Just be careful. As you brush gets smaller, it gets harder edged. And so if I end up with a tiny brush to prevent it from being too crisp of an edge, I probably gonna need to bring the hardness down here. So I'm just gonna click where that spire, or whatever it is, would connect. Hold down the shift key and I'll go up here the top so draws a straight line. All right, command zero, zoom out, controls their own windows. I'm gonna turn off the red overlay. That was the backslash key. Or if the backslash key didn't work, then I would be coming in here to channels and just turn off the eyeball that's there. It does the exact same thing. Then I'm going to ah, disable or re enable I should say, my layer mask by shift clicking on it. And now we have our sky. I can then use the move tool in reposition that sky wherever I'd like or try different skies. Then we got everything. Even the little, uh, tip. There's a lightning rod at the top, so it's nice. Four sky replacement.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Lessons 1 - 6 - Handbook 1: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop

Lessons 7 - 12 - Handbook 2: How to Use Camera Raw

Lessons 13 - 18 - Handbook 3: Making Selections

Lessons 19 - 24 - Handbook 4: Using Layers

Lessons 25 - 30 - Handbook 5: Using Layer Masks

Lessons 31 - 38 - Handbook 6: Using Adjustment Layers

Lessons 39 - 44 - Handbook 7: Color Theory

Lessons 45 - 51 - Handbook 8: Retouching Essentials

Lessons 52 - 59 - Handbook 9: Tools Panel

Lessons 60 - 64 - Handbook 10: Layer Blending Modes

Lessons 65 - 70 - Handbook 11: How to Use Filters

Lessons 71 - 74 - Handbook 12: Advanced Masks

Lessons 75 - 81 - Handbook 13: Using Smart Objects

Lessons 82 - 86 - Handbook 14: Photography for Photoshop

Lessons 87 - 93 - Handbook 15: Advanced Photo Retouching

Lessons 94 - 98 - Handbook 16: Warp, Blend, Liquify

Lessons 99 - 105 - Handbook 17: Advanced Layers

Lessons 106 - 112 - Handbook 18: Actions

Lessons 113 - 117 - Handbook 19: Troubleshooting Issues

Practice Images 1: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop

Practice Images 2: How to Use Camera Raw

Practice Images 3: Making Selections

Practice Images 4: Using Layers

Practice Images 5: Using Layer Masks

Practice Images 6: Using Adjustment Layers

Practice Images 7: Color Theory

Practice Images 8: Retouching Essentials

Practice Images 9: Tools Panel

Practice Images 10: Layer Blending Modes

Practice Images 11: How to Use Filters

Practice Images 12: Advanced Masks

Practice Images 13: Using Smart Objects

Practice Images 14: Photography for Photoshop

Practice Images 15: Advanced Photo Retouching

Practice Images 16: Warp, Blend, Liquify

Practice Images 17: Advanced Layers

Practice Images 18: Actions

Practice Images 19: Troubleshooting Issues

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Ben Willmore

As a photographer, Ben Willmore has shot in all 50 states and explored over 80 countries. He has been pushing Photoshop and Lightroom Classic to their limits since the beginning.

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topics covered in this class

Adobe Photoshop Beginner Fundamentals Photo Editing

Ratings and Reviews

Noel Ice

I am an avid reader of photoshop books, and an avid watcher of photoshop tutorials. I have attended (internet) several hundred of presentations. In the course of this endeavor, I have found my own favorite photoshop websites and instructors. Creative Live is probably the bargain out there as well as among the top three internet course sites. I have to say with great enthusiasm that the best Photoshop instructor is Ben Willmore. There are many great ones, but truly, he is the best I have come across, and, as indicated above, I have watched literally 100s of tutorials on Photoshop. I have seen all of Ben's courses, I think, and among them, this one is the best by far, and that is saying a lot, because that makes this course the best course on Photoshop to be found anywhere. I am going back and watching it twice. Not only is it comprehensive, but Ben is so familiar with his subject that he is able to explain it like no other. This is crème de la crème of Photoshop classes. I have been wanting to write this review for some time because I have been so thoroughly impressed with everything about this class!

ford smith

Highly recommended if you want to take your Photoshop skills to the next level. Ben Willmore is clear, concise, and professional. He also has a good speaking voice that is not distracting but also keeps you engaged. Lastly, I would recommend that as you become more advanced, increasing the speed of the video (one of the options given on the menu)...especially if you've gone through the course once before and maybe want to watch it again. The double speed is very efficient as you become more advanced in Photoshop. Thanks for the help Ben!

a Creativelive Student

Wow. I cannot communicate the value of this course!! The true value in this course is how the instructor identifies workflows you'll need before you'll ever realize it, repeats important information without it becoming annoying, and explains the "why" behind the techniques so well that even if you forget the exact method, you can figure it out via the principles learned. Excellent value, excellent material, excellent instructor!!!

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Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky

Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky

Lesson Info

29. Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky

Lessons

Introduction To Adobe Photoshop

Bridge vs. Lightroom

Tour of Photoshop Interface

Overview of Bridge Workspace

Overview of Lightroom Workspace

Lightroom Preferences - Saving Documents

How To Use Camera Raw in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Overview of Basic Adjustment Sliders

Developing Raw Images

Editing with the Effects and HLS Tabs

How to Save Images

Using the Transform Tool

Making Selections in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Selection Tools

Combining Selection Tools

Using Automated Selection Tools

Quick Mask Mode

Select Menu Essentials

Using Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Align Active Layers

Creating a New Layer

Creating a Clipping Mask

Using Effects on Layers

Using Adjustment Layers

Using the Shape Tool

Create a Layer Mask Using the Selection Tool

Masking Multiple Images Together

Using Layer Masks to Remove People

Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky

Adding Texture to Images

Layering to Create Realistic Depth

Adjustment Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020

Optimizing Grayscale with Levels

Adjusting Levels with a Histogram

Understanding Curves

Editing an Image Using Curves

Editing with Shadows/Highlights Adjustment

Dodge and Burn Using Quick Mask Mode

Editing with Blending Modes

Color Theory

Curves for Color

Hue and Saturation Adjustments

Isolating Colors Using Hue/Saturation Adjustment

Match Colors Using Numbers

Adjusting Skin Tones

Retouching Essentials In Adobe Camera Raw

Retouching with the Spot Healing Brush

Retouching with the Clone Stamp

Retouching with the Healing Brush

Retouching Using Multiple Retouching Tools

Extending an Edge with Content Aware

Clone Between Documents

Crop Tool

Frame Tool

Eye Dropper and Color Sampler Tools

Paint Brush Tools

History Brush Tool

Eraser and Gradient Tools

Brush Flow and Opacity Settings

Blur and Shape Tools

Dissolve Mode

Multiply Mode

Screen Mode

Hard Light Mode

Hue, Saturation, and Color Modes

Smart Filters

High Pass Filter

Blur Filter

Filter Gallery

Adaptive Wide Angle Filter

Combing Filters and Features

Select and Mask

Manually Select and Mask

Creating a Clean Background