Going Back To The Basics, The Layer Basics

I know this may not be something new to anyone who has been following my tutorials for a while.  However, in my initial email correspondence I ask a series of questions.  My favorite question to get answers from is this one:

Is there a specific tutorial you would like to see about HDR Photography or Photography Post Processing? (Details, please.)

I receive so much incredible feedback from this question.  It allows me to see what is needed from the people who are reaching out to me.  I don’t just look at these answers and pass them off.  I tally them up on a spreadsheet and every month or so I look at the spreadsheet and what tutorials have the most tallies.  Once I see a necessity for a tutorial, I get to the prep work and put it together.

With all of that being said, the tally was high on a layer & masking basic course.  You see, those of us who have spent years in Photoshop, understand masks and layers pretty well because we have pulled more hair out than we can count trying to wrap our head around it.  While this may have seemed like an easy tutorial for someone with advanced Photoshop skills, this was probably the hardest tutorial I have ever had to put together; yes, even harder than the Color Zone System tutorials!
Before  After

In this Layer Masking Basic tutorial you will learn the following:

  1. The Essential Photography Workspace
  2. Setting up Photoshop to be layer friendly
  3. Adding a new layer
  4. Making a clipping mask
  5. Making a layer group
  6. Making a basic layer mask
  7. Adding and subtracting from masks
  8. Replacing a simple sky using layer and masking tools
  9. Using adjustment layers to enhance photographs

Your homework:

These areas were not covered but are very important!  Take some time to experiment with the following to further enhance your knowledge of layers:

  1.  Blending Options (Soft Light, Overlay, Screen, Luminosity)
  2. Adjust the Opacity of a mask

Enjoy the tutorial!

Blake Rudis
f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
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