Summary

In this chapter, we have seen how masking plays a fundamental role in controlling the visibility of layers: firstly, to remove an unwanted background while keeping a subject visible and combining it with a new backdrop; and secondly, in conjunction with a black-and-white adjustment layer, excluding the subject from the effect to maintain its color. We then used the Brush tool to edit the mask, painting black in the mask to conceal the adjustment layer and white to reveal it.

We have seen how masks provide a unique method for extracting hair from a background using specialist masking tools that detect image colors to hide background details and preserve a subject’s hair.

In contrast to the previous techniques, we have also seen how disconnecting a mask from image content has advantages. It allows images to be scaled or rotated independently of a mask to juxtapose the photo better without affecting the mask itself.

Finally, we leveraged vector tools as the basis...