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You might make composition mistakes when shooting real estate photos and want to remove some elements in the photo or improve the appearance of certain areas. Knowing what masking is in Photoshop and how it works can help you edit certain parts of the image without affecting the entire photo.
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Masking is a non-destructive technique in Photoshop that allows you to cut out some parts of a photo, merge two photos to make one new image, change the background color of a picture or make edits on certain areas of a photo without affecting the entire image.
It works by making some parts of an image invisible, allowing you to edit the visible region of the photo. Depending on what adjustments you want, you can use one of the following masking methods in Photoshop.
A Clipping mask is a type of masking that joins several layers together based on the shape of the bottommost layer. For instance, you can navigate to the layers panel and place your shape layer below the image you want to insert.
Right-click on the image layer and select the Create Clipping Mask option. This clips the image layer to the shape below it.
A layer mask allows you to make certain areas of the highlighted layer visible or invisible using the Photoshop Brush tool. You can also use it to merge two different photos into one using the following steps.
With two images opened in Photoshop, reposition them by moving the first layer to the right and the other to the left using the Move Tool. You can pick the Move Tool by going to the toolbar on the left of your screen and choosing Move tool. Alternatively, you can press the V key on your keyboard.
Click on the first layer to activate it, then drag it to the right while holding the Shift key. This ensures the layer moves in a straight horizontal line. Turn off the first layer by clicking on the Eye icon and then select the second layer.
Click the layer using the Photoshop Move tool, hold the Shift key, and then drag it to the left. A checkerboard pattern will appear on the right showing Photoshop's transparency. Turn on the first layer's Eye icon. Usually, the layer will move to occupy the checkerboard pattern.
A layer mask uses a black color to hide the layer's contents, white to show the contents, and gray to hide or show partially.
A Channel mask functions differently from the other types of masking as it helps to precisely select a complex area of an image such as hair, fur edges, or tree. You can then remove the background to create a good composition.
For instance, if you want to show kitchen cabinets in a cluttered real estate interior photo, you can precisely select the cabinet and remove the clutter. Typically, Channel masks define your selection based on contrast. This makes it a great option when working on semi-translucent or lucid images.
A quick mask is used to refine a selection in Photoshop by temporarily changing some areas of the photo to semi-opaque red to indicate a selection. You can refine the selection using the Photoshop Brush tool and brush over the highlighted area.
Open the Quick mask icon, and your paint will turn to an opaque red. Usually, everything outside the opaque red color is selected once you turn the Quick Mask mode off.
Inverse the selection so you can work with the opaque red image. Set the foreground color to black and paint over your image using the Photoshop Brush tool.
It’s advisable to rename layers when masking to avoid confusion about which layers contain which edits. Double-click the first layer to select it, then type down the new name.
You can open two photos in Photoshop by navigating to File in the menu bar, choosing Scripts from the drop-down menu, and then selecting Load Files into a stack. Set the Use option to Files and click the Browse button to locate the images.
Knowing what masking is in Photoshop can help you merge real estate photos to emphasize key features, such as furniture in the dining and living room. Simply open the two photos in the layers panel, mask it and use the brush tool to paint over the unwanted areas.
