Photoshop® CS4: Top 100 Simplified® Tips & Tricks

Chapter 2. Working with Layers, Selections, and Masks

Unless you use Photoshop only to resize and print photographs, you will use layers, selections, and masks for most projects. You may simply duplicate a layer as a safety step or build a complex multilayered image combining layers and layer effects with selections and masks.

A layer is a similar to a transparency sheet with an image on it. You can edit, transform, or add filters to a layer independently from other layers. You can make one layer alter the look of a layer above or below it. You can flatten all the layers to finalize an image or save a file with the layers for future editing. You can also drag a layer from one document to another.

Selections enable you to isolate areas in your image ...