The Enthusiast's Guide to Photoshop

39. USING LAYER MASKS FOR ADJUSTING TONE

IF YOU THOUGHT making a layer mask was cool, this is where we can take it even further. In Lesson 36, we talked about adjustment layers and how we can use them to adjust the tonality of the picture. But what if we wanted complete control of that tonality in individual sections of a picture? This is where I think the techniques covered in this lesson are a lifesaver. To be honest, adjustment layers will probably account for eighty percent of the photographic toning that you do in a picture. They’re dead easy to use, so let’s just walk through it.

As an example, we’ll use a still-life picture of an old Ford ...