Layers Part Two

Each layer has it’s own opacity setting which determines how transparent the layer is. When layers are created their default setting is 100% opaque, which means you can’t see through them. To change the opacity of a layer make certain the layer is selected and click on the arrow to the right of the Opacity input in the layers tab. A slider will appear that you can drag to the left or right to increase or decrease the transparency of the layer.


You can also click inside the Opacity input area and use the arrow keys to increase or decrease the opacity by 1% at a time. If you hold down the shift key and use the arrows the opacity will change 10% each time.

If you wanted to create an image with pastel tones you could lower the opacity on a black and white layer allowing some of the color to show through. You can vary the amount of color by changing the opacity of the top layer. In this example the Opacity is set to 80% which means it’s 20% transparent and so some of the color from the layer beneath shows through.

Adjustment layers also have opacity and you can vary the strength of an adjustment layer by changing its opacity. In this example the opacity of the Sepia Tones layer is set at 75% which weakens the Sepia tone layer by allowing the black and white layer below to show through. The opacity of the Sepia layer could be reduced to 20% and the black and white image would have only a slight Sepia tone.

Layer Masks


When you create an adjustment layer you’ll see a white rectangle next to the adjustment layer symbol. This is a layer mask thumbnail. You can add a layer mask to any layer by clicking on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette or going to the menu Layer, Layer Mask, Reveal All.

Layer masks allow you to change the transparency of any part of an image. This is done by painting on the layer mask using any of the painting or drawing tools in photoshop.

In this example a layer mask is being used to bring back sharpness to the eyes and mouth after applying a softening layer. The layer mask allows you to selectively make part of the layer transparent. Painting with black creates transparency while painting with white removes transparency. When a layer mask is created it’s filled with white by default. The Opacity setting controls the overall transparency of the layer while the layer mask allows you to selectively allow parts of the image to be transparent.

The power of layer masks lies in the ability to use black to “mask out” part of the image and white to undo the masking. On this image the black on the layer mask could be painted over with white and nothing from the sharper layer below would show through. Layer masks allow you to experiment without harming your image.

This is what the layer above would look like if there was a blank layer below it. You can see the black has removed the transparency of the layer where ever it’s applied.

You can get a better understanding of this by opening an image and double clicking on the background layer. When the dialogue box pops up click OK and the Background layer will be renamed to Layer 0.

Hold down the Cmd/Ctrl key and press the Create new layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel. A new layer will be created underneath the current layer.

Click back on the original layer and press the Create mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

Press the B key for Brush and make sure the foreground color is set to black. As you paint on the layer mask you will see the image disappear and the checkered layer underneath show through. Did you just ruin your image? No, that’s the cool thing about layer masks – you make all types of changes without damaging your image.

Want to see what the image looks like before and after your changes? Hold down the Shift key and click on the Layer mask. A red X over the Layer mask indicates that it is turned off. Shift Click again and it will turn back on.

Hold down the Option/Alt key and click on the layer mask and you’ll see a full size version of the layer mask of your image. Option Click again to see the image. This can be useful for refining areas you’ve painted over on the mask.

Want to undo some of your alterations? Change the foreground color to white by pressing the D key and then the X key. D resets the foreground color to Black and the background color to white. Pressing X toggles them back and forth. If you paint with a white brush on the layer mask you’ll see the image being restored as you paint over the black areas. Be sure you’re always painting on the layer mask and not on your image. The layer mask will always have a small frame around it when it is selected.