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This tutorial demonstrates blending techniques using Layer Masks, and is in two parts. Part one blends two images, and part two blends a further two - four images in total.
Masking for beginners tutorial here!
For perfect blending, be prepared to invest a little effort, take your time, and remember this simple motto throughout my lesson, (on a Layer Mask); Painting with Black removes an image and painting with White brings it back.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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To work along, download the images Here. Unzip the file open the images onto Photoshop’s workspace.
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From the toolbar, activate the Move Tool. 
Then left-click and drag the house image onto the water image.
Then drag to centralise the house image over the water.
Your Layers palette has changed to the following.
Minimise the wooden boards, UK currency and clock images; they are for part 2.
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Ensuring the house layer remains active, from the Layers Palette, click the following Add Layer Mask icon.
And your house layer will display your new mask layer (white oblong).
Note: The four black corners surrounding the white oblong, indicate the mask layer is active.
Important! When masking with this (the house) layer, the newly created mask layer (highlighted with red above) must be active. If it ever becomes inactive (for example, you are working on a different layer), always click it to reactivate the Layer Mask, the four black corners will then return.
Tip: Layer Masks must be created on newly added layers, such as the house image. To convert a background layer to a mask layer, activate its layer, then from the top menu choose, Layers then choose New then choose Layer from Background, then click
OK.
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From the foot of the toolbar, click the following Default Foreground and Background Colours (or press D on your keyboard) - this sets the Foreground and Background colours, as illustrated below.
Because we will be painting out (removing) the road, ensure the Foreground colour is set to Black; remember (when masking), painting with Black takes it away, and painting with White brings it back. If necessary, swap your Foreground and Background colours by clicking the following arrow - or by pressing your X key.
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Now, from the toolbar, activate the Brush Tool.
And change the brush type to Basic Brushes. To start, choose a Hard brush with a suitable Master Diameter (size), these are my first settings; - remember, you will be changing the brush size as you work.
You are ready to paint (with black). Therefore, apply the brush to the centre of the road: this removes it, revealing the river layer underneath - and because your brush is set to 100% Opacity, the road’s full opacity has been removed.
Note
If I reduce the brushes Opacity to 42%, and paint over the road, it removes less, and appears faded, as shown below. When creating photographic merges, reducing the Opacity is an excellent way of controlling the amount of blend, and is worth experimenting with.
Notes - Blending Techniques - Continue with lesson here
An alternative way of blending images is by changing the Foreground Colour to (and experimenting with) various shades of greyscale - there are 256 shades of greyscale to choose from.
Additionally, you can change the appearance of the layer you are working with by changing the Brushes Blend Modes. Blend Modes explained here!
Experiment with different Blend Modes and see how they can alter the layers appearance.
Continuation of lesson
The house Layer Mask (thumbnail) depicts the removal of the road, in black.
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Now, continue removing the road; changing the size of your brush as you paint, if you need to paint back the road - for example, you get over enthusiastic with your brush, or it suddenly develops a mind of its own - as shown below.
Then make White the Foreground Colour by clicking the following (swap) arrows - or by pressing your keyboard’s X key.
And paint over the mistake: this brings back the areas you accidentally removed.
Tip
If you make a single error, from the top menu choose Edit then choose Step Backwards; (sometimes), this can be quicker than swapping the Foreground and Background colours.
When you have replaced the road with a river - your Mask Layer will display the road/river in black.
 
Congratulations! you have successfully masked a road and replaced it with a river, using Layer Masks. The first part of my lesson is complete, and you can now Merge Flatten the layers and (if necessary) Crop your image to size. If this is your first lesson in Layer Masks, I recommend that you stop here, (and save your work), and continue with part two another day. Save your image as a .psd file, (this retains the masked layers), alternatively, for practise, start again from the beginning.
7/ Layer Masks Part 2 - Blending a further two image
Activate the clock image and drag it onto the house and river image-layers, the same as Chapter 2.
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The Layers palette will change to the following.
The clock image now has its own mask layer - remember to click the thumbnail to make the mask layer active.
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Click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
And your Layers palette will resemble the following.
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When removing the clock’s background, ensure you work on its layer, and the Layer Mask thumbnail is active: and remember, painting with black removes the clock and painting with white brings it back. Therefore, activate the Brush Tool, ensure the Foreground is set to Black, the Opacity is to 100%, and begin painting over the clock layer, removing its background; changing the brush size as your work, as you did in Chapter 4.
You will find it helpful if you zoom into your image, (from the top menu, choose View then Zoom in), especially when removing the intricate areas around the clock, and inside its handle. To reduce the clocks size, from the top menu choose Edit then choose Free Transform, and reduce its size as necessary.
When I removed the clock’s background, (this takes time and patience), I rendered its face semitransparent - I did this by increasing the Brushes size to approximately the same size as the clock face; reducing its Opacity, then clicking the face. This enabled the background to show through just the clock’s face. You may prefer the face to be opaque!
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Now, activate the wooden board background, (or UK currency background) and drag it onto, and centralise it over the image. Convert its layer to a Layer Mask as you did with the second and third layers, and your image, and Layers palette, will resemble the following.
 
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To fade the wooden boards, you can either lower its Opacity in the Layers palette.
Alternatively, activate the Brush Tool and set the Foreground colour to Black, enlarge it to a size that is larger than the canvas, lower the brushes Opacity and click on the image. This reduces the wooden boards opacity, displaying the underlying image.
Finally, I finished by changing the Blend Mode (in the Layers palette) to Luminosity.
 
Tip
To keep the clock sharp, drag its layer to the top of the Layers palette.
 
There are many different effects you can create with Layer Masks, decide what photographs you wish to use, (you can use as many as you wish), and experiment with different Opacity and Blend Mode settings. Perhaps incorporate a type layer - anything you like, experiment, and see what you can create. Link Here to save your work.
Final Note: The key to this technique is practise, and lots of it!
Wendi E M Scarth - Top of Page - Home.
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