From the course: Photoshop: Channels and Masks

The power of compositing - Photoshop Tutorial

From the course: Photoshop: Channels and Masks

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The power of compositing

- This course is mostly about channel and masks. But we've already had one chapter about compositing, remember the selected mask workspace? And we're about to have another. Now, if I had to define compositing, in the context of Photoshop, anyway, I would describe it as the act of combining independent, typically photographic layers, complete with layer masks, blend modes, and the occasional opacity adjustment. Which is, after all, 90% of what a lot of people do with the program. So devoting a chapter to compositing is a little like devoting a chapter to all of Photoshop. The many ways you can composite is a virtually limitless topic. Which is why I'm gonna limit myself to some stuff that I believe you need to know, a few things that it's good to know, and a few tips and tricks that are just plain fun. In the need to know category, we're gonna spend some more time using the old school refine edge command to smooth out rough surfaces and refine fragile filaments of fur. I'll show you how to bolter dark hair with the multiply mode, as well as light hair with the screen mode, so that your subject looks altogether at home in its new environment. I'll show you how to combine two masks into one using the calculations command, and I'll show you how to assign a keyboard shortcut to the refine edge command in the event that you, like me, often prefer it to the select in mask workspace. In the good to know department, I'll show you how to mask a background that needs some help, and assign that mask is what's known as a filter mask to an editable smart filter. And if you're in the mood for some fun, I'll show you how to create some high resolution synthetic snow, which in our case is necessary to tie the foreground and background images together. Layers and masks are Photoshop's dynamic duo. And I mean that quite literally, by the way, they allow you to work non-destructively and there are two of them. Are they better than Batman and Robin? Yes, they are. And I'll show you why in the following movies.

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