Photoshop provides many techniques to hide/remove unwanted backgrounds, make objects stand out from their background, emphasize certain details of a photo, helps separate out the object from its inconsistent background. Image masking is the most potent way to remove unwanted objects.
Imagine that there is a photo of a ring that has been captured by a digital camera. It has no background to emphasis its quality. This photo is to be presented over a grassy background for freshness and depicting naturalness. Can it be done and if yes, how is it possible? One way of doing it would be to erase a part of the ring. But, this method does not suit the requirement. Another way is to copy a part of the leaf to another layer over the ring layer. This method too is ruled out, as it does not meet the requirements. The third and the most useful method are masking the photo. In this method, a part of the ring that is supposed to be under the stem is prevented from appearing. Masking is one of the most commonly used elements in Photoshop. It hides any unwanted objects or simply removing them. Hiding the unwanted portion means that this part may be needed elsewhere. So instead of destroying it is masked. This application is a practical choice for graphic content and pictures, which are complex.
The benefit of this method is that this technique allows to get rid of a part of the layer while still retaining the possibility of editing the result. It does the work of removing the unwanted objects without disturbing the main focus of the picture. In effect, it does nothing but masks the part, which is not required. It appears to be erased, while it still exists. It is a lower version of the Quick Mask tool available in Photoshop. But the latter is less time consuming. Going back, to the picture in the above example, Magic Wand tool is used to select the white background, in order to get the ring. Then, pressing selection/invert selection, using right clicks and using layer via copy, the newly made layer with the ring is then copied onto the picture of the grass. In Photoshop, in order to earmark the layer that is to be hidden, click on the icon 1 marked in the image to make a mask for covering the unwanted object.
The many essential reasons to mask complex set of photos provide the following assistance:
- When swathes of picture content need not be destroyed masking it is favorable.
- If in the vector format-they are 100% expandable and provide gray scales.
- To mask photos other additional tools like adjustment and filters also come handy.
- The final result is crisp. Even if there are multiple masks it does not show visible signs of editing.
- Masking permits the elevation of the editing, as it is an integral part of vector artwork.
- Many layers can be saved simultaneously without being destroyed.
When editors do masking of areas they ensure that nothing is lost not matter what complex procedure they use. Adding a background or changing it, making additions to it is a tedious process. Masking photos can be as easy as altering the color scheme or adding layers. Even channel masks are workable. It is a potent exercise for developing good results.
