Andrew Smallman offers a different slant on the principles behind the use of layers and masks in Photoshop software.
Photoshop made its debut with version 1 in 1990. Version 3 - with layers capability - arrived in 1994. Since then layers has become a core feature of Photoshop to the extent that the official magazine for Photoshop and other Adobe Creative Suite products is called Layers Magazine.
Despite its name Photoshop was developed for the digital graphics industry and predated consumer digital cameras by several years. Prior to Photoshop the graphic artist had to physically assemble transparencies on a lightbox to create a composite image. With Photoshop the artist could scan each component and combine them electronically using virtual instead of physical layers.
Over the years Adobe has evolved Photoshop so it can manage digital camera images very effectively.
But many photographers come to Photoshop with a completely different mindset to the graphic artist. Many photographers are likely to regard a photograph as a single entity, a record of the scene before the lens, not a composite built up in the mind of the creator. This can make it difficult for photographers to navigate their way around the densely complex, multilayered (pun intended) world of Photoshop.
My own journey of discovery into the “land of layers” started six years ago. I began digital editing using Elements 3, then moved on to Photoshop CS3 and currently I am using CS5. I bought several reference books, read dozens of magazines, viewed many on line tutorials and went to night courses at my local community college. Many of the tutorials used a similar format. "It's easy!" they said. Just click on here, Alt+click there, drag and drop this on that and Abracadabra! Auntie Jane's head has been replaced by a pumpkin, or Aunty Jane's pumpkin has been replaced by a head, or some similar digital conjuring trick...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Tips on how to improve your digital post-production workflow; How to optimise colour in your images; Profile: Dr Alison Nordstrom; Tips on how to sell gear on eBay; Locations: Redland District, Qld; Canon EOS 600D SLR.
