This tutorial is about how to use layer mask and clipping mask in Photoshop CS5. You would begin by opening two layers. The top layer is a baby image. The bottom layer is a photo of a TV set.

Now if you click on the left of the layer, it will hide the top layer and you can see the TV set on the bottom layer.

Bellow is the children image and TV set image.

In this layer mask tutorial, you will be creating the illusion that the children image is on the TV.

Now there are several ways to accomplish this:

1^st option:

First, you could take the Eraser Tool and begin to remove all the extra material from the children image.

Unfortunately, if you do that it is a permanent change, because if you erase too much of the children image, you will be unable to bring it back later.

2^nd option:

Another option is to use a layer Mask in Photoshop. To do it, first you need to draw a path using pen tool around the desired area.

Then hold down the CTRL or CMD key and click on path layer to make selection.

Now, just crop the area down to fit the TV screen, by using a layer mask.

Following this you would have to touch it up by doing some feathering, a little painting to complete the adjustments.

3^rd option:

The other option is referred to as a clipping mask. What you would do is create a shape then crop the children image down to. So next you would do first, is turn off the children image.

Then you would select the desired part in the background layer using the path, which you have drawn previously.

Then you would take that selected area by pressing CTRL+J (PC) or CMD+J (Mac) and jump the layer. That just means that you have copied that particular layer to the work area.

So now if you click on the box to the left of the layer (hide the background) all you will see now is the selected area that you just traced.

Now all you need to do is to go back to the first layer of the children image and turn it on by clicking the box to the left of it.

The next step is to press CTRL+ALT+G(PC) or CMD+OPT+G(Mac), and that will create clipping mask.

Now if you wish to turn it off and on again, all you need to do is to press the keyboard shortcut: CTRL+ALT+G(PC) or CMD+OPT+G(Mac). That’s the fun thing about the clipping group.

Another way to create a clipping mask is to go to the layer menu, scroll down and click on the ‘create clipping mask selection’. You can also OPT or ALT click between layers to remove your clipping mask.

You can go a step further and take the layer that was the glass TV screen, copy it by clicking CTRL+J(PC) or CMD+J(Mac).

And then drag the copy up to the 1st image children, which then disappears.

Now go back to the Opacity (set at 100%) and bring it down to about 30%.

This now shows a bit of reflection off the glass, and thus creates the illusion.

Now you know how to create layer masks and clipping mask in Photoshop.

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