Within the topic of layers there are two specific areas that I would define as being the most powerful aspects of layers. These are layer masks and Adjustment layers. In this video, and the next, I will address the former of these, the wonderful layer mask.

As you may have discovered by now, layer masks are not available in Elements in their native form. I will therefore be using Photoshop CS3 to demonstrate the use of layers. However, fear not, as there is a way you can “cheat” in Elements and work with layer masks the same way you would in Photoshop CS3 … but that is something I will address in the next video.

Even though you may not be using Photoshop do watch this video as it explains the principles involved, which you will need an understanding of to then apply them in Elements.

Photoshop Elements: Layer Masks - Part 1

Dark Side of the lens is a blog for the aspiring home photographer, scrapbooker or photo enthusiast. The backbone of this blog is based upon the free video tutorials to assist the "not so advanced user" to learn how to best use Adobe Photoshop Elements to improve their photos through digital image editing. Look for our free Podcast in the iTunes Music Store.

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Canvas is a very forgiving medium, with the ability to hide a wealth of sins in many photos, though it is still the usual case of the better the photo the better the end result. However, due to the nature, especially the texture, of canvas you are able to get large high quality prints from even the most basic of cameras.

What many (most?) people do not realise though is the huge variation there is in the quality of the canvases you can get printed via the internet, or indeed by walking into a store.

A couple of years ago I put quite some time and effort in finding a great canvas printing company for my own prints, and in doing so taught myself what to look for in a good canvas.

Rather than simply passing this information on to you entirely myself I decided to go an interview a real expert.

So, here you go, my first venture into the world of film making!

Printing your photos on canvas

As promised, here is the second video to complete our exploration of “levels” in Photoshop Elements.

Photoshop Elements: Levels Part 2

I remember when I was first learning digital photo editing and I stumbled across something called “levels”. Some of my photos had looked grey and dull, though I did not realize it at the time, and these suddenly sprang to life as I learned how to use the levels adjustments in Photoshop.

Although not quite as powerful as the “curves” adjustments in Photoshop (which also has the levels adjustments by the way) the levels adjustments in Elements are something you are going to find very powerful, in fact to me they are a “must check” on every photo I edit.

Photoshop Elements: Levels Part 1

I remember when I was first learning digital photo editing and I stumbled across something called “levels”. Some of my photos had looked grey and dull, though I did not realize it at the time, and these suddenly sprang to life as I learned how to use the levels adjustments in Photoshop.

There are several different types of adjustment layers, such as levels or hue & saturation. In this tutorial I demonstrate the use of an adjustment layer, using a hue & saturation adjustment layer as an example.

Photoshop Elements: Adjustment Layers

Photoshop Elements does not include the layer mask functionality, in its native form at least. However, it does include adjustment layers, and these little beauties have their own layer masks. In this video I show you a rather clever trick whereby you can hijack this mask and use it as you would a normal layer mask.

Photoshop Elements: Layer Masks - Part 1

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