Run filters nondestructively.
When you run a filter on a Smart Object, Photoshop automatically
adds a mask to the Smart Object (labeled in Figure 4-34), plus the
filtering happens on its own layer (similar to
layer styles) so you can tweak, hide, or undo the filter’s effects.
See The Joy of Smart Filters to learn how to run
filters on Smart Objects (and in Photoshop CC, more filters are
Smart Object–happy than ever before).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: Clipping Masks
What the heck is a clipping mask? Is it similar to
a layer mask?
Clipping masks and layer masks are similar in that
they both hide parts of an image, but that’s about all they have
in common. Clipping masks are like Photoshop’s version of
stencils: They let you take one layer’s contents (a photo of
bluebonnets, say) and shove it through the contents of the layer
directly below (for example, text that says “Texas”). The result?
The image on the top layer is “clipped” so that you only see the
bluebonnets inside the text. (Hop over to Placing a Photo Inside Text for step-by-step
instructions on this technique.)
You can give clipping masks a spin by opening a photo and
double-clicking the Background layer to unlock it. Next, add a new
Image layer below it by ⌘-clicking
(Ctrl-clicking) the “Create a new layer” icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel. Then press B to grab the Brush tool and paint a big
ol’ brushstroke across the new layer (don’t worry about what color
it is). In the Layers panel, activate the photo layer (which
should be on top of your layer stack), and then choose
Layer→Create Clipping Mask or press Option-⌘-G (Alt+Ctrl+G), and
Photoshop makes your photo visible only
through the brushstroke, regardless of what color the brushstroke
is (layer transparency is the only thing that matters). You can
also Option-click [Alt] the dividing line
between the two layers in the Layers panel to
do the same thing.
When you use a clipping mask, you don’t get another
thumbnail in your Layers panel like you do with a layer mask.
Instead, the photo layer’s thumbnail scoots to the right and you
see a tiny down arrow letting you know that it’s clipped to the
layer below. And in Photoshop CC, the layer that’s being used as
the mask—the layer on the bottom—gets an
underline beneath its name.
You can clip as many layers together as you want. For
example, you can clip three Image layers to a layer containing a
brushstroke so all the photos show through it
(provided you’ve adjusted their blending modes to allow that). To
release a clipping mask, activate the clipped layer(s)—in this
example, the three image layers—choose Layer→Release Clipping
Mask, or choose Release Clipping Mask from the Layers panel’s
menu, or press Option-⌘-G (Alt+Ctrl+G). Alternatively, you can
Option-click (Alt-click) the dividing line
above the layer that you’re shoving the
images through (say, the brushstroke layer). Whew! Whichever
method you use, you should see your entire photo(s) again.
