What are adjustment layers in Photoshop? You’ve probably heard the term countless times, but remain unsure what they do. In this quick tutorial we’ll explain how Photoshop’s adjustment layers can provide a flexible, non-destructive way of editing photos.
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Have you ever redecorated a room, brought all the furniture back in and hung up all the pictures only to realise that the new colour just doesn’t work?
If so, you’ve probably wished that there was an easy way of seeing how the room would look with the walls a variety of different shades before you start slapping the paint on.
And maybe there could be a simpler way of making changes once you’ve got everything back in the room so you can assess the final effect straight away?
Well, we can’t help you with the decorating, but we can help you avoid having similar problems when adjusting images.
If you use Photoshop’s standard method to adjust the contrast and colour balance of an image, you can’t go back and undo the work easily at a later date.
However, if you use an Adjustment Layer that holds all the information about the edit, you can make changes whenever you like provided that you save the file in a format such as Photoshop PSD or a TIFF, formats that support layers.
Another great thing about using Adjustment Layers is that the Levels and Curves controls are just the same as they are normally, but if you prefer you can apply masks to target where the edits are applied.
In fact, you can use all the usual layer controls, making Adjustment Layers an extremely powerful and flexible way of editing an image. Once you grasp the concept, you’ll see how useful they are.
Use a mask to apply an adjustment layer exactly where it’s needed
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As with other layers, you can apply a mask to an Adjustment Layer to screen it from certain parts of an image so that it only changes specific parts of the scene.
With a landscape image, for example, you may want to treat the land and the sky separately, perhaps brightening the land while keeping the sky as it is.
All you need to do to create a mask is to double-click the rectangle next to the layer thumbnail in the Layers Panel. Then use a black brush to paint on the mask. With this approach you paint in where you don’t want to apply the adjustment.
However, if you hit Ctrl/Cmd+I to invert the mask, you can use a white brush to paint in where you want the adjustment applied – which feels a little more intuitive.
If you make a mistake, simply switch to the opposite colour to paint it out. You can also adjust the Opacity of the brush to reduce the impact of the adjustment in some areas.
Clipped edits
The edits made with an Adjustment Layer are normally applied to all the layers beneath it in the Layers Panel. However, if it’s clipped, the adjustment is only applied to the layer immediately beneath the Adjustment Layer, which is very useful with composite images.
To clip an Adjustment Layer to the layer below, just select it in the Layers Panel and then click the Clip icon at the bottom of the layer’s Properties Panel.
Controlling your adjustment layers
The controls over the adjustments made with an Adjustment Layer are contained within the Properties Panel that appears when the layer is created.
The central section will be familiar because it has the controls that are available when the adjustment is made normally. As you make an adjustment you’ll see the image change accordingly.
Icons along the bottom of the panel enable you to reset the adjustments to the default positions, turn the layer’s visibility on and of and delete the layer.
If you’d like to revisit the adjustments later on, simply click the layer’s thumbnail in the Layers Panel. To see the image without the adjustment applied, click the eye icon in the panel next to the thumbnail.
Using Blend Modes and Opacity for more control over Adjustment Layers
As with a regular layer, you can use the Blend Mode options available in the Layers Panel drop-down list to alter the impact an Adjustment Layer has on an image.
A Curves adjustment, for example, can alter the colour as well as the contrast of the image, but switching the Blend Mode of the Adjustment Layer from Normal to Luminosity confines the edit to the brightness, and the colour is unaltered.
Conversely, using the Color Blend Mode with a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer prevents the image brightness from changing.
The Opacity setting next to the Blend Mode menu enables you to reduce the strength of its impact across the whole image.
Adjustment layers in Photoshop Elements
Adjustment Layers aren’t the sole preserve of Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CC. They are also available for editing images using Elements 11.
However, there are only eight options: Levels, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Gradient Map, Photo Filter, Invert, Threshold and Posterize.
They are created by clicking the relevant icon in the Layers Panel or by selecting Layer>New Adjustment Layer and selecting the relevant option.
It’s now also possible to apply masks to Adjustment Layers in Elements, simply by clicking the mask icon in the Layers Panel.
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