Try these tutorials with Photoshop
Edit photos to create new images and graphics.
Make your photos look great with adjustment layers
Learn how to use adjustment layers to edit photos in Photoshop on the web.
What you’ll need
Practice in the app
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What you learned: Make your photos look great with adjustment layers
Add an adjustment layer
An adjustment layer always affects all the layers below it unless the Clip Adjustment Layer option is on.
Click the Adjustment Layers icon at the top of the Layers panel, and select the type of adjustment layer you want to add.
Modify the adjustment layer by using the controls in the Properties panel.
Adjust a specific area with a layer mask
An adjustment layer has a layer mask that you can edit to apply the adjustment to a specific area of the scene. The default for an adjustment layer mask is white, which shows the change in the entire photo.
Select the Brush tool in the toolbar, and set black as the foreground color.
With the layer mask selected, paint with black where you want to hide the adjustment.
Invert a layer mask, and paint with white
If the area where the adjustment will show is small, you can invert the layer mask and paint with white to reveal the adjustment.
Click the app menu in the upper left, and choose Filter > Invert. The mask turns black.
Select the Brush tool in the toolbar, and set white as the foreground color.
With the layer mask selected, paint with white where you want to show the adjustment.
Use a clipping mask to apply an adjustment
If a layer contains an element surrounded by transparent areas, you can use a clipping mask to apply the adjustment to only that layer.
After adding an adjustment layer, click the Clipping Mask icon at the top of the Layers panel. (This option is also in the Mask Actions menu.) If the Clip Adjustment Layer option is on when you add an adjustment layer, the adjustment affects only the layer immediately below it.
