Adobe Photoshop Tutorials Step 4: Group "Layer 1" With The Adjustment Layer

We have our layer mask. So far, so good. Problem is, the layer mask is on the adjustment layer, and what we need is for it to be on "Layer 1" so we can use it to blend the photo on "Layer 1" with the photo on the Background layer. There's no way for us to add a layer mask to anything other than an adjustment layer in Photoshop Elements, so we need some way of sharing that layer mask on the adjustment layer with "Layer 1" above it.

Fortunately, not only are adjustment layers incredibly useful, but it's a little-known fact that they also happen to be pretty easy going, and they have no problem at all with the idea of sharing their layer mask with any other layer that needs it! All we need to do is group the adjustment layer and "Layer 1" together! First, click on "Layer 1" in the Layers palette to select it:

Then go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and choose Group with Previous, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G:

Either way will group "Layer 1" with the adjustment layer below it. Nothing will seem to have happened in the document window, but if we look in the Layers palette, we can see that "Layer 1" is now indented to the right, with a small arrow pointing down at the adjustment layer, letting us know that it is now grouped with the adjustment layer below it:

At this point, with the two layers now grouped together, anything we do to the layer mask on the adjustment layer is going to affect "Layer 1" in exactly the same way as if the mask was actually on "Layer 1". We've now effectively added a layer mask to a normal layer in Photoshop Elements, and we can now use the layer mask to blend the two photos together!

Adobe Photoshop Tutorials Step 5: Select The Layer Mask

We need to have our layer mask selected, so click on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette to select it. You'll know that the layer mask is selected because its thumbnail will have a white highlight border around it:

Adobe Photoshop TutorialsStep 6: Select The Gradient Tool

Select the Gradient Tool from the Tools palette, or simply press G on your keyboard to quickly select it:

Adobe Photoshop TutorialsStep 7: Choose The Black To White Gradient

Right-click anywhere inside the document window to bring up the Gradient Picker, then choose the Black to White gradient, third one from the left, top row:

Adobe Photoshop Tutorials Step 8: Drag Out A Gradient On The Layer Mask

With the Gradient Tool and the black to white gradient selected, click inside your image and drag out a gradient where you want the transition area between the two photos to appear. Remember that you're not actually dragging the gradient on the photo itself, you're dragging it out on the layer mask. The longer the gradient, the larger the transition area between the two photos will be. I want a fairly quick transition between my two images, with the photo on "Layer 1" appearing on the right and then blending into the other photo on the left. I also want my blend to appear diagonally to give the final effect a bit more interest, so I'm going to drag out a small, diagonal gradient somewhere in the center of my image:

When you release your mouse button, Photoshop Elements will draw the gradient on the layer mask. If we look at the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette, we can see the black to white gradient that was drawn:

The area filled with white in the top right of the layer mask thumbnail is the area where the photo on "Layer 1" will appear, and the area filled with black in the bottom left is the area where the photo on the Background layer will appear. The narrow gradient area in between is the area where the two photos will now blend together, and if we look at the image itself in the document window, we can see that the two photos have in fact been blended together nicely thanks to the layer mask on the adjustment layer:

As we've now seen, even though Photoshop Elements doesn't officially support layer masks, at least not to the full extent of the professional version of Photoshop, it does allow us to use layer masks with adjustment layers. All we need to do then is add any adjustment layer below the layer we would normally want to add the layer mask to and group the two layers together! It's a couple of extra steps, but it works!

And there we have it!

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