Step 6: Add A Layer Mask Filled With Black

With the top layer ("Layer 2") selected, hold down your Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key and click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

This will add a layer mask to the top layer which we can use to isolate specific areas of the photo. Normally, Photoshop fills new layer masks with white, which keeps everything on the layer visible (see our Understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop tutorial for more information on layer masks), but by holding down the Alt / Option key as we click the Layer Mask icon, we tell Photoshop to fill the new mask with black instead, which hides the entire layer in the document window. If we look at "Layer 2" in the Layers palette, we can see the layer mask preview thumbnail that's been added, letting us know that we do have a mask on the layer, and we can see from the thumbnail that the mask is filled with black:

Since the top layer is currently hidden from view by the layer mask, even though it's set to the Screen blend mode and should be lightening the image, my photo appears unaffected and in its original black and white form in the document window:

Step 7: Select The Brush Tool

To brighten only the girl's grandfather, all I need to do is paint over him with white on the layer mask. For that, I'll need Photoshop's Brush Tool, so I'll select it from the Tools palette. I could also press the letter B on my keyboard to quickly select it with the shortcut:

Step 8: Paint With White On The Layer Mask

Photoshop uses the current Foreground color as the color for the brush, so press the letter D on your keyboard to quickly reset your Foreground and Background colors if needed, which will make white the Foreground color. If you look at the Foreground and Background color swatches near the bottom of the Tools palette, you should see the Foreground color swatch (top left) set to white. The Background color swatch (bottom right) will be set to black:

With the Brush Tool selected and white as the Foreground color, simply paint over any areas that you need to brighten (or darken, if your top layer is set to the Multiply blend mode). Since we're painting on the layer mask, not the layer itself, we won't see the white. Instead, we'll reveal "Layer 2" in those areas, which will lighten (or darken) the areas we paint over.

You can change the size of your brush as you paint by pressing the left bracket key ( [ ) to make the brush smaller or the right bracket key ( ] ) to make it larger. We can also control the softness or hardness of the brush edges from the keyboard as we paint. Press Shift + left bracket ( [ ) to make the brush edges softer, or Shift + right bracket ( ] ) to make them harder.

Here, we can see the girl's grandfather becoming lighter in the photo as I paint over his face and shirt:

If we look again at the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette, we can see the areas we've painted over with white. The rest of the layer where the mask is still filled with black remains hidden from view in the document:

Step 9: Lower The Layer Opacity To Fine-Tune The Results

If you find that the areas you've painted over are too light or dark compared with the rest of the image, simply lower the opacity of the layer to fine-tune the results. The Opacity option is directly across from the blend mode option at the top of the Layers palette. The lower you set the opacity, the more transparent the layer will become, allowing it to blend in more with the image below it.

In my case, the girl's grandfather is too light after painting over him on the mask, so I'm going to lower my opacity down to 70% to reduce the brightness a little:

Thanks to that little bit of extra work with the Screen blend mode and a layer mask, all three people in the photo now share similar brightness levels:

Up next, we're going to switch modes (as in "color modes") and take our Photoshop black and white conversions into the Lab (rocket science degree and propeller hat not required)!

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