Adobe Photoshop Tutorial: Using A Photo To Mask Itself

Step 4: Copy The Image

Click on "Layer 1" in the Layers palette to select it. We're going to copy the image onto the clipboard. To do that, first press Ctrl+A (Win) / Command+A (Mac) to select the entire layer. You'll see a selection box around the edges of the Document Window to indicate that the entire area has been selected. Then press Ctrl+C (Win) / Command+C (Mac) to copy the image onto the clipboard:

Step 5: Add A Layer Mask

With "Layer 1" still selected, click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Step 6: Paste The Image Into The Mask

We're going to paste the image we just copied a moment ago into the mask and use it to mask itself. Normally, Photoshop doesn't allow us to paste images directly into layer masks, but we can if we select the mask by holding down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and then clicking on the layer mask's thumbnail in the Layers palette to select it:

This will turn your Document Window completely white, and that's because you're now looking at the layer mask itself, not the layer contents (the image). With the mask itself visible, we can now paste the image into it using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V (Win) / Command+V (Mac). The image will appear in black and white in the Document Window:

It appears in black and white because again, we're currently looking at the layer mask in the Document Window, not the layer contents, and layer masks use only black, white, and gray. We can also see the image now inside the layer mask's thumbnail in the Layers palette:

Press Ctrl+D (Win) / Command+D (Mac) to deselect the image at this point.