{Photoshop Tutorial} Lightening using Layer Masks

Layer masks are a great way to make changes sections of an image without changing the entire image.

This tutorial is designed for photographers who are comfortable working with layers in Photoshop and have at least a basic familiarity with Photoshop’s painting and drawing tools.

In this tutorial, we will lighten the baby in the image below without blowing out the white blanket in the background.



First, create a Curves Adjustment Layer by following the steps in the images below.





In the Curves dialog box, bend the curve up to lighten the image (don't worry that the blanket will look blown out, just focus on the baby).



The entire image will be bright now.  You are about to fix that.
Make sure that you have the empty box on the Curves Layer selected. Get your brush tool and make sure that Black is your active color. In the image, paint black over all of the areas that you do not want to be brightened.



In the Curves dialog box, you will be able to see the areas of the image that you painted black. The only areas that the Curves adjustment will be applied to are the areas that appear white in the adjustment layer.



Voila!