I guess most of us have used Layer Masks in Photoshop before so I won’t be explaining how to add them and what they do.

What I want to focus on today is some tips and techniques when using Layer Masks in Photoshop.

Here they are:

• To view just the layer mask – Alt+click layer mask icon
• To disable/enable layer mask – Shift+click layer mask icon
• To unlink layer mask from the layer – click the chain icon between layer thumbnail and layer mask thumbnail
• Create layer mask from transparent content – use Layer > Layer Mask > From Transparency
• Change density of a layer mask non-destructively – in Properties panel use Density slider
• To soften the edges of your layer mask – in Properties panel use Feather slider

Enjoy!