Making a Mask with Hue/Saturation

C
Posted By
ChicagoNature
May 16, 2005
Views
2536
Replies
20
Status
Closed
I’ve been using Hue/Saturation adjustment layers to help isolate certain colors. I use the eyedropper and, while holding the Shift key down, click on the colors in the given color range. This effectively makes a selection for me, but it’s only useful in Hue/Saturation function. I often need to perform Curves adjustments or use Selective Color on these areas, too.

Is it possible to create a mask of the colors in the range that I’ve defined?

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Y
YrbkMgr
May 16, 2005
Try control clicking on the mask created by the Hue/Sat adjustment layer. That will load that mask as active. Then apply a curves adjustment layer and it will use the active selection (your hue/sat mask).
C
ChicagoNature
May 16, 2005
YrbkMgr,

I know what you mean, but there is no existing mask under Hue/Sat. What I mean is that when using H/S you can actually build a range of colors by shift clicking on different colors. For instance, if I wanted to select the flower in a landscape that is pink and nothing else in the scene is pink. Then I can simply use H/S to just change these pink flowers and nothing else in the landscape. However, what if I now want to apply curves to these flowers. I can’t because H/S doesn’t create a mask. Or, maybe there’s a way to extract a mask from H/S. See what I mean?
Y
YrbkMgr
May 16, 2005
Ah. Gotcha. I see what you mean. You could use the Color Sampler tool to mark the location (under the eyedropper), and set a reference point. So you might set the point with the sampler, then use that point in the Hue/Sat, as an adjustment layer, and again use that point and use Select|Color Range, or magic wand to create a mask – then you could tweak the mask opacity and such as an alpha channel if you needed to go further with it. Just a thought.

Peace,
Tony
S
Stroker
May 16, 2005
How about Difference mode?
I do this all the time to find the difference to create a mask.
C
ChicagoNature
May 16, 2005
Stroker,

How do I use the Difference mode?

Mike
MR
Mark_Reynolds
May 16, 2005
Stroker I thought I invented this

First set your Hue/sat adjustment layer to Difference mode. Then use a Threshold (or Levels) adjusttment layer on top which will give you a greyscale image representing the difference between the image "before’ and "after" the hue/sat adjustment. This can then be loaded as a layer mask and you can use it with a Curves adjustment.

Its a workaround but it will work – I’m afraid its the only way to isolate areas of the image completely with Curves is with masks. Of course if curves is used correctly you will be able to affect the image where you want WITHOUT screwing it up where you don’t.

I find its sometimes difficult to visualise exactly what areas of the image are being affected with Selective color and this technique will help here too.
Y
YrbkMgr
May 16, 2005
will give you a greyscale image representing the difference between the image "before’ and "after"

Well, I’ll be. That’s what I love about this forum. I always learn something new!
D
deebs
May 16, 2005
How about:
#1 (ok on an image dependent upon a single layer)
copy the background layer and turn off the eye
apply changes to background copy using Image > Adjustments (this applies changes direct to image and avoids layers building up)

#2 (once difference layer has been applied)
apply a threshold layer starting at 1 and increasing as required

#3 CTRL + E can be applied to adjustment layer to whack it in to the background copy layer thereby avoiding build up of adjustment layer too
C
ChicagoNature
May 16, 2005
Thanks for all the help, guys. I don’t know much about these function, but I tried to get each of them to work. Here are the problems I’m having trying to implement your ideas:

1) First, I’m just learning this stuff, so I could use stop by step instructions. Thanks for your patience!

2) Image>Adjustment>Threshold isn’t converting the image to a grayscale image–well, it is mostly B&W if I totally crank the sliders to one end or another.

3)How do I turn this final selection into a Layer Mask? Load Selection applied to the adjustent layer doesn’t seem to work. It just selects the entire image.

Here’s what I’m doing:
1) Create initial Hue/Sat adjustment layer with Blending Mode = Difference.
2) Create another Adjustment Layer for Levels or Threshold using a Clipping Mask onto the H/S adjustment layer.
3) Slide the sliders around.

Now what?
PC
Pierre_Courtejoie
May 16, 2005
Mark, hello! It’s been a long time!
S
Stroker
May 16, 2005
Mark Reynolds… name sounds familiar but I’m not sure why.

Anyways, Mark, I originally got the Difference idea from Kai’s Snowy Mask technique. KPT still rocks my world. Matter of fact, almost every time I think I have something new, turns out Kai did it first.
:sigh:

Here is a Difference variation that I’ve been playing with the past few days:
1. New Layer and fill with 50% grey.
2. Set blending mode to Difference.
3. Clip Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer and check Colourize.
– Favorite method to nvert.
– Favorite method to desaturate.
– Other tweaks as necessary

Go back to the Hue/Sat Ad-Layer and get crazy with the Hue/Sat/Lightness sliders.

I’m fairly pleased with it.
And a few other variations on that for some funky effects.
C
ChicagoNature
May 16, 2005
Stroker,

In your description, I’m following your steps, but I think I’m missing something. How does this actually create a mask that can be used or attached (via Load Selection) to other adjustment layers?

I’ve already created an adjustment layer using H/S. So, in order to extract the mask you want me to go back into H/S and Colorize it. Then Clip it to the 50% Gray layer below it? Then what? I get a funky looking almost-monochrome image. Is this think the mask and, if so, how do I apply it to other Adjustment layers?

Thanks for taking the time to describe this to me. I’m not at your high level, yet.
DM
dave_milbut
May 16, 2005
Well, I’ll be. That’s what I love about this forum. I always learn something new!

yup. cheers mark. that’s why i keep hanging out here. that and the free beer. 🙂
S
Stroker
May 17, 2005
Chicago, it’s a technique meant for isolating an RGB value. It won’t help with your Hue/Sat problem, but a variation that you might want to tuck way for later use.

Those funky colours are almost the mask. You still have to use your favorite method to desaturate it to greyscale. You will also have to invert it somewhere along the line. Once you’ve done that, just cut and paste it into a new Alpha channel. Once it’s Alpha, you can load it as a selection and used as a mask.

In order to cut and paste it, though, you will have to do some sort of Copy Merged. Several ways of doing this depending on the nimblness of your fingers.
My way of doing this is
ctrl + a
ctrl + shift + c
ctrl + v

There is another shortcut like
ctrl + shift + alt + i
or something like that.
Or maybe it’s with ‘e’?
T
tmalcom
May 17, 2005
Well, I’ll be. That’s what I love about this forum. I always learn something new!

Count me as another grateful forum reader. This technique never occurred to me and it’s a great addition to my extraction/isolation toolkit. I spent some time last night working with it on a washed-out sky in a landscape with a very-difficult-to-isolate treeline and I got much better results than with other methods I’ve tried. Thanks, Stroker and Mark Reynolds.
D
deebs
May 17, 2005
t – tried a duplicate layer with layer blend set to multiply?

Adjust opacity & fill to suite with a layer mask applied if required

It seems an easy way to increase tonality and fidelity without too much fiddling about (IMHO)
T
tmalcom
May 17, 2005
deebs – I’m generally more interested in replacing skies altogether, though I have had reasonable luck with multiply (and oddly enough, even better luck with darken). It all depends on the image. If I really want to mask something fine, I’ll spend the time and do it in Knock-Out.
MR
Mark_Reynolds
May 17, 2005
Ok – Chicago, heres how you use the difference to make a mask…

Levels may be better than threshold in this case because it will give you a graduated selection.

While on your Levels layer hold down command-option-Tilde (tilde is the small squigly sign above your option key and next to Z) – this will load a selection of the visible image. Alternatively you can command click the composite channel at the top of the channels palette, this does the same thing.

It may come up with a message saying "no pixels more than 50% selected" – ignore it. NOW… click the make layer mask from selection button at the bottom of your layers palette.

Now you have a layer mask which you can view on its own and use levels to boost the greyscale to black and white with some midtones hopefully.

This tecnique (command option tilde) used to be called "the claw" and is useful any time you want to make a mask from your visible image
MR
Mark_Reynolds
May 17, 2005
Hello Pierre – yes its been a long time, good to see you still hanging around.
MR
Mark_Reynolds
May 18, 2005
Just realised I gave mac shortcuts and this is the windoze forum.

Control Option tilde – for load luminosity- substiture your windows Control key for Command in each case. sorry

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