Layers¶

Layers hold the parts of your edit. The Layers panel lists them from top to bottom, and each layer affects everything beneath it.

Kinds of layer¶

• Picture layer: the photograph itself, or a copy of it.
• Adjustment layer: changes the tones of everything below it. See Adjustments.
• Group: holds other layers so they can be hidden, faded or masked together.
• Spot Repairs and Dodge & Burn: made for you by those tools. See Dust spots and Dodge & Burn.

Work with layers¶

• Click a layer to select it. Shift-click or Cmd/Ctrl-click to select several.
• Click the eye to show or hide a layer.
• Double-click the name to rename it.
• Use the Opacity slider to fade the selected layer.
• Use the Blend menu to choose how a layer combines with those below it: Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Darken, Lighten or Difference.
• The buttons under the list move a layer up or down, clip it to the layer below (the arrow pointing down onto a line), add a mask, add an adjustment layer, make a group, duplicate the selected layer and delete the selected layers.
• Delete or Backspace deletes the selected layers.
• Right-click a layer for a menu to group, duplicate, clip or delete it.

Layer → Duplicate Layer (Cmd/Ctrl+J) copies the selected layer.

Move a layer¶

Choose the Move tool (V) and drag to shift the selected picture layer. Its mask moves with it. Hold Shift to keep to one direction. The area the move uncovers shows the layers below, and anything pushed beyond the edge of the picture is cut off. One drag is one undo step.

The arrow keys nudge the layer one pixel at a time, or ten with Shift. Holding a key down is one undo step.

Move works on picture layers only: an adjustment layer or a group has no picture to move, and a locked layer stays where it is. The histogram and the layer's small preview still show the layer as it was before you moved it.

Stamp Visible¶

Layer → Stamp Visible (Shift+Alt+Cmd+E or Shift+Alt+Ctrl+E) adds a new layer at the top holding the picture exactly as it looks now. It is useful for retouching or sharpening the combined result.

Groups¶

Select layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+G to put them in a group, or click the folder button for an empty group. Drag layers into or out of a group, and click the arrow to fold it. Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+G ungroups.

A group set to Pass Through lets its layers act on the picture below as if they were not grouped; opacity or a mask on the group then fades their effect together. Choose any other blend mode on the group to make it a self-contained layer.

Groups cannot be nested.

Clipping masks¶

A layer clipped to the layer below acts only where that layer is visible. Choose Layer → Create/Release Clipping Mask (Alt+Cmd/Ctrl+G), use the clip button under the list (the arrow pointing down onto a line), or right-click the layer. Clipped layers show an arrow and are indented.

Masks¶

Every layer can have a mask that hides or shows parts of it. See Masks.