When using Textures with your photographs, it is essential to be able to easily adjust your textures on the fly to suit your image. The easiest way to do this is to use Adjustment Layers in Photoshop or Elements to change the texture’s color, brightness, saturation, etc.

Not sure what Adjustment Layers are? See this tutorial.

Adjustment layers are great, but if you want to only change the texture and not the image below your texture, you need to use a clipping mask on the adjustment layer. Clipping masks constrain an effect of an adjustment to the layer below so that it doesn’t affect all the layers below. Use it to change the color, brightness, etc of your texture without changing the image below the texture. I’ve covered this in previous tutorials, but it’s so important I’m showing it again, plus I’m giving a new tip on how to apply a clipping mask. (Clipping masks can do other things as well, but I’ll cover that another time.)

See more tips on Clipping Masks with This video tutorial.

An Example With A Clipping Mask

In the Rose Image below, I’ll add a Hue / Saturation adjustment layer to change the color and saturation of the texture but not the rose image layer stacked under the texture. Here’s the original image and texture.

Original Rose Image

Original Texture, French Kiss “Deco Verte”

If you just added a Hue / Saturation Adjustment layer over your texture, it would affect both your texture and your image. Here, I’ve changed the color and saturation. See how it has also desaturated the flower?

No clipping mask

No Clipping Mask

In the image below, I used a Clipping Mask to constrain the Hue / Saturation adjustment to the texture only.

With a clipping mask

Hue Saturation Adjustment With a Clipping Mask.

Here’s what the layer panel looks like with the Hue / Saturation adjustment layer clipped to the texture. See the little arrow pointing down on the left in the Hue / Saturation layer? That indicates that it is clipped to the layer below.

layer panel

Layer Panel with adjustment layer clipped to the texture.

An Easy Way To Add A Clipping Mask

When you add an adjustment layer, in the adjustment layer panel is a little icon to make it into a clipping mask. So easy! In the examples below, I’ve shown this feature with an example using a Hue / Saturation adjustment layer.

In Photoshop, when you apply a new layer adjustment, click the icon (indicated with a red arrow) on the layer adjustment panel to clip it to the layer.

Adding a clipping mask in photoshop

Click this icon in Photoshop to make a clipping mask.

In Photoshop Elements 9, when you apply a new layer adjustment, click the icon (indicated with a red arrow) on the layer adjustment panel to clip it to the layer.

Clip button in Elements 9

Use this button in Elements 9

Resources

More about Adjustment Layers See this tutorial.

See more tips on Clipping Masks with This video tutorial.

Rose Photograph © Leslie Nicole. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Deco Verte texture French Kiss Texture: Deco VerteFrench Kiss Texture Collection II

  • Blend Mode: Multiply
  • Opacity: 100%
  • Layer Mask: yes
Leslie Nicole
Leslie Nicole

American Photographer and Designer living in France with my French husband, 2 Weimaraners and Cat Rescues. Camera, Mac, studio, garden.