Help With Layers

[joelovotti]

I have photoshop elements 6 and I am failing badly with trying to use layers in a creative way.

I run across great articles in magazines discussing layers in Photoshop but I can't get Elements to do the same thing.

There is a nice article in this months American Photo magazine where a woman makes a nice composite image of her daughter and herself floating in the kitchen.

The effect is created by taking two photos, one of the bare kitchen and one of her and her daughter in the kitchen sitting on stools. You put both photos as layers in photoshop and erase the stools revealing the bare kitchen image below.

Since many of the tools she names are not in Elements I failed miserably. She discusses "Move Tool", "Layer Mask" and "Foreground Color" selections all of which I cannot find in Elements.

Am I missing something or is layers in Elements just not up to the task?

Also, in my layers pull down there is a "Type" item that is always grey and never available teasing me with functionality that I cannot get to! Why is it there if it is never available.

Is there a good layers tutorial for the Elements somewhere? I understand that Elements is not Photoshop but I want to be sure I'm just not having an issue with terms.

Or do I just have to buy Photoshop...

I also have Lightroom (which I love) if that matters to the solution.

I work exclusively on a MAC so I am also considering the new version of Aperture.

Any insight would be appreciated.

[Wheatfield]

I have a feeling that layers and masks are not well supported in Elements.
Photoshop is a good investment, though an expensive one if you choose to buy it rather than hack it.

[markdesmarais]

Elements does not support masks out of the box, but you can get free actions that will add this capability. . . really, it is there, they just don't expose the interface.

Free Layer Mask Tool for Photoshop Elements (Win/Mac Any Version)

If that one doesn't work for you just do a google search, there are others.

Not sure what you mean about missing the Move tool and foreground color. . . move tool should be in the upper left corner of the palette (assuming you are using PSE6?) foreground color you get by clicking the foreground color square.

Type is literally for type- as in text. Won't show until you you have put some text in an image with the text tool.

[Ira]

The type in the layers pulldown is greyed out because you don't have a type layer selected.

Once you create a type layer using the T in the toolbar, that will activate the Type command in the pulldown, allowing you rasterize the text/type into art, which then can't be edited as text, but which can be edited as art.

[joelovotti]

Originally Posted by markdesmarais

Elements does not support masks out of the box, but you can get free actions that will add this capability. . . really, it is there, they just don't expose the interface.

Free Layer Mask Tool for Photoshop Elements (Win/Mac Any Version)

If that one doesn't work for you just do a google search, there are others.

Not sure what you mean about missing the Move tool and foreground color. . . move tool should be in the upper left corner of the palette (assuming you are using PSE6?) foreground color you get by clicking the foreground color square.

Type is literally for type- as in text. Won't show until you you have put some text in an image with the text tool.

Thank you very much.

This is open up lots of possibilities.

Thanks again,
joe