Why Doesn't the "Luminous Landscape" technique work?

wxwax

Here's how Luminous Landscape advises us to blend two different exposures.

When I try this, two things are different. First, when I select "Hide All" my dark layer disappears. Second, when I start painting, nothing happens. I'm using PS 6. I have a feeling my dark layer isn't supposed to disappear. :huh

The Painted Mask

This is the most labour intensive of the manual methods.

Use Layer / Add Layer Mask / Hide All. Now select the Paintbrush Tool and choose a fairly large brush. Start painting over the light part of the image. You are removing the overexposed layer and revealing the darker image underneath. Don't worry about overdoing it because once the light layer is removed the process stops. Be careful not to get too close to the dark area with the large brush. Also, make sure that you don't miss any areas that you want to include.

Change to a smaller brush and increase the magnification. Very carefully erase the light layer along the edge of where the dark area meets it. If you make a mistake, use the History Palette to go back.

The only drawback with this method is that it requires sometimes finiky painting, and this can become difficult if the dark and light areas aren't large and easily paintable. The advantage is that it gives you very precise manual control of what gets blended and what doesn't.

zero-zero

Waxy, I dunno where you're going wrong, but I'd start looking here:

1. Is the correct layer active?
2. Is the focus on the layer itself, or on the layer mask?
3. Are you painting with the right color (black / white)?

Probably one of those points is the culprit.

That, or you forgot to take the garbage out before starting.

zero-zero

I just went back and re-read the quoted technique. Should be reveal all and not hide all, IMO.

wxwax

Funny, I tried that too, no difference. I ended up putting one image over the other, taking a paintbrush to it, and it wiped away the top layer. Works for me.

zero-zero

Hmmm... maybe your brush is in some mode other than normal?

Let's recap a bit here:

1. Paste your light image over the dark one.
2. With the light layer selected, add a layer mask, revealing all.
3. with any paint tool in normal mode and black as your foreground color, brush away the parts you wanna hide.

Should work just fine. I just tried on your image, here's some things to check:

wxwax

You've solved my mistake and his mistake at the same time! Thanks, brilliant!

My brush was indeed in the wrong mode. I had "Overlay" selected, not "Normal."

And his directions call for "Hide All" on the layer mask. Again, you are correct, it should be "Reveal All."

Thanks for taking the time in your busy work sched to figure out two mistakes from two different people! Nice job, I owe you a beer, or a langoustine, or maybe an oil-free bushel mussels... mmm, Moules Mariniere.

zero-zero

All your Moules Mariniere are belong to us.