Masking Smart Filters in Photoshop Elements

"Filter masks" is yet another great feature of smart filter allowing us to hide an effect without masking the layer itself. Actually, once a smart filter is created it already has a "white" layer mask. However, since a filter mask thumbnail doesn't appear in the Layers palette, you can't activate it directly as Photoshop users do (screenshot 0). Reveal Filter action

  1. Instead, you select a smart object in the Layers palette.
  2. Then double-click the "Reveal Filter" pictogram in the Effects palette.

    3. Reveal Filter actionThe white "dashes" around the smart object's thumbnail mean that a filter mask is currently active and you can edit it.

  3. For example, paint on the image with black color to hide filter effect in certain areas (snapshot 1).
 Activating Smart Filter Mask in Photoshop

Painting on filter mask with black color hides filter effect

    Reveal Filter action
  1. To exit the mask editing mode (for example, you may want to adjust the settings of the filter itself), de-activate the filter mask by clicking the smart object's thumbnail in the Layers palette. The white "dashes" disappear.
  2. To continue editing the filter mask, you re-activate it by double-clicking the "Reveal Filter" thumbnail in the Effects palette.

Important! In case your smart object has 2 or 3 smart filters, the mask hides all of them. Masking individual filters is not possible.

Hide Filter action Alternatively, you may use the "Hide All" approach to filter masking:

  1. In the Effects palette, double-click the "Hide Filter" thumbnail. It activates the filter mask and fills it with black color. As result, the smart filter is completely hidden.
  2. Paint with white color there, where you wish to reveal the filter effect.
Filter Selected action Sometimes, it is more convenient to create a mask from an active selection.
  1. That is, you make a selection, for example with the Polygonal Lasso tool.
  2. Then use either the "Filter Selected" or the "Unfilter Selected" action (screenshot 2).
Unfiltering selected area of smart object

Tip. Although the filter mask thumbnail is invisible in Elements, you can display a mask shape in the document window as a color overlay (screenshot 3). If you still find this method inconvenient, consider alternative masking.

Showing filter mask overlay
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