Instructions and covered skills
Read each prompt carefully before selecting a response. Focus on the stated layer, mask, selection, or tool condition rather than making assumptions about unrelated settings. Work in a quiet environment and turn off notifications before you begin. Do not rush through terms such as black, white, gray, linked, selected, or inverted, because they change the result. Keep your attention on non-destructive mask behavior and practical compositing outcomes. Review each selection before moving on to the next prompt.
Key Areas
This test covers Photoshop layer-mask workflows used to control visibility without permanently removing image data. Candidates work with the relationship between mask tones and layer visibility: white reveals, black conceals, and gray creates partial transparency. The material also addresses selecting the correct thumbnail before editing, distinguishing pixel-layer changes from mask changes, and using mask overlays to inspect hidden regions.
Questions examine practical methods for building clean composites. These include creating masks from selections, refining mask boundaries, using feathering and density controls, applying gradients for smooth transitions, and painting with brushes that match the required edge quality. Candidates should understand how mask inversion changes the visible area and how a clipping mask differs from a layer mask when organizing a composition.
The test also addresses reliable non-destructive editing decisions. Relevant skills include preserving source pixels, linking or unlinking a mask from its layer, moving mask content independently, and using adjustment-layer masks to limit a correction to selected regions. Attention is given to common quality issues such as halos, unwanted transparency, harsh transitions, and masks that accidentally affect the wrong layer.
Recommended Preparation
Prepare by creating several small composites in Photoshop using photographed subjects and contrasting backgrounds. Practice making selections with tools such as Object Selection, Quick Selection, and Select and Mask, then convert those selections into editable masks. Paint directly on masks with hard and soft brushes, varying opacity and flow while observing how those settings change visibility.
Use the Properties panel to test Mask Density and Feather, and compare their effects with manually painted gray values. Create a gradient mask between two images, invert a mask, disable and re-enable it, and inspect the mask through an overlay view. Finally, practice revising a composite after masking: restore a concealed detail, shift the mask independently of the layer, and correct an edge without altering the original pixels.