Pasting Into Selections

Pasting into selections is a useful technique for compositing images.

1. Create a selection in the destination window.

2. Open the source document, then make the selection you want to paste into the destination document. Choose Edit > Copy to copy the selection to the Clipboard.

3. Click in the destination image window. The selection should still be active. Choose Edit > Paste into (command/Ctrl + Shift + V) to paste the Clipboard selection into the selected area.

4. Use the Move tool to reposition the pasted selection relative to the original selection.

5. The Paste into command creates a layer mask. The layer is active, indicated by the Paintbrush icon in the Layers palette, Which means that you can edit the layer. To edit the mask, click the Mask icon in the Layers palette. A small circle replaces the paintbrush, ineicating that the layer mask is selected.