Things I have learnt while on the job
From Wikicliki
Photoshop
Never underestimate how much masking and using the right blending can make your life so much easier when you're working to a tight deadline.
- Quick mask mode
- Layer masks
- Vector masks
- Blending modes
Layer Mask hides effect
Under Advanced Options, there are two options - Layer mask hides effect and Vector mask hides effect - this means that if you have a layer mask with a gradient that is getting some unintended fx rather than blending nicely, you can just make the layer mask sort of override the effect (previously I just stuck everything in a group and applied the mask to the group itself)