Lesson 14, "Calculations (aka Channel Operations)" examines how you can use the Calculation command to blend two Channels to create a base Alpha Channel; this makes it a great tool for distilling masks. In the old days people use Channel Operations or Chops for short to accomplish the same thing with many more steps. These now would be called MaskOps. Here you will work with blue screen blending, add/subtract blends, dodging/burning, and nondestructive layer painting.

Lesson 15, "The Pen Tool and the Paths Palette" will show you how to draw a meticulous selection outline one point and control handle at a time. Because the pen tool does not see or modify pixels, it lets you create and edit vector outlines that, in turn, allow you to trace outlines that no other tool in Photoshop can see. This lets you draw outlines in a super sharp manner and place them exactly where they need to be. Then you can convert the path to a selection outline with the best anti-aliasing available in Photoshop.

Lesson 16, "Masking the Tough Stuff" explores how to mask difficult images. Objects that say are casting a shadow that you want to bring the shadow with. Or how about translucent subjects, subjects that contain the same colors as the background, or perhaps contains lots of colors? Maybe they have lots of ruffles or fringes and are set against a colorful background. While all of these situations are not covered here; hey this video is already over 20 hours long, you will learn some techniques to get you started on these hard to mask items.

Lesson 17, "16-Bit/Channel and HDR" begins by describing bit-depth and what it means to your images. While the 16.8 million colors that are available in an 8-bit image may seem like a lot, when you edit your images you may experience clipping and banding. The other issue is if you have a camera or scanner that captures 10-bits or 16-bit images, should you throw all of those other colors away? Photoshop can handle 16-bit images and if you want to work with High Dynamic Range images (HDR), they can handle 32-bit images. Here you will learn some pretty fantastic methods for working with these types of images.

Lesson 18, "DMaps and Lighting Effects" look at two highly specialized functions that employ independent channels to create 3D quality effects. The first is the Displace filter uses a Displacement map to move pixels to wrap one image around another. The second, Lighting Effects lets you light the edges which create a 3D embossing effect. You will learn such techniques as creating custom waves, moonlight reflecting off water, and wrapping stone around a face.