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JulianaSwenson
November 26, 2025
Answered

Issues with layer masks in Photoshop

  • November 26, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 366 views

Hi guys, 

Every time I use select and mask to refine my selection and output it as a new layer with mask, then disable the mask to look at the before, I get a bunch of artifacts on my image. Refining the mask using a brush with white or black doesn't work either. I'm attaching a picture for you to see.I'm on a MacBook Pro with an M2 Max chip and 96 GB memory.

Correct answer davescm

@JulianaSwenson Uncheck 'Decontaminate colours' in Select and Mask. There are better ways to achieve decontamination, such as adding a new layer clipped to the masked layer, setting the new layer to color blend mode, and painting on it with a brush picking up colours around the edge as you paint. This puts decontamination on a completely separate layer and gives better control over the process.

Dave

2 replies

davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
November 27, 2025

@JulianaSwenson Uncheck 'Decontaminate colours' in Select and Mask. There are better ways to achieve decontamination, such as adding a new layer clipped to the masked layer, setting the new layer to color blend mode, and painting on it with a brush picking up colours around the edge as you paint. This puts decontamination on a completely separate layer and gives better control over the process.

Dave

    J
    JulianaSwensonAuthor
    November 27, 2025

    Hi Dave,

    Thank you for your reply. I noticed the decontamination problem after I made this post and watched a video on YouTube about doing what you said and it worked!

    Best,
    Juliana

      Srishti_Bali
      Srishti_Bali
      Legend
      November 27, 2025

      Hi @JulianaSwenson

       

      Thanks for reaching out and for sharing what you’ve tried so far. To help us better understand what’s happening, could you please provide a few more details?

      • Which version of Photoshop are you currently using?

      • Does the issue occur with all images or only specific ones?

      • If possible, please share a short video showing your workflow so we can see exactly when the artifacts appear.

       

      This information will help us narrow down the cause and guide you more accurately. We're here to help!

       

      Regards,

      Srishti

      J
      JulianaSwensonAuthor
      November 27, 2025
      Hi Srishti,

      Thank you for your interest in helping me. I’m using version 27.1.0 of Photoshop. This issue happens with every image when I click decontaminate colors in the properties panel of Select and Mask. The same thing happens when I click on Layer-Matting-Color Decontaminate. If I don’t try to decontaminate, these issues don’t occur.

      Best,
      Juliana
      J
      JulianaSwensonAuthor
      November 27, 2025

      Hi Srishti,

      Thank you for your interest in helping me. I’m using version 27.1.0 of Photoshop. This issue happens with every image when I click decontaminate colors in the properties panel of Select and Mask. The same thing happens when I click on Layer-Matting-Color Decontaminate. If I don’t try to decontaminate, these issues don’t occur.

      Best,
      Juliana

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