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These collaging techniques use Photoshop's channels and layers. You will learn several techniques that you can adapt to add a pro touch to your montages and collages.
1. Start with two images. Use your own or copy the PHOTODISC® images below. Please use these images only for your personal learning during this exercise. You may not use them for anything else without the permission of PHOTODISC®.

Make a new document and drag and drop both images into the document on separate layers. Put the hands layer on top. Create a new layer for the background and fill with white. (It's black on the screenshots; disregard that.)
Select the top layer (by clicking on its name in the layers palette). Click the add layer mask icon in the layers palette to add a mask to the hands layer.


2. Make sure the mask is selected. In Photoshop CS and earlier, you can tell because the icon will show a square with a circle in it. (Adobe removed this icon in Photoshop CS2. Instead, the top of the status bar will say "mask.")
Making black your foreground color, choose the brush tool and a large, soft brush.
3. As you begin to paint, notice how the top image disappears as you paint it out. On a layer mask, whatever is painted black is made invisible. Whatever is white is visible.
4. Once you have painted out all the parts you want hidden, you may notice some areas where you over painted. Don't worry.
5. Press the "X" Key to switch the foreground and background colors. With white as the foreground, choose a smaller brush and paint back the areas you want to keep. Notice as you paint with white, the image comes back. Don't you love layer masks?
6. Are you ready to take the next step? Duplicate layer 1 (the cog), by selecting the layer and going to Layer>Duplicate or by dragging the layer name to the new layers icon.
Drag the new layer to the top of the layers palette as seen in the picture. Keeping the top layer selected, Ctrl/Cmd+click on the layer 4 thumbnail (the tiny picture of the hands in the layers palette).
7. You should see a "marching ants" selection like this:
Click add layer mask and the selection will automatically fill the mask. Click the mask thumbnail to select the layer mask.
Invert the mask by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+I or image>invert. You will now see the hands again.
8. Now you're going to paint back some of the cog. But to see it clearly you will lower the opacity of the hands layer (layer 4). Select the layer and slide the opacity to 58%.
9. Select the top layer again. Just like before, with the layer mask active and a white brush, paint the edges of the cog to make them visible.
It will help to use a smaller hard brush for the detail in the teeth of the cog. Use a large soft brush going into the hands for a smoother transition.
10. Put the opacity at 100% again on layer 4 (the hands layer). Now you have an interesting blend of images. Are you ready to take it even further? Let's go.
11. Go to Hue/Saturation and colorize the hands with a warm color and very little color saturation, 30% at most.
Pull back the opacity on all the layers to 70 - 80%.
Click on the hands layer thumbnail to select it. Then directly to the left of the other thumbnails, click the box and see the little chain icon appear. This means the layers are linked. Link the three layers together, but do not link the color background layer. Go to Layers>Merge linked. (CS2 users: Hold Down Cmd/Ctl and click each layer to select it. Choose Merge Layers From the Palette Options Menu.)
You now have only two layers: The composite layer with the art and the white background layer.
12. Select the white layer. (It's black in this screenshot, but yours should be white.)
Hit the "M" key to switch to the rectangular marquee tool, then draw a smaller rectangle inside the picture frame and fill with black.
13. Select the top layer and make another rectangle larger than the previous one.
Invert the selection by pressing Ctrl+Shift+I or Mac Cmd+Shift+I.
Go to Select>Feather and input a 10-pixel feather radius.
14. Press delete 3 times and this is what you'll have.
15. To finish, add some type in Screen mode.