I was reading a Photoshop tutorial about using a "clipping mask" for text and I wondered if something similar could be done in Gimp. This is what I came up with.

Type some text in a mid grey using a bold font.

Open a photo on top as a new layer and put the layer into overlay mode.

Now you can move the photo around as you wish and still edit the text.

you can do that with a layermask as well

But do you have the flexibility of adjusting the photo and editing the text with a layer mask? I'll have to look into that.

i think so

you can manipulate each layer on its own

Cool Erisian.

Thanks Mo.

Very cool, and while I like layer masks, this is a great alternative.

Thank you 2-ton.