Here are some pretty smexy tips on effects in Photoshop. I love New Market. And if you were here with me, I'm sure you'd love it too.

Lightning:
Black and white gradient vertical.
Difference clouds. Control I. Control L. Change the middle number to 0.16 OK. Control U. Fiddle with the colors and make it awesome.

Tips For Tools:
Use the clone stamp tool to fix up photos and erase things without the white background.

Polygonal lasso loop cuts and stuff so you can move things around.

Gradient tool is also amazing for wicked multicolored backgrounds.

Magic wand is nice for selecting specific parts of layers.

Hold shift to make straight lines and perfect shapes.

Glass Ball:
A solid colored circle. A smaller lighter colored circle toward the bottom with a Gaussian Blur filter on it and a radius of around 20 pixels. A marquee oval at the top with a horizontal white to transparent white gradient inside. And viola! A glass ball.

My advice to you on Masking:
I wasn't paying attention...so I have NO idea. So I'm just gonna avoid the masking entirely. Maybe Riza007 will know a thing or two.
Ask her yourself if you know her.
She is a wizard at Photoshop.


Now I'm gonna go work.