Look at the bottom of the local adjustment panel. You’ll see a section called “range mask. Change it from “off” to “luminance,” and this full dialog pops up: Click “show luminance mask” to see Lightroom’s preview and get a good sense of what areas you’re affecting. Then, use the “range” slider to tell Lightroom which tones to affect.
What is range masking in Lightroom and how does it work?
For the purposes of understanding the range mask in Lightroom, just know that masks allow selective control over edits within a photo. The new range masking feature provides you with two different methods for applying masks: luminance and color. If you’re a Photoshop user, think of luminance masking as a boiled down version of luminosity masks.
This is almost as powerful as using layers and masks in Photoshop, with the ability to create something akin to luminosity masks, all without leaving Lightroom. The new range mask control is perfectly suited for landscape photos where you want to selectively edit the sky without affecting objects protruding from the horizon.
What is a mask in lightroom?
A mask is a way for you to control what areas of a photo receive the edits you want to apply. In Lightroom, you have three different local adjustment tools allowing you to edit particular areas of your image: The Graduate Filter. When you use a local editing tool, a mask is created and updated in real time.
A frequent question we ran across in our research was “How do I create a mask in Lightroom?”.
Here is what I found. you can create a mask in Lightroom using the Adjustment Brush, Gradient Filter, or Radial Filter. These masks define a specific adjustment area, making it easy to enhance certain parts of a photo. All of these tools can be found at the top of your toolbar within the Develop module of Lightroom.
What is masking in Lightroom?
If you are a Lightroom-only user, you may not be familiar with the term ‘ masking ‘. It is borrowed from Photoshop. Changes only apply to the areas highlighted by your selection. The other areas are hidden. Think of a mask as a way of hiding or protecting areas that you do not want to change. The white areas of a mask are changed.
Another thing we asked ourselves was what is the new menu with layer masks in Lightroom?
Menu With Layer Masks If there is already a selective edit in your photo, including those made in previous versions of Lightroom, the menu will look different. You will see the new masking panel that looks like Photoshop’s layer masks. Each selective edit is on a layer.
Lightroom’s Auto Mask option is a useful tool that can save you a lot of time. But this video from Signature Edits shows you how you can make the Auto Mask feature even faster and more efficient. This way you’ll be able to mask even very complex images in a few seconds, which will save you even more post-processing time.
How do I use the luminance or color range mask?
With the luminance or color range mask, depending on the scene, you can make a highly-refined local adjustment to target just one part of the foreground in your landscape photos while leaving the remainder of your image untouched. Similarly you can selectively adjust highlights in the sky to recreate the stunning light you captured.
Are the new Lightroom masking updates worth it?
But the most exciting changes are the new AI-based masks. It will take some practice to make new workflows part of your photo editing routine. But the time and effort are worth it. Once you get used to the new Lightroom masking updates, there are some new features you won’t be able to live without.