When to Use Masking
Masking is a key skill in photo editing, but when do you use it?
I use masking on every image, and that is because masking gives me control over my edit. Otherwise, every move I make applies to the entire photo, and that rarely looks good. Masking lets me be specific and intentional with my edits, so that I get the results that I envision.
Here are a couple of tips about masking that will help shape your editing process.
1) Global edits are first. I always begin with Develop RAW - always. It’s the best way to start your edit. This impacts the entire image and is basically how you “set the stage” for your edit. I nearly always use Supercontrast as the second tool in my edit, which is also a global edit (no masking needed).
2) Masking comes second. These are essentially local adjustments, and this is how you fine-tune your image. This is all about applying light, detail, and/or color adjustments to specific areas in your image.
3) I often finish with more global edits. These are “finishing touches” and while not always needed, often help add a little more impact to the final look of a photo.
All of this, and more, is covered in my soon-to-be-released Lighting the Landscape mini-course for Luminar Neo. Below is an example of one of the photos we edit in this course, showing the before and after. It’s quite a difference as you can see. And this involves 12 different tools and quite a few masks.
Want to see what the mini-course contains? Check here: https://jimnix.com/light-landscape-preview
This raw file is flat, like they all are, and needs a lot of attention to draw in a viewer and make the image pop.
This is the final result, which involves 12 different tools in Luminar Neo and quite a few masks. It’s remarkable what you can do to a photo when you have a clear vision and know how to get there!
