Exact Selections and Edits with Lightroom Masking

In this premium video, Outdoor Photography Guide’s David Johnston explores Lightroom’s masking technique. He works on his image of autumn mountains at sunrise and makes minor adjustments to add color and contrast.

Enter masking: local adjustments to isolated areas. David selects a radial gradient mask and circles the bright, color-drenched mountaintop, then adjusts highlights, whites and saturation. Next, he next increases only the yellows, all this resulting in a glowing mountaintop. He then creates a second radial mask over the adjacent mountaintop and makes similar adjustments.

With a new mask, David creates a linear gradient mask, and pulls it halfway down the photograph. He increases the haze, then creates a new mask and brushes selected dark areas, darkening the edges to add contrast. Finally, he creates an inverted vignette mask over the dark area and the shadows. Result? A beautiful image.