Lightroom Masterclass: New Masking Tools Made Easy

Description

Local adjustments in Lightroom Classic have changed drastically. Not only are there two new, AI-based (artificial intelligence) tools, but you’re now also able to add, subtract, invert, and even intersect masking selections!

This has made Lightroom Classic even BETTER and MORE POWERFUL, but also MORE COMPLEX. That is why I have once again teamed up with Adobe Lightroom Classic Certified Expert, Piet Van den Eynde, to bring you the Lightroom Classic Masking Masterclass.

In this two-part online class (recorded live), Piet provides dozens of practical examples of how these new masks will make your editing process faster, better, and more efficient. No matter what kind of photos you’re taking you will learn how to apply this to make your images even better.

Nearly 6 hours of instruction! 

This is a great opportunity to learn these tools from an expert. In fact, Piet was a beta-tester for Adobe and he’s had these tools for a while now (prior to their full release) – so there is NOT a better instructor available anywhere!!

Once you purchase the class will be available to you here. You just need to log in, and you will have access to it forever.

NOTE: This is for people who own the current version of Lightroom Classic (subscription paid monthly). This does NOT apply to older versions of Lightroom or Lightroom CC or Mobile.

AI Auto Portrait Masking

With one click, the new Lightroom masking AI is easily able to determine the subject in your portrait photo and create a mask. Then, it can be inverted to select just the background allowing you to edit each portion independently for maximum impact and effect.

Auto masking of the sky for dramatic landscape improvements

Adobe Lightroom’s new AI can also auto-select your sky allowing for adjustments in your landscape photos. Inverting the mask will allow you to adjust the sky and the foreground independently.

Intersecting Masks – Entire subject with a radial filter

With the new Select Subject feature, you can select the entire subject like a lion and then intersect or add and/or subtract to that mask using a radial filter to make adjustments to just the face as in the example below.

First, the entire lion was selected (by just clicking Select Subject) then a radial filter was applied so that only his face was brightened and enhanced to make it stand out more. An inverse of the mask of the lion was also created to darken the background.

This is all demonstrated in the videos inside this masterclass! 

Complete control over color selection masking

The new Lightroom masking tools are smart enough to be able to select a color independent of the background color.

For example, as seen below, using the new masking tools Piet was able to select the green glasses independently of the green background and quickly change the color to pink. 

The new Masking in Lightroom Classic gives you access to no less than eight different selection tools (two of which are new and use AI technology). Add to these, four ways that you can combine the results of these tools (add, subtract, invert and intersect) and you have endless masking possibilities without ever having to go to Photoshop.

This masterclass will literally give you dozens of examples and show you how all of these options work.

In this Lightroom Masterclass you’ll learn about:

Part 1 (2.75 hours)

1. A quick recap of the main drawbacks of the local adjustment tools before Lightroom 11
2. Re-introduction of the 6 Masking Tools in Lightroom Classic: Radial Filter, Graduated Filter, Brush, Color Range, Luminance Range, Depth Range
3. AI comes to Lightroom: Select Subject and Select Sky: advanced selections without needing to use a brush
4. Why you should name your masks and how you can do so
5. Examples of simple but highly effective mask use in portrait, landscape, travel, wedding, and wildlife photography
6. Taking it up a notch with Add & Subtract
7. Piet answers all the questions received during the recorded live class.

Part # (2.75 hours)

1. Duplicate and Invert: Edit one part of your image one way, edit everything else another way to make your subject pop even more
2. Intersect: taking Lightroom’s masking options to yet another level
3. Creating tool presets
4. Using Mask presets to speed up the masking workflow
5. Examples of more complex masks in portrait, landscape, travel, wedding, and wildlife photography that you no longer need to use Photoshop to do.
6. Masking in Lightroom mobile
7. Piet answers all the questions received during the recorded live class.

Some of the examples covered in this masterclass include (all without having to do any brushing whatsoever)

• Brightening the subject and darkening the background
• Making an off-white studio background completely white
• Recovering cloud detail in a single click
• Add detail to a wedding dress without aging the bride
• Make your animal/wildlife images pop
• Enhancing Rembrandt Light
• Adding a high key/porcelain look to a portrait
• Defocusing a busy background

About Your Instructor Piet Van den Eynde

Piet Van den Eynde is a Belgium-based photographer and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Certified Expert. He offers training on using on- and off-camera flash (working with speedlights and bigger flashes) and postprocessing with Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and plug-ins such as The Nik Collection.

Previous Masterclasses

Having provided training for readers of Digital Photo Mentor for several years, two of his previous Photoshop and Lightroom masterclasses are available here in the shop.