Top of the range

Louise Carey uses range masking for perfect exposure and colours

THE MISSION

Experiment with range masking

Time needed 30 minutes

Skill level Beginner

Kit needed Lightroom Classic CC

Creating the perfect blend of colours or the correct exposure can be tricky – especially when you have to edit around uneven tree lines, or a messy mixture of tones.

However, there’s a way to make specific edits without hours of painstakingly brushing in masks. When using the Radial Filter, Graduated Filter, or Adjustment Brush in Adobe Lightroom Classic, you have the option to introduce a Range Mask into the mix.

A Range Mask gives you the ability to limit your adjustment to a certain set of qualities. There are three possibilities: Luminance, Color, and Depth. But we’ll specifically be looking at how to use Color and Luminance in this Lightroom editing tutorial.

You can download the Lightroom_before.jpg image, or use one of your own shots to follow along with this step-by-step tutorial – and don’t forget to check out the accompanying video for a few more tips and tricks.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF RANGE MASKING