Lightroom: A step-by-step guide to targeted adjustments (Part two)

2) Select the Colour Range Mask

Now, in the Range mask option, select Color from the drop-down (1). Like with the Graduated Filter, use the Color range selection tool (2) to click on a single colour and choose it, or to select a range of colours, either click and drag around the area to be selected or press Shift and click on the colours to add to the selection (3).

You can fine-tune the colour selection by using the amount slider (4). If you increase the Amount, the colour range will increase, and if you reduce the amount slider, then the colour range will decrease. I recommend using a single colour selection or using the shift key to add colours. This will help you select the area to be edited precisely.

Finally, check the ‘Show Selected mask overlay’ option on. The selected area will be seen as a Red colour mask.

3) Make your adjustments

With your selection complete, you can now click the Mask > Edit panel, to make targeted adjustments as you see fit (1). For this image, I adjusted the Temperature (-8), lifted the Whites (+19) and lifted the Saturation and Sharpness (+20 and +23, respectively).

These changes only affected the blue tones in this Black Naped Monarch’s feathers. Finally, one more tip. If you wanted to select the area outside the radial filter (see step 1), just uncheck the Invert box.

Radial filter – Luminosity Range Mask

My final lesson is using a Luminosity range mask with the Radial Filter. To use it, you’ll follow the steps 1 to 3 as with the Color mask above, but when it comes time to select the Range mask, you’ll choose Luminance.

1) Select the radial filter

First, select the Radial Filter tool (Keyboard Shortcut: Shift + M) at the top of the Basic panel (1). Make the initial selection on the area to be edited. You can do this by clicking on the area, and drawing a circle or oval around it (2). Then, check the ‘Show Selected mask overlay’ checkbox at the bottom of the image. By default, the area outside the Radial Filter will be selected. To change this to the area inside, check the ‘Invert’ checkbox to select the area inside the Radial Filter (3).

2) Select the luminance range mask

First we’ll select Range Mask: Luminance (1), and then we’ll select the area with the Luminance range selection tool (2). Click on the areas of luminosity which you want to select and edit (3). Then, check the ‘Show Luminance mask’ option (4). Your image will turn to black and white and the selected area will appear as a red colour (or a red color mask).

3) Make your adjustments

Once the selection is made, on the Mask > Edit panel, you can now make targeted adjustments (1 & 2). As you can see below, I reduced the exposure (-0.08), increased the Whites (+22) and reduced the Blacks (-9), and finally upped the Texture (+7), Clarity (+11) and Sharpness (+52).

It may seem like a lot to remember, but because each image you edit will rarely require using all the filters and range masks at the same time, you will probably find you are only using one of these tools at a time.

Like anything with Lightroom, start by using one tool at a time until you get comfortable with its application, and then move on. Learn to use all the tools at your fingertips, and these techniques will help you get beautiful and accurate targeted adjustments every time you process your images. Have fun!