Masks are essential tools, but many photographers keep their use pretty basic. Complex masks, where you combine or modify multiple masks, can transform your editing process and dramatically improve your images.
Coming to you from Mickey Pullen with Eastern Shore Photo Instruction, this comprehensive video guides you through using advanced masking techniques on two very different pictures in Lightroom. Pullen clearly explains how Lightroom's masking options—adding, subtracting, and intersecting—can be combined to form refined, targeted selections. For example, rather than settling for the program's default "sky" selection, Pullen demonstrates intersecting two sky masks to remove unwanted spillover onto architecture. This trick refines your mask exceptionally well, meaning your adjustments affect precisely the areas you want with impressive accuracy. You'll learn to duplicate masks, reset adjustments quickly, and combine luminance or color ranges, giving your images depth traditionally reserved for complex software like Photoshop—all without leaving Lightroom.
Pullen also walks you through practical uses for these masks, making adjustments seem intuitive. One notable technique includes dodging and burning using duplicated masks intersected with customized brushwork–ideal for finely tuning landscape details. Watching Pullen work demonstrates that masking isn't about big, heavy-handed changes but rather small, carefully built-up edits that gradually enhance your photograph's key elements. It's subtle, detailed work, and he explains clearly enough that anyone familiar with Lightroom can follow along.
Because editing rarely involves changing just one part of your image, complex masking is especially valuable. Areas like skies, water, foliage, and architecture frequently blend together in messy overlaps within Lightroom's automatic masks. This video shows straightforward ways of cleaning up those overlaps using subtraction tools or intersect masks. Pullen further refines his adjustments with selective color and luminance masks. When he corrects vegetation bleed using color-range subtraction or isolates glowing clouds via luminance intersections, you'll see exactly how much difference precise masking can make.
Each step features plain explanations and practical examples emphasizing real-world scenarios: calming down an overly bright sunset, selectively brightening foreground vegetation, or creatively adding subtle directional lighting. The adjustments are applicable to just about any style of photography, whether you shoot landscapes, architecture, or travel imagery.
Pullen takes the time to explain the logic and reasoning behind each choice. Even though he's adding 15 masks to just one image, every single one is deliberate, enhancing detail, contrast, and color fidelity in very particular parts of the scene. The techniques, however advanced they might seem at first glance, become manageable and even intuitive through his clear demonstrations. Lightroom's masking features are intuitive once you grasp their logic. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Pullen.
