Photoshop How To

Adobe is constantly upgrading Lightroom with impressive new features and a host of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that make image processing faster and more effective than ever. While this rapid evolution is great for all of us, it does mean we have to occasionally rethink how we use this powerful software.

Several years ago when many of were first introduced to Lightroom it lacked today’s robust masking options. Moreover, the tools were pretty rudimentary with a few brushes, a graduated filter, and not a whole lot more. Over time a radial filter was added, along with simple Luminance, Color, and Depth-Range masks. Overall, however, these basic tools were pretty simple and not every effective.

More recently things have evolved quickly in a very significant way. In fact, image-editing expert Anthony Morganti says this: “With the introduction of new smarter masking, we have to rethink how we use Lightroom and how we go about processing our images.”

Above all, according to Morganti, tasks we used to handle globally are now more effectively tackled with selective, local-editing techniques. And the good news is the approach Morganti recommends is neither more complicated nor more cumbersome than the approach you may be using now. In fact, chances are it’s faster, easier, and delivers better results

In this episode Morganti uses two images, offering different challenges, to demonstrate how the recommended approach works. One is a wildlife image of a bird that’s sort of soft, with a very distracting background. The second shot is a portrait that also needs some work.

In both cases Morganti provides a quick rundown of the “old” way of editing these types of images, before demonstrating a step-by-step method for achieving optimum results using a more up-to-date technique that takes advantage of the latest Lightroom advancements.

After watching this video you’ll want to incorporate this method into your workflow in the future. You can find more tips and tricks with a quick visit to Morganti’s YouTube channel.

And be sure to check out another revealing editing tutorial we posted not long ago, explaining how to avoid four common Exposure Blending mistakes in Photoshop.