Outdoor Photography How To

Adobe has updated Lightroom to version 14.3 and there's lot to unpack as you'll see in our upcoming tutorials. Today's episode is devoted his one "huge" new feature landscape photographers have been awaiting that's been available in other post-processing software for some time.

The topic at hand in this episode from Anthony Morganti is Lightroom's new Landscape Masking capability and you'll learn exactly how in works in the next 12 minutes. Be sure to watch until the end when he provides an overview of other key features—with links in the description beneath the video for those of you who are interested in a deeper dive.

Morganti is a globally popular photographer, professional retoucher, and educator based in Buffalo, NY and he kicks off this lesson by explaining why he considers this long-awaited Lightroom masking tool so significant. His demonstration seascape image is a perfect example because there are several key elements in the frame—including a dramatic sky, water with reflections, and buildings in the foreground and middle of the shot.

Morganti's photo even incudes some vegetation and a prominent Lighthouse that deserves to be accentuated, and when you click Masking atop the screen you'll note the new Landscape tool within the familiar panel. Here's what happens when you select this option: "AI will examine the image and determine what is in the scene."

As you'll see, Lightroom quickly found the Sky, Architecture, Vegetation, Water, and Artificial Ground—all elements that appear within the Landscape Masking panel. By hovering over any of these items you'll get a mask for making whatever enhancements you desire. Morganti admits that while these timesaving selections may be imperfect they're a great starting point for any necessary refinements.

Once you understand the concept and see how it works it's super easy to make whatever enhancements you desire. Stay tuned for more how-videos on a variety of new features in the recent Lightroom update. In the meantime, be sure to check out Morganti's instructional YouTube channel where there's much more to learn about all things Adobe.

We also recommend watching a recent tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to use what she says is  "Lightroom's most powerful tool" to unlock the full potential of every photograph you edit.