Luminosity Masks in Lightroom? Who Knew.

Somebody must have known.  I was flipping through some Youtube  videos over the weekend (there's nothing but junk on regular television anymore) and came across a session on Luminosity Masks (LM) in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (LR).  I went back this morning to try to find the author/presenter.  No luck.  That's too bad, because I'd like to give him (it was a male voice) credit.  (Whoever you are, either let me know or take this as having given you the credit you deserve.)  [Update: Thanks to reader Steve who let me know the fellow's name was Wayne Fox.  Here's the link.] A couple weeks ago I was playing around with Luminosity Masks in Adobe Photoshop (PS) and did a post on the subject.  I figured, since you start out with the Channels Panel that LMs wouldn't be something you could play with in LR.  Oops.  Was I wrong.  To find out about my first exploration of LMs in LR, hit the "Read More".

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Dodging And Burning In Photoshop Using Curves

How would you like to have ultimate control of your dodging and  (D&B) in Adobe Photoshop (PS)?  I have to confess, lately I've been doing a lot of D&B using the Adjustment Brush in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (LR).  You can go either way, but last night I was asked about D&B in PS.  I've written about the technique a few times before, but I guess it's time to revisit it.  A buddy of mine has the "Photographer's Bundle" from Adobe.  She pays her $9.99 (in the US) each month and doesn't use LR at all.  She says she looked at it and thought it looked complex.  Complex?  Compared to PS it's simplicity itself.  Another friend in the conversation said he now uses LR for 90 - 95% of his work.  I agree, I probably use LR 100% of the time that I'm not doing composites or things that require Layers.  The only reason to go to PS is to do things that absolutely can't be done (or are easier to do in PS) in LR.  To find out how to use Curves Adjustment Layers in PS to do your D&B, hit the "Read More".
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Light Slashes As Lead In Lines In Photoshop

I've shown today's image to a couple friends and the reaction has been "nice composite".  The problem is --- it's not a composite.  It's the way it was actually taken. There was a guy walking up along the crest of the rocks.  The clouds were moving by at a pretty fast clip and the rocks at Pemiquid Light are that fantastic. You can find any shade of gray you'd like and the shades repeat and repeat.  The out building are painted the color red that you'd pick if you were creating a set for photography.  You can plant your tripod at any degree of a complete circle and get a good shot.  If you're travelling on Route 1 up the Maine coast you need to make Pemiquid one of your "must see" (must photograph) stops.  Stay at the Pemiquid Hotel and eat at Shaw's Wharf.  You'll have your dinner, sunset/night shoot, night's rest and sunrise shoot all laid out in front of you.  We've done it a couple times and it's a photographer's dream.  The hotel is a hundred yards from the gate of the lighthouse grounds and the lighthouse is a hundred yards past that.  To get to the site of today's image is another hundred yards past that.  You can definitely walk it, but if you have a truck full of gear like I do, you might want to bring the car down to the parking area and save yourself some huffing and puffing if you've left anything in the car.  If you're a frequent reader you probably know I can't leave well enough alone.  To see what was done to today's image, hit the "Read More".

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Playing With Luminosity Masks In Photoshop

Click image to enlarge

Today's image comes from the Wild Gardens of Acadia National Park in Maine.  We were walking in the Sieur de Monts Spring area along one of the boardwalks when we came upon this scene.  Since it was literary "off the beaten path" we thought it must have been the result of some of the wild life of the region tramping through.  You know wildlife, they don't read the signs.  Anyway, it was obvious that something big had been in the area.  The laid over grasses gave a clear path to the eye.  But, not so much in the camera.  My normal work flow just wasn't bringing out the detail I knew was there.  I've recently been reading about a technique I haven't used before, so I gave it a try.  To find out a little about "Luminosity Masks" (LM), hit the "Read More".

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