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Photoshop Cafe - updates Colin Smith

4 min read

Photoshop Cafe - updates Colin Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61jK2mcGRNc This tutorial by Colin Smith from PhotoshopCAFE demonstrates how to effectively use the new Landscape Masks in Lightroom and Camera Raw. He introduces his comprehensive “Masks in Lightroom & Camera Raw” course for those who want to delve deeper. The tutorial features two main examples: 1. Rocky Landscape Image (0:25)

  • Accessing the Mask: Colin navigates to the Develop module in Lightroom Classic, clicks the Masking tool, and selects Landscape. Lightroom’s AI analyzes the image and identifies various features.
  • Detected Features (0:40): For this image, Lightroom detected Sky, Mountains, Vegetation, and Natural Ground. Colin notes that Landscape Masks can also identify Architecture, Water, and Artificial Ground in other images.
  • Creating Separate Masks (1:13): He chooses to create separate masks for Sky, Mountains, and Vegetation. He observes some overlap, particularly between Vegetation and Natural Ground, and between Mountains and Natural Ground (as the rocks are part of natural ground).
  • Adjusting Mountains (2:05): Goal: Bring back detail in the underexposed rocky mountains, which were losing detail due to strong sunlight and saturation clipping. Adjustments: He decreases Blacks (e.g., to -42) to reveal more detail and decreases Saturation (e.g., to -12) to prevent clipping and improve readability. Adding Texture (3:16): He increases Texture (e.g., to +23) to further “chisel out” the details in the rocks, making them more prominent. Result: The mountains appear more defined and less “clipped” in color.
  • Adjusting Sky (3:49): Goal: Reduce the “cartoony” look in the sky, potentially caused by a polarizer. Adjustments: He decreases Saturation (e.g., to -12) to make the blue less intense. He also decreases Highlights (e.g., to -37) and increases Shadows (e.g., to +29) to add more contrast and detail to the clouds. Result: The sky appears more natural with improved cloud definition.
  • Adjusting Vegetation (4:27): Goal: Brighten the foliage without over-brightening the entire ground. Adjustments: He increases Exposure (e.g., to +0.19) or increases Shadows (e.g., to +33) to lighten the foliage. Refinement - Subtracting with Brush (4:52): To selectively apply the brightening, he uses the Subtract option with a Brush tool. By reducing the brush Density and Flow (e.g., to 70 each), he selectively removes the adjustment from the grass and fence, allowing the trees to receive more of the brightening effect while the foreground remains less affected.
  • Overall Adjustment (6:27): After local adjustments, he suggests returning to the global Basic panel for overall fine-tuning, such as adjusting the Temperature of the entire image if desired.

2. House in Hawaii Image (7:15)

  • Accessing the Mask (7:21): Again, he selects Landscape masking.
  • Detected Features (7:28): Lightroom identifies Sky, Architecture (the house), Vegetation, and Natural Ground.
  • Adjusting Architecture (8:20): Goal: Bring out detail in the shadowed areas of the building. Adjustments: He increases Shadows (e.g., to +68) to lift the dark areas, revealing more structural detail. He briefly tries Exposure but decides against it to maintain natural look. Result: The house becomes much more visible and detailed.
  • Adjusting Sky (9:20): Goal: Address the bright, potentially blown-out sky behind the trees. Adjustments: He decreases Highlights (e.g., to -78) to recover some detail in the bright areas. Refinement - Subtracting from Tree Trunks (9:33): He demonstrates using the Subtract option with a Brush and Auto Mask enabled (Feather 79, Flow 100, Density 100). This allows him to “paint away” the sky mask from the tree trunks that were incorrectly selected, showing the background through the leaves. Result: The sky is toned down, and the edges of the tree canopy are better defined, though he acknowledges masking isn’t always perfect.
  • Adjusting Vegetation (11:30): Goal: Enhance the green foliage. Adjustments: He decreases Highlights (e.g., to -48) and increases Shadows (e.g., to +16). He then adds a “touch of Saturation” (e.g., to +16) to make the foliage pop. Result: The vegetation looks more vibrant and natural.
  • Adjusting Natural Ground (12:19): Goal: De-emphasize the foreground ground to draw focus to the house. Adjustments: He decreases Highlights (e.g., to -45), decreases Exposure (e.g., to -0.28), and increases Blacks (e.g., to +16). Result: The ground becomes slightly darker, making the house more prominent in the composition without looking artificial.
  • Overall Adjustment (13:20): He concludes by applying a slight overall Temperature adjustment (e.g., to 5,687 K) to warm up the entire image, noting that such global adjustments should be done carefully after local masks.

Conclusion (13:48): Colin reiterates the power and versatility of Landscape Masks for various types of photos. He encourages viewers to check out his full course, watch more of his videos, leave comments, and subscribe to his channel.

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