You can adjust the background mask in Lightroom by refining it through the Masks panel and using the Amount slider.
Here’s how you can effectively adjust your background masks:
Refining the Mask
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Access the Masks Panel: Once you've created a mask, it appears in the Masks panel.
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Select the Mask: Click on the specific mask you want to adjust within the Masks panel.
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Add or Subtract:
- Add: Use "Add" to include additional areas to the existing mask. Select any of the masking tools (brush, gradient, radial, etc.) to expand the masked selection.
- Subtract: Use "Subtract" to remove or erase areas from the masked selection. Again, use any of the masking tools to precisely modify the selection.
Adjusting the Intensity of the Mask
- Amount Slider: Within the mask adjustment options, find the Amount Slider. This slider controls the overall strength or intensity of the applied adjustments.
- Moving the Amount slider to the right increases the impact of the adjustments applied by the mask.
- Moving it to the left reduces the impact, potentially blending the effect more subtly into the unmasked areas.
Practical Example
Imagine you’ve used the Select Subject masking tool to isolate a person in your photo. The background is masked. Here's how you might refine it:
- Initial Mask: The initial subject mask may unintentionally include parts of the background.
- Subtract: Use the "Subtract" option with the brush tool to carefully erase those background areas from your mask, ensuring only the subject remains masked.
- Amount Adjustments: Then, if the adjustments you’re applying to the background (e.g., blurring or darkening) are too intense, reduce the effect with the Amount slider until it looks balanced.
By utilizing both the "Add" and "Subtract" options with various masking tools and adjusting the intensity using the Amount slider, you can effectively tailor your background masks for precise adjustments in Lightroom.
