Back To Basics – Part 5F: Masking And Selective Adjustments In Lightroom
A photo-realistic underwater photography header image illustrating masking and selective adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. The image shows a marine subject isolated from the background using AI Select Subject, linear gradients, and radial masks, demonstrating how selective adjustments refine underwater photos without over-processing. When, Why, and How to Refine Underwater Photos Without Overdoing It If you've been following the Back-to-Basics series so far, you're already familiar with how to create a strong underwater image using global adjustments. You know why white balance should be addressed first, how exposure and tone influence the light in your frame, how presence and detail tools can either bring out textures or, if used improperly, diminish them, and how color controls are essential for restoring realism underwater. At this point, your image should already be looking quite good. It's important to remember that masking isn't about fixing poorly taken images. Ins...