Back To Basics – Part 5F: Masking And Selective Adjustments In Lightroom
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. Instead, masking is a powerful technique for refining and enhancing already good images. This distinction is crucial, especially for underwater photographers. When used intentionally, selective adjustments can truly elevate your image. However, if overdone, they can introduce unwanted halos, noise, or an overly artificial appearance.
In this post, we'll focus on understanding when and how to incorporate masking into your workflow. I'll guide you on which tools to use and, most importantly, how to apply them with restraint and precision. By mastering these techniques, you'll be able to enhance your photos thoughtfully, keeping them natural and true to your vision.
Where Masking Fits in the Back-to-Basics Workflow
Before we touch a single masking tool, let’s reinforce where masking belongs in the overall process.
By the time you reach masking, you should already have completed:
White Balance
Global Exposure and Tone
Presence and Detail adjustments
Color corrections
Masking comes after those steps and before final image review and export. If you try to mask before global corrections are complete, you will almost always end up fighting your own edits.
Think of masking as the polish, not the foundation.
What Masking Actually Does (and What It Does Not)
Masking lets you focus your adjustments on specific parts of an image rather than modifying the entire frame. This technique is particularly useful underwater, where light, color, and contrast can vary significantly over short distances, making precise edits essential to capture the scene's true essence.
Masking is useful for:
Separating a subject from the background
Darkening or smoothing the background water
Subtly enhancing a subject without affecting surrounding areas
Guiding the viewer’s eye through the frame
Masking cannot:
Fix missed focus
Remove severe motion blur
Recover color that was never captured
Eliminate heavy backscatter
Save poor composition
Understanding these limits keeps masking from becoming a crutch.
Overview of Masking Tools in Lightroom
Lightroom offers a variety of ways to create masks, enhancing your editing flexibility. These tools are generally categorized into two groups: selection and refinement. The selection tools determine where you want your adjustments applied, effectively outlining the parts of your image you want to work on. Once you've made your selection, the sliders take effect; they define exactly what changes occur within that area, enabling precise, customized edits.
The primary masking tools you will use are:
AI Select Subject
AI Select Sky (often useful for water columns)
Linear Gradient
Radial Gradient
Brush
Color and Luminance refinements (used sparingly)
Each tool has strengths, and none should be used automatically.
AI Select Subject: The Starting Point, Not the Finish
AI Select Subject is often the quickest way to isolate a fish, diver, turtle, or any other main subject. Underwater, it performs best when:
The subject is clearly separated from the background
Contrast exists between the subject and the water
The subject edges are reasonably defined
When AI Select Subject works well, it can save significant time. When it struggles, it usually misses fine edges, confuses similar tones, or includes background water.
Always inspect the mask overlay before adjusting.
Common uses for a subject mask:
Slight exposure lift
Subtle contrast increase
Gentle clarity or texture
Minor color correction
Avoid applying heavy clarity, strong dehaze, or aggressive sharpening within a subject mask. These types of edits can easily make underwater images appear crunchy and artificial, stripping away their natural, smooth appearance.
Linear Gradients: Essential for Wide-Angle Underwater Images
Linear gradients are among the most powerful and overlooked masking tools for underwater photography. They are ideal for:
Darkening bright water near the surface
Smoothing the noisy background water
Controlling sunballs and light beams
Balancing uneven exposure across the frame
A linear gradient applied to the background water often does more for an image than any subject adjustment. Small changes here help the subject stand out naturally, without screaming for attention.
Use linear gradients with:
Lower highlights
Slight exposure reductions
Minor clarity reductions
Subtle color temperature shifts
Think subtly. If you can clearly see where the gradient starts, it is too strong.
Radial Gradients: Controlled Emphasis, Not Spotlights
Radial gradients are especially useful for subtly highlighting a subject or specific area in your image without creating harsh or obvious edges.
They work well for:
Nudging attention toward a central subject
Soft vignettes that feel organic
Isolating a diver or marine life without aggressively darkening corners
A radial gradient should be subtle enough to appear invisible to the viewer. If the gradient draws attention or is easily noticeable, it hasn't served its purpose. When necessary, invert the mask to achieve the desired effect, and feather it generously to ensure a smooth, natural transition.
Brush Masks: Precision and Cleanup Only
The brush is the most precise masking tool, and the easiest to misuse.
Use brush masks for:
Cleaning up AI mask edges
Correcting small, missed areas
Subtle localized adjustments
Do not use the brush to paint entire subjects from scratch unless there is no other option. When brushing, work with:
Low flow
Low density
Gradual build-up
This keeps transitions natural and avoids harsh edges.
Refining Masks with Color and Luminance (Use Sparingly)
Color and luminance adjustments can help clean up masks, especially when subjects and backgrounds share similar shapes. Underwater, these tweaks can be quite helpful too, but it's good to be mindful not to overdo it.
Use them only when:
AI masks struggle
Background and subject colors overlap
You need fine control
If refining a mask takes more time than the adjustment is worth, it's often more effective to step back and simplify the process.
Common Masking Mistakes Underwater Photographers Make
Using too many masks on one image
Overusing clarity and texture inside masks
Creating halos around subjects
Masking before global adjustments are finished
Trying to rescue images that should be rejected
Good masking is subtle. Great masking is often invisible.
Knowing When to Stop
Masking doesn't require making selective adjustments to every image. In fact, many stunning underwater photos require little to no masking. If you find yourself stacking mask after mask, it's usually a sign that:
The image is being overworked
The original capture had limitations
The edit is drifting away from realism
At this point, it is better to step back and evaluate whether the image is truly finished.
That evaluation is exactly what we will cover next.
What’s Next in the Series
Now that you understand how to refine an image with selective adjustments, the next step is to determine whether the image is ready to export from Lightroom.
In Back to Basics – Part 5G, we will focus on final image review and decision making, including when to stop editing, when to walk away, and how to evaluate your work with a critical eye before exporting or sharing.
👉 Continue the series at info.robertherb.com/lm-2-blog
Written by Robert Herb
Empowering underwater photographers to capture and enhance the beauty of our oceans since 1978.
Stay tuned for more in-depth insights into underwater photography. Let us dive deeper into the art and craft of capturing the marine world. I would welcome any comments or suggestions.
Get ready for an exciting underwater photography adventure. For more details on my upcoming online training course, check out my Training page at RobertHerb.com or email me at bob@robertherb.com.
Sincerely,
Bob Herb
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