13.4. Local Adjustments

Masks

Local adjustments let you change specific parts of a photo without affecting the whole image. Instead of brightening the entire frame, for example, you can brighten only a face, darken only a sky, or add contrast to just the subject. The tool that makes this possible is the mask.

A mask is a map that tells your editing software where an adjustment should apply. Each point in the image has a value that can be thought of as either “selected” or “not selected,” or more precisely, something in between. White areas of a mask receive the full adjustment, black areas receive none, and gray areas receive partial strength.

Most editors show masks as colored overlays, often red, that you can toggle on and off. The overlay is only a visual aid; it does not appear in the final image. The important thing is how precisely you define that mask. Local adjustments are only as good as the mask that shapes them. A sloppy mask that spills onto the background will make your edit look obvious and artificial, while a clean mask will make even strong adjustments feel natural.

Local adjustment tools such as brushes, gradients, and automatic subject or sky selections all create masks. You then attach adjustments to that mask: exposure, contrast, clarity, color, and more. One mask can contain many parameters, or you can create multiple masks for different parts of the image and keep each one focused on a specific task.

Many programs let you invert a mask. Instead of affecting the selected area, you affect everything except that area. This is very useful, for example, when you want to protect a subject and darken only the background.

Masking is non-destructive in modern editors. You can always come back later, see your list of masks, change their shape, move them, or refine their feathering and opacity. This flexibility is why learning masks is one of the biggest steps forward in your editing skills.

Brush Adjustments

A brush adjustment creates a mask by “painting” over the image with a digital brush. Wherever you paint, the mask appears, and your chosen settings are applied there.

Brushes are ideal for irregular shapes and fine details, such as faces, hair, small objects, or bright spots that need taming. You control the size of the brush, its softness (often called feather), and its flow or density, which controls how quickly the effect builds up as you paint.

A hard brush edge creates a clear boundary between edited and unedited areas, which can look artificial. A soft brush creates a gradual transition that is usually more natural, especially on skin and landscapes. When in doubt, use a softer brush and build up the effect with multiple strokes.

Flow and density help you work gradually. A low flow means each stroke adds only a little of the adjustment, allowing you to build up exposure or color slowly where you need more. This mimics traditional dodging and burning with more control.

Many editors include automatic helpers for brushes, such as edge detection or masking that tries to stay within similar colors or tones. These tools can help keep your brush strokes inside a subject, but they are not perfect, so always zoom in and refine the mask where necessary. You can usually erase parts of the brush mask, change its feathering, or adjust its overall opacity if the effect is too strong.

When using brush adjustments on faces, be especially gentle. Small changes to exposure, clarity, and texture can greatly affect how natural a person looks. It is often better to create separate brush masks for different facial areas, such as one for eyes and another for skin, so you can tailor each adjustment individually.

Linear Gradients

A linear gradient creates a mask that transitions in a straight line from full strength to zero. You define it by dragging a line over the image. At one end the mask is strongest, and across a defined distance it fades smoothly to nothing.

Linear gradients are perfect for skies, foregrounds, and other large areas that change gradually in brightness or color. For example, you can darken the sky above a landscape without affecting the ground below, or gently lighten the bottom of an image to reveal foreground detail.

The key controls are the angle, the length of the transition, and the position. By rotating the gradient you align it with the horizon, a wall, or any other edge in the scene. By altering the distance between the handles you control how soft or hard the transition is. Short gradients create a quick change that can be noticeable. Longer gradients create a more subtle shift that is harder to detect.

Be careful around tall objects that rise into the sky, such as trees or buildings. A simple gradient will darken them together with the sky, which may look unnatural. In more advanced workflows you can combine linear gradients with other masks or subtract areas from the gradient so it only affects the sky. Even as a beginner, you can mitigate this by using gentle adjustments, so any unwanted darkening is small.

Linear gradients are also useful for shaping the overall light in a scene. You can darken the edges from one side to emphasize a direction of light, or slightly brighten the area where your subject stands. Always toggle the mask overlay and the before/after view to ensure your gradient looks believable and does not introduce obvious bands or halos.

Radial Gradients

A radial gradient creates a circular or oval mask with a soft, feathered edge. You place it by clicking and dragging to set the size and shape. The adjustment can affect either the inside of the oval or the outside, depending on whether you invert the mask.

Radial gradients are particularly useful for emphasizing a subject, creating a gentle vignette, or enhancing light around a specific area, such as a face, a flower, or a light source. Because of their soft edges, radial gradients can feel very natural when used with subtle exposure or contrast changes.

Feathering controls how gradually the effect fades at the edge of the oval. A high feather creates a very soft transition that is often ideal for portraits and subject emphasis. A low feather produces a more defined region that can work for clearer spot adjustments but can become visible if pushed too far.

One common use is to darken the area outside a radial gradient that covers your subject. By slightly decreasing exposure and clarity outside the ellipse, you draw attention to the center without making it obvious that a tool was used. Another approach is to brighten and add a touch of warmth inside the oval to simulate a soft spotlight.

Because radial gradients are not tied to any particular object, they can be placed anywhere and rotated freely. This makes them suitable for creative light shaping. For example, you can place a radial gradient around a window to make it appear brighter, or over a reflection to make it stand out.

As with all local adjustments, it is easy to overdo radial gradients. If the subject appears to glow unnaturally or if the vignette edge is visible, reduce the strength of the adjustment, increase feathering, or slightly enlarge the gradient so it blends better into the scene.

Subject Masks

Subject masks use built-in intelligence to automatically find and select the main subject in your photo. This might be a person, an animal, a car, or another prominent object. With a single click, the software analyzes the image and creates a mask around that subject, including complex edges such as hair or fur.

Subject masks are extremely powerful when you want to edit the subject differently from the background. For instance, you can brighten and sharpen the subject while slightly darkening the surroundings, or subtly soften the background contrast while keeping the subject crisp.

Even though subject selection is automatic, you should always inspect the mask. Turn on the mask overlay and zoom in to check the edges. If the software missed areas or included unwanted background, use add and subtract tools, or a brush, to refine the mask. Many programs allow you to combine subject masks with other masks by adding, subtracting, or intersecting them to get very precise control.

Subject masks also work well when inverted. Instead of adjusting the subject, you can protect it and adjust everything else. This is a fast way to darken or desaturate a busy background so that the subject stands out more clearly without obvious manual painting.

When editing the subject, keep changes moderate. A slight boost to exposure, a bit more clarity or texture, or a touch of saturation is usually enough. If the subject looks overly bright compared to the scene lighting, or if it appears cut out, scale back the adjustments until it feels like part of the original light environment.

Sky Masks

Sky masks automatically detect and select the sky in your image. This is especially useful in landscape and cityscape photography, where you often want to balance the brightness and color of the sky with the foreground.

With a sky mask you can darken a washed-out sky, add contrast to clouds, increase saturation of a sunset, or slightly adjust white balance to bring back a natural blue. Because the selection is built around the sky, it often follows irregular edges such as trees, mountains, or rooftops better than a simple linear gradient would.

As always, check the edges. Sky masks can struggle with fine details like bare branches, power lines, or very bright highlights where sky and objects blend. If the adjustment leaks onto buildings or trees, reduce the strength of the effect, increase feathering, or refine the mask manually by subtracting areas with a brush.

A powerful technique is to invert the sky mask. That allows you to quickly apply edits to everything except the sky, such as brightening the land or adjusting its contrast, while keeping the sky protected. This makes it much easier to achieve a balanced exposure between sky and foreground.

Sky masks can be tempting to push very far, especially with dramatic sunsets. Be careful not to create skies that are far more saturated or contrasty than the rest of the image supports. If the sky looks pasted on or distinctly different from the lighting on the ground, lower the intensity of your adjustments so the scene feels cohesive.

Dodging and Burning

Dodging and burning are classic techniques that selectively brighten and darken parts of an image to shape light, emphasize important elements, and reduce distractions. Dodging means lightening. Burning means darkening. In the darkroom these were manual processes on photographic paper. In digital editing, you achieve them through local adjustments and masks.

You can dodge and burn using any local tool that offers exposure control, such as brushes, radial gradients, or even small linear gradients. Often the most flexible approach is to create one or more brush masks specifically for dodging, and others for burning, so you can adjust or disable them independently.

A common method is to set a small exposure change, for example plus or minus 0.3 to 0.5 stops, with a soft brush and low flow. Then you paint gently over areas you want to draw attention to or away from, building up the effect gradually. You might dodge the subject’s face, catchlights in the eyes, or bright edges on a landscape. You might burn bright distractions at the edge of the frame, overly bright patches of sky, or cluttered background elements.

Dodging and burning are about guiding the viewer’s eye. Our eyes naturally move toward brighter areas with more contrast. By brightening your subject slightly and darkening unimportant areas, you can create a stronger visual path through the image without obvious manipulation.

In some software, there are dedicated dodge and burn tools, but conceptually they are doing the same thing as local exposure adjustments. What matters is subtlety and control. Strong, localized changes can create halos or patches that look unnatural, especially on smooth surfaces like skin or sky. To avoid this, use soft brushes, keep exposure changes modest, and zoom out regularly to see the overall effect.

Dodging and burning can also enhance shape and texture by reinforcing existing light. For example, you might brighten the lit side of a subject and slightly darken the shadow side, adding depth. Always work with the natural light direction that was present in the scene. If you fight the original lighting, the result will feel artificial.

Views: 5