

First of all a happy, healthy, and productive new year to all. Be well, and stay well.
I have been planning to write about the Luminance Range Mask for quite a while, but some health problems interfered. On the last day of the year, I wanted to make sure I at least started talking about the subject of the Lightroom Luminance Range Mask as a very useful tool. There are plenty of articles on Luminance Range Mask, but I wanted to share my take on it with you.
What Is A Luminance Range Mask?
The idea has existed in Photoshop for a long time. It is a matter of selecting areas based on their luminance levels, like highlights or shadows. Then, local adjustments can be applied only to those areas with controlled taper into adjacent areas. The available adjustments range from tonal adjustments to color balance, from noise reduction to additional sharpness.
How To Create A Luminance Range Mask?
All the masks are accessible from the masking panel. Activate it by clicking on the round masking icon on the toolbar above the Basic panel. You will have various masking options but for this exercise, click on Range and select the Luminance Range option. The full range from black to white will be shown on the range bar. Moving the vertical ends of the bar adjusts what to include and what to exclude. The display will turn into a black-and-white image and its white areas will receive the adjustments applied.
As you move the vertical edge, the triangle-shaped handle below the range may start moving with it. Depending on what you need to select, you may need to move the triangle to adjust how the mask fades and blends into the unmasked area. I don’t think there is a right or wrong position for the fade triangle. It depends on what you want to include in the mask.
Highlights, Midtones, Shadows
In some images, I may want more localized control and create three separate masks for different luminance ranges. For the Superman Building photograph, I decided to use three masks to control narrow highlight and shadow masks and a relatively wide midtone mask. You can see the original image and masked adjustment applied to it. You can follow the masked areas and their adjustments in the three screen captures that follow. Click on the thumbnails to see the full images.
First, before and after versions, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:


And the three luminance range masks with their adjustments, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:



You May Need Fewer Masks
You don’t always need to adjust the heel and the shoulder of the tonal range and the mid-tones. In the next image, I wanted to hide some of the shadow areas and enrich the mid-tones in color, tonality, and structure. That needed two masks with slightly different fades than the previous set. Again, click on the thumbnails to see the full images.
First, before and after versions, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:


And the three luminance range masks with their adjustments, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:


Localized Color Adjustments
Using these carefully selected areas based on luminance values, we can adjust the white balance to reflect the mood of the scene. I took the following photograph from the window of an adjacent building. The sun was hitting the gold-colored trim with its warm rays, but the overall white balance somewhat subdued that. To overcome that, I created three zones again, and in addition to tonal, structural, and sharpness adjustments, I changed the white balance to a warmer level and increased the saturation. And, to add a slightly stronger color contrast, I shifted the shadow’s color balance to a little cooler level. Here are the results.
First, before and after versions, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:


And the three luminance range masks with their adjustments, click on the thumbnails to see the full images:



I suggest you give the Luminance Range masks a try. They are non-destructive and can be removed at will. But, you may like the level of control it affords in tonality, structure, sharpness, and color.
Have a wonderful 2023!
Haluk Atamal
Hello Cemal.
Türkan and I wish Jan and you a healthy and prosperous 2023.
Thanks for the article. Since I do not use Lightroom, I tried to access Lum. Range mask in PS. I could not find it, even not in the helpfiles. Do you know the corresponding functionality in Photoshop?
From what I read from you article, I am probably using the same technique all the time, but just with ordinary masks. I am sure your advice will save a lot of time.
Take care and best regards,
Haluk
A. Cemal Ekin
Happy new year to you and Turkan, Haluk. In Photoshop, there are direct ways of creating luminance masks. But, you can create a copy of the background layer (Ctrl-J) and open it in Adobe Camera Raw. There, you can follow the process I outlined using its mask tool.
Let me know how you make out, and take care,
Cemal
Paul White
Happy New Year to you and Jan
A. Cemal Ekin
Thanks, Paul, you have a great 2023 with family and friends.
Cemal