Masking by the Numbers

January 13, 2009 ·

Michael Reichmann

Have you ever wanted to make an adjustment to an image but limit the effect to just the highlights or the shadows in an image? Photoshop pros know they can press the Option-Command-~ sequence (Alt-Ctrl-~ for Windows users) and Photoshop will grab the highlights in an image and make them into a selection. Invert that selection, and the shadows are selected.

Photoshop uses a very broad definition of highlights: one that reaches well down into the middle tones. For a quick and dirty selection of the brighter portions of an image, Option-Command-~ is helpful. But, what if you need more precise control?

Figure 1.The Coliseum in Rome on a dreary day in March.

Ever take a photograph on a rainy, dreary day? Something like Figure 1 is typical. You end up with lots of contrast but not much information in the middle tones. The result is a flat, boring image.

One solution in this case is to use a tripod and bra...

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Michael Reichmann

See all articles by Michael Reichmann

Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.