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Apply Masking in Lightroom on mobile (iOS)

Last updated on Jan 29, 2026

Learn more about photo editing with the Masking tool in Lightroom on mobile to edit specific parts of an image.

AI-powered features like Select Subject, Select Sky, and Select Background help you automatically select a subject or sky in a photo so you can make adjustments to that selection. Bring your imagination to life with masking tools like Brush, Linear, and Radial Gradients, Color Range, Luminance Range, and Depth Range.

Note

Features like Select Subject and Select Sky in Masking are unavailable on some devices. For the complete list, see Devices not compatible with features like Select Subject and Select Sky.

Create a new Mask

Open a photo in Lightroom on mobile and select Masking .
Select Add and then select your preferred masking tool in the Create new Mask panel.

Note

A default Mask 1 is created in the Masks panel. To rename this mask, select More and select Rename.
Using the preferred tool, select the area you want to mask. Then, use the editing sliders to make the local adjustments.

Open a photo in Lightroom on mobile and select Masking .
Select Add and then select your preferred masking tool in the Create new Mask panel.

Note

A default Mask 1 is created in the Masks panel. To rename this mask, select More and select Rename.
Using the preferred tool, select the area you want to mask. Then, use the editing sliders to make the local adjustments.

Tip

To add a new mask, select Add and then select your preferred Masking tool again in the Create new Mask panel. This way, you can use multiple tools in a single image and access them in an organized way.

The Masking Tools

AI-powered tools like Select Subject, Select Sky, and Select Background are the preferred masking tools for quick, precise selections, with Brush, Gradients, and range-based masks helping refine your edits. Use the following Masking tools to make a selection:

Brush

Select and drag the Brush tool over the areas you want to edit.

Use the icons on the left side of the screen to do the following:

Size - Specifies the diameter of the brush tip in pixels.
Feather - Creates a soft-edged transition between the brushed area and the surrounding pixels.
Flow - Controls the rate of application of the adjustment.

To make a more precise selection, use the Eraser tool on the left side of the screen to remove areas of the selection.

Linear Gradient

Drag the blue pin in the area you want to edit. This is useful to adjust a large portion of the photo with a gradually fading pattern that creates soft transitions.

Drag the blue pin at the center of the overlay to make a selection.
Select and rotate the outer gradient white line at the center to adjust the overlay's tilt (angle).
Select and drag either of the outer gradient white lines toward the edge of the photo to expand the effect at that end of the spectrum or drag toward the center of the photo to contract the effect at that end.
Use the Eraser tool to erase parts of the mask area.

Radial Gradient

Drag the blue pin to select areas of the photo you want to edit. This tool helps you make local adjustments inside or outside an oval shape. Use the Feather slider to determine how soft you want the adjustments to be.

To move and position the overlay on the photo, drag the blue pin to the center of the selection overlay.
To adjust the size and shape, drag the white pins.
To adjust the Feather of the radial selection overlay, drag the Feather control.
To apply the edits outside the radial selection overlay or invert the radial selection mask, select the Invert icon.

Color Range

Use this tool to sample color within the mask area. Do any of the following:

Select and drag an area around the colors in the photo that you want to adjust. You can use two modes to make this selection.
You can add multiple color samples using the Change Color option.
Adjust the Refine slider to narrow or broaden the range of selected colors.
Select Invert if you wish to invert the selection.
Select Delete to remove a Color Range mask.

Luminance Range

Select a point or area in the photo using this tool. All areas with the selected range of brightness will become a selection. This way, you can make precise adjustments to just those levels of brightness in a photo. To select a luminance range within the mask area, do any of the following:

Define the luminance range using the Select Luminance slider. You can use two modes to make the selection.
Select Change Luminance in the corresponding control to change the luminance range.
If you wish to invert the selection, select Invert.
Select Delete to remove the luminance range mask.

Depth Range

This tool is enabled only for photos containing depth information. Use this tool to select areas based on their distance from the camera. To select a depth range to adjust, do any of the following:

Drag on the photo to define depth by area, or use the Select Depth slider to adjust depth manually.
Select Change Depth to redefine the selection.
Select Invert if you wish to invert a tool.
Select Delete to remove the mask.

Select Subject

Select Subject automatically detects the most prominent subject (people, animals, and foreground objects) in the photo, helping you to make adjustments more precisely than ever. Follow these steps to select the subject in a photo:

Open a photo in Lightroom on mobile and select Masking .
Select Add > Select Subject. Lightroom will run an analysis and automatically select the most prominent subject.

Automatically select the subject in a photo
To refine the mask, select Add or Subtract. Use the editing sliders to make Local adjustments.

Select Sky

If you wish to automatically select the sky in a photo and make specific adjustments to it, select Select Sky. Here's how you can create a mask using Select Sky:

Open a photo in Lightroom on mobile and select Masking .
Select Add > Select Sky. Lightroom will run an analysis and automatically select the most prominent subject.

Automatically select the sky in a photo.
To refine the mask, select Add or Subtract. Use the editing sliders to make Local adjustments.

Select Background

Select background automatically detects the background like sky, mountains and other objects in the background of the photo, you can then make adjustments to make your subject or foreground shine. Follow these steps to select the background in a photo:

Open a photo in Lightroom on mobile and select Masking .
Select Add > Select Background. Lightroom will run an analysis and automatically select the background.
To refine the mask, select Add or Subtract. Use the editing sliders to make Local adjustments.

Manage Mask

Once you’ve created a mask, you can easily add to or subtract from it, invert it, rename it, and edit the overlay to keep your adjustments organized and precise.

Add to mask

To add to an already existing Mask 1, select Add and select Add to "Mask 1".
Select one of the masking tools to add the new mask.

Subtract from mask

To subtract from an already existing Mask 1, select Subtract and select Subtract from "Mask 1".
Select one of the masking tools to remove or refine areas of the new mask.

Rename a mask

Long-press the mask you want to rename.
Select Rename from the menu.
Enter the name of the mask and select OK.

Invert a Mask

In the masks panel, long-press the mask that you want to invert. Select Invert Mask in the menu. All the masking components in that mask will be inverted.
You can also select Duplicate and Invert mask to create an inverse copy in the masks panel.

Invert a selection

If you wish to select everything in a photo except the initial selection, select the selection and select the Invert icon in the left panel.

Edit Mask Overlay

You can easily edit the color of the mask overlay using the following steps:

In the Masking panel, select More .
Change the overlay color from the default red to either blue or green by selecting the desired Color option.
You can also choose from several overlay modes, such as Color overlay on B&W, Photo on B&W, and more, when you select the Mode menu.

Local Adjustments

To make local adjustments to your photo, select the adjustment you want from the Edits panel.

Light

Exposure - Sets the overall image brightness. Applying an Exposure local correction can achieve results similar to traditional dodging and burning
Contrast - Adjusts image contrast, mainly affecting mid-tones
Highlights - Recovers detail in overexposed highlight areas of an image
Shadows - Recovers detail in underexposed shadow areas of an image
Whites - Adjusts the white points in a photo
Blacks - Adjusts the black points in a photo

Color

Temp - Adjusts the color temperature of an area of the image, making it warmer or cooler. A graduated filter temperature effect can improve images captured under mixed lighting conditions.
Tint - Compensates for a green or magenta color cast
Saturation - Adjusts the vividness of the color
Hue - Adjusts the hue in a photo. Select Use Fine Adjustment for precise adjustments.
Color - Applies a tint to the area affected by the local correction. Select the hue by dragging the Color swatch. The Color effect is preserved if you convert the photo to black and white.

Effects

Texture - Smoothens or accentuates textured details in your photo. Move the slider to the left to smoothen details; move it to the right to accentuate details. When you adjust the Texture slider, the color or tonality does not change.
Clarity - Adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast
Dehaze - Reduces or increases existing haze in a photo

Detail

Noise - Reduces luminance noise, which can become apparent when shadow areas are opened
Sharpness - Enhances edge definition to bring out details in the photo. A negative value blurs details

Optics

Moiré - Removes moiré artifacts or color aliasing
Defringe - Removes fringe colors along edges

iOS Devices compatible with features like Select Subject and Select Sky

Available on iOS devices with RAM capacity of 4 GB or more:

iPhone XS/XS MAX and newer (excluding iPhone XR & SE2)
iPad 10th Gen and newer
iPad Air 4th Gen and newer
iPad Mini 6th Gen and newer
iPad Pro 2nd Gen and newer

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