Apply Masking for local adjustments

Last updated on 24 Apr 2025 | Also applies to Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Photoshop

Masking offers a variety of local adjustment tools in an organized panel. These tools help you make precise color or luminance range adjustments and edit specific areas in a photo with maximum creative control.

You can also access AI-powered masks, which help you automatically select specific components in a photo and quickly adjust to that part.

The Masking workspace

Select Masking in the right-hand toolbar to access the Masking tools. Create a mask to edit specific parts of a photo such as the main subject, the sky, a car, a tree, etc.

Types of Masks

Automatically select the subject

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select Subject.
Camera Raw runs an analysis and automatically selects the subject for you.

The selected area is shown as a red overlay, by default
To refine the mask, select Add or Subtract.
Use the editing sliders on the right to make the desired local adjustments.

For details, see Local adjustments.

Automatically select the sky

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select Sky.
Camera Raw runs an analysis and automatically selects the sky for you.

Camera Raw automatically detects and selects the sky
To refine the mask, select Add or Subtract.
Use the editing sliders on the right to make the desired local adjustments.

To know more, see Local adjustments.

Automatically select the background

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select Subject.
Adobe Camera Raw will run an analysis and automatically select the background for you. You can view the selection as an overlay (red, by default) and a mask is created in the Masks panel.
Select the mask in the Masks panel. Select Add to add areas to the selection or Subtract to erase areas of the automatic selection. You can use any of the masking tools to do this.
Once you're happy with the selection, use the editing sliders on the right to make local adjustments.

Automatically select landscape in your photo

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select Landscape.
Adobe Camera Raw will run an analysis and automatically select the landscape for you. Select the desired landscape feature from the Landscape Mask Options and Create.

Landscape masking options are highlighted.
Select the mask in the Masks panel. Select Add to add areas to the selection or Subtract to erase areas of the automatic selection. You can use any of the masking tools to do this.
Use the editing sliders in the right panel to make adjustments to the selection.

Automatically select objects in your photo

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select Subject.
Do one of the following to make a selection:
- Brush: Roughly brush over the object you want to select.
- Rectangle Select: Make a box over the object you want to select.
Adobe Camera Raw will analyze the object based on your selection and automatically create a mask.
Select the mask in the Masks panel. Select Add to add areas to the selection or Subtract to erase areas of the automatic selection. You can use any of the masking tools to do this.
Use the editing sliders in the right panel to make adjustments to the selection.

Automatically select people in your photo

Open the photo you want to edit in the Masking panel, and under Create New Mask, select People.
Adobe Camera Raw automatically detects all the people in the photo. You can select the person in the photo that you want to make adjustments to.
You can select specific parts of the body like hair, skin, teeth, etc, and enhance only the selected parts.

New people masks in the Masking panel.
Select the Masks panel. Select Add and/or Subtract masks if you wish to add more or subtract from the mask.
Use the editing sliders in the right panel to make adjustments to the selection.

Brush mask

Select and drag the Brush tool over the areas you want to edit. You can specify the following:

Size Specifies the diameter of the brush tip in pixels.
Feather Creates a soft-edged transition between the brushed area and surrounding pixels. The distance between the inner and outer circle is the Feather amount in the Brush cursor.
Flow Controls the rate of application of the adjustment.
Density Controls the amount of transparency in the stroke.

You can also select Auto Mask to confine the Brush strokes to areas of similar color. Additionally, you can preview and change the brush size on-screen and make adjustments if desired.

Linear Gradient Mask

Select and drag the tool into the area you want to edit. This is useful for adjusting a large portion of the photo with a gradually fading pattern that creates soft transitions.

Radial Gradient

Select and drag the tool into the area 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.

Range Masks

Color Range

Use this tool to accurately select a color in your photo that you want to edit:

You can adjust the color(s) in the photo by clicking a point or clicking+dragging an area around it.
Shift+click to add multiple color samples. You can add up to five color samples by holding Shift while clicking on the image. To remove a color sample, press Option (macOS)/Alt (Windows) and click the sample.
Adjust the Refine slider to narrow or broaden the range of selected colors.

Color Range in Masking — Use the Color Range tool to make adjustments to a specific color or a range of colors

Note:

To refine a mask and limit its effect to a color or range of colors: Select the mask, hold down the Shift key and click the Intersect button that replaces Add and Subtract. Then select Color Range and click the desired color in the photo.

Luminance Range

Use this tool to accurately select a brightness range in your photo that you want to edit. To select a luminance range, do any of the following:

You can adjust the brightness value of that part of the photo by clicking a point or clicking + dragging an area around it.
Click + drag an area in the photo to select a range of brightness values.
Adjust the Select Luminance slider for precise control of the selected brightness range.

Select Show Luminance Map to view the luminance information of an image in a black-and-white representation. The red color shows the area that is selected by the chosen depth range.

Depth Range

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

Adjust the Select Depth slider.
Click + drag an area in the photo.

Select Show Depth Map to view the depth of the image in a black and white representation. The part of the photo in white represents the foreground, while the part of the photo in black represents the background. The red color shows the area that is selected by the chosen depth range.

Create a mask

Open the photo and select Masking from the right-hand toolbar.
Select the desired Masking tool and create a mask. In the Masking panel, a default Mask 1 is created. Select the three-dot icon next to the mask and select Rename to rename this mask.
To make local adjustments, use the editing sliders in the right panel. For more about these sliders, see Local Adjustments.

You can save the local adjustments as a preset in the Preset drop-down menu and modify the intensity using the Amount slider.
To add a new mask, select Create New Mask and select the tool you want. This allows you to add and access different masks in the same photo.
In the Masking panel, you can also do the following:
- Select the three-dot icon next to the mask to view More options. You can find options to rename, intersect mask, duplicate, hide, or delete the mask. Intersect Mask With creates a new component in the current mask that intersects with other components.
- Long-press the eye icon next to the mask name to temporarily hide a mask. Long-press the eye icon next to Create New Mask to temporarily hide all the masks. You can also choose to hide a mask by deselecting the eye icon.
- De-select Show Overlay to hide the overlay.
- To change the overlay's color, select the red radio button next to Show Overlay and select the desired color. You can also select the three-dot icon to view various preset overlay options, such as Color Overlay on B&W, Image on B&W, White on Black, and more.
- Drag the floating Masking panel into the right panel as an alternative layout.
To remove or delete a mask, select the mask > Delete.

Add to a mask

Once you have created a mask, you can add masking tools to further refine it.

To use other masking tools to extend the effect of a mask, select Add below the selected mask.
Select a masking tool and use it to add to the mask.

Subtract from a mask

Once you have created a mask, you can remove areas in the mask using the masking tools.

To remove areas of the existing mask, select Subtract under the mask.
Select a masking tool and use it to subtract from the mask. This will create a new Subtract component in the selected mask.

Rename a mask or mask component

In the Masking panel, do one of the following:
- Select the three-dot icon next to the mask or mask component.
- Right-click the mask or mask component.
Select Rename from the menu.
Enter a new name and select Enter.

Invert a mask

Open the photo you want to edit.
In the right panel, select Masking > Create New Mask > Select Subject.
The subject is automatically selected. You can view the mask as a red overlay, and a mask is created in the Masking panel.
To refine the mask, select Add to add further areas or Subtract to erase areas of the mask. You can use any of the masking tools to do this.

Add or Subtract from a mask
To invert the mask, select Invert Mask from the three-dot menu of the selected mask. This will select everything else except the subject. You can also select Duplicate and Invert Mask to duplicate and invert the selected mask.
Once you're happy with the mask, use the editing sliders in the right panel to make local adjustments.

Note:

You can also invert a component of the mask. To do this, press X or select Invert from the three-dot menu.

Change the overlay color

You can easily change the default red overlay color to a custom color or choose from a range of preset options:

Select the default red radio button next to Show Overlay in the Masking panel.

Click the red radio button to change the overlay color
In the Mask Overlay Color dialog box, select a color of your choice. Use the Brightness and Opacity sliders to adjust the color. You can also select Unaffected Areas to accurately view the areas that are not part of the mask.

Pick a color for the mask overlay
Select the three-dot icon next to the color radio button to access overlay preset options such as Color Overlay on B&W, Image on B&W, Image on Black, Image on White, and White on Black.

More overlay settings

Access these options when you select the three-dot icon next to Show overlay:

Automatic Toggle Overlay: The overlay will automatically turn on or off based on whether any adjustments have been applied to the selected mask.
Show Unselected Mask Pins Select this option to show pins for masks not selected on the photo.
Show Pins and Tools - Deselect this to not show pins and tool icons on the photo.

Local adjustment sliders

Use the following sliders to make the desired local adjustments to your mask:

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 midtones

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

Curves

Curves give greater control over tonal range and contrast in a photo.

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 in mixed-lighting conditions.

Tint

Compensates for a green or magenta color cast

Hue

Adjusts the hue in a photo. Select Use Fine Adjustment for precise adjustments.

Saturation

Adjusts the vividness of the color

Color

Applies a tint to the area. Select the hue by using the Color swatch. The effect is preserved if you convert the photo to black and white.

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

Grain

Removes noise from images and adds more texture.

Sharpness

Enhances edge definition to bring out details in the photo. A negative value blurs details.

Noise Reduction

Reduces luminance noise, which can become apparent when shadow areas are opened.

Moiré Reduction

Removes moiré artifacts, or color aliasing

Defringe

Removes fringe colors along edges

Get help faster and easier

New user?