Featured image is a screengrab from the video. All credit to WeEatTogether.
You likely have your opinions about Adobe’s handling of Lightroom and Lightroom CC, but those issues aside, some new features in Lightroom have really been a great additions. One of those features is the Range Mask tool, and part of what makes it so cool is that it allows you to adjust your mask based on the colors or luminance in your image.
This is an incredible tool for all photographers, but specifically for food photographers, this Range Mask tool is a gift from the heavens.
WeEatTogether posted a great video talking about the feature. WeEatTogether is an awesome YouTube channel dedicated to food photography and the processes and techniques that go into it. In this video today they go over the Range Mask tool and demonstrate why it is such a powerful tool for food photographers looking to take their imagery to another level. (The actual demo starts around the 5:00 mark)
As you can see in the video, if you are photographing food that has solid colors, like fruits or veggies, this can be an incredible tool to help you fine-tune the look of those items without having to painstakingly mask over each individual item like you may have had to do in the past. If you shoot with colorful plates or tablecloths, then this could also be used to help fine-tune how those look.
Is the mask perfect? No, But did you really expect it to be? Honestly, it is good enough, and after some fine tuning of the range slider then you can get it dialed in pretty well.
Can you see the benefits of this tool? Yeah, us too.