Quick Tip: Lightroom Auto Mask

Adobe Lightroom has a nice feature if you use the Adjustment Brush: the ‘Auto Mask’ option. Auto mask tries to keep within the boundaries of a certain color while you are painting. It constantly looks underneath the cross hairs of the brush to sample that color. This works fine with subjects with an even color, but if the subject is a bit blotchy, you run the risk of going over the edges because you are sampling the wrong color by mistake if you hit a blotch. Here’s a way of using Auto Mask in those situations: Set the brush size large enough so you cover both edges, and then click once on the object rather than paint over it. If necessary, repeat this in a different spot. It’s a lot easier to target the correct color if you click rather than brush. It’s a bit like filling an area with the Bucket Tool in Photoshop, rather than with a paint brush.