One of the Photoshop techniques I found most difficult to understand was luminosity masking. It belongs to the more advanced side of image editing, and it is not always explained in a way that makes the underlying idea easy to grasp.
What are luminosity masks?
Luminosity masks are selections based on the brightness values in an image. Instead of selecting an object by drawing around it or choosing a colour, you select pixels according to how bright or dark they are. You can then use those selections as layer masks to make adjustments to highlights, shadows or midtones independently.
This gives you much finer control over tonal adjustments. You can brighten selected shadows, reduce highlights or add contrast to particular tonal ranges while keeping the transitions relatively smooth. The technique is particularly useful in landscape photography and in scenes with a wide range of brightness.
To understand the technique properly, I recommend Greg Benz’s luminosity masking tutorial. It explains how to create the masks manually and also offers Photoshop actions that automate some of the repetitive steps.
The important thing is to understand what the mask is selecting. Do not apply adjustments simply because a mask is available. Use it to solve a specific tonal problem, and keep an eye on transitions and halos around high-contrast edges.
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