Photoshop tutorial - Make Skies POP with Luminosity Masks

[@AlanFullmer]

Hi Greg, one of the best easy to understand luminosity mask tutorials I've come across. Between you and Jimmy McIntyre, I've finally understood it. Thank you.

[@donaldnewton4947]

That's awesome! I have never seen anyone use a group with one layer and a mask the way you did in this tutorial. That's a great technique.

[@rtsizemore]

Incredibly well done! You really are an exceptional teacher and using an exceptional tool!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks, Tom!

[@PeterRShawTube]

Great video! Among all the great content, I really loved (and learned a lot from) the explanation of engineering the curves adjustment to be very steep, within the narrow histogram selected by the mask. Good stuff!

[@Danman4u2]

Agree, that helped me understand what to look out for.

[@TravisRhoads]

Probably the most clear explanation of Luminosity masks I have found. Thanks Greg Benz.

[@desotopete]

This tutorial tide a lot of things together for me. Stopped and started the video and followed along on a picture in ps cc 2014. Thanks.

[@smedz28]

Best tutorial I have seen yet on luminosity masks and how to actually use them

[@somerslea]

My favourite tutorial, looking forward to exploring more tutorials now I have subscribed.

[@scotie690]

Keep doing that great work Greg. My PS6 workflow really improved with your tutorials and FREE luminosity masks. Thanks so much!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad it's helping!

[@bradlarsen1665]

Thanks for the quick reply! This is my second day attempting to better understand photoshop. Thank you for the Luminosity masks and the KZbin tutorials.

[@gregbenzphotography]

You bet!

[@richiejohns2288]

Excellent tutorial Greg, downloaded your luminosity mask and used them for the first time, works a treat. Thanks so much.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Glad to hear it!

[@GaryMaddockGreene]

That's terrific work Greg. Thank you for taking the time to explain. Really useful.

[@rbrookefox]

The tut and actions seem a very nice and generous share. I have done lots of PS editing without 'knowing' it was what is termed LM editing, and that does not matter one nit, of course. What matters is that my selections were always done from scratch, and the actions you provide make the selection and masking process a lot easier. Many thanks.

[@olliepaterson6665]

Top notch teaching and technique. Thanks a bunch. I've been trying to wrap my head around adjustment layers and you have helped so much. thanks!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Glad it helped!

[@olliepaterson6665]

@@gregbenzphotography buying Lumenzia today. I've struggled with a similar program/panel. too complicated and not well explained. should of got lumenzia first. oh well.

[@erichvaughanburton5914]

Thank you Greg. Great video and voice for communicating. Thank you as well for the action you programmed to creates all the luminosity masks which spares the rest of us the tedious task of making them. I just learned about luminosity masks tonight and I'm gald I researched further and came across your excellent tutorial to further my understanding. Eric

[@AlanRobertsarchitect]

Thanks Greg for your very helpful and well explained and illustrated tutorials. It is very kind of you to do this to help those of us who are learning Photoshop.

[@billallsopp9279]

Thanks for this free app. I have used it once so far but will definitely be using it again!

[@nomadasan]

Thanks for; share your actions, the crystal clear video, the step by step even the short cuts!! You got a new fan and follower!!

[@Sxhwarz]

Very good tutorial, Greg! Always enjoy your work.

[@latefa21]

incredibly well explained, thank you

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks.

[@hendrikfuchs9233]

Great Stuff ! The content itself is very good and the technical work of this vid also. Thx a lot for sharing

[@sueshepherd8120]

Greg you have opened up a whole new world for me I wondered I am very much a write things down person so I can follow step by step I love you free masks very generous of you but how to work them is the next question wondered if you had some written instructions thank you thank you

[@gregbenzphotography]

I have many written tutorials on my blog. Click the tutorials button in the panel to get to the main page. Any particular questions you have?

[@timgrist9649]

Great tutorial.! Thanks for uploading.!

[@ajtafft]

Thanks mate, that makes it all so much easier to understand

[@Geers7Omoorstay]

Greg, Nice, clean and easy-to-replicate work. Just a hint, from the creation of your masks it seems that your Photoshop setting, in Edit channel options for new channel or in Quick mask options, has selected "Selected Areas" option instead of the regular "Masked Areas" option.

[@lucasscott1247]

great tutorial , thank you for this , very easy to follow

[@brettharris626]

Gee i really need to get with the times, i know very little of photoshop. more a big user of Lightroom. So much to learn not just techniques but the tools and masking etc, before i can do anything in photoshop. Great work. 👍

[@QuanahZimmerman]

Great tutorial. And thank you for sharing your actions !

[@BrianPex]

Great video by the way. I have a new IMac retina and use a magic pad. I cannot imagine using a mouse. The Wacom tablet is next. Amazing tool.

[@441greenleaf]

you just made me jump 1 level up on my post editing skills :))) Loves and respect from Turkey

[@scottabergermd]

Fantastic tutorial. Action do work in photoshop cc. Amazing!

[@stuartbaines2843]

Neat Group mask idea Thanks 😀

[@felixmooneeram5919]

Thanks! Really clearly explained

[@sayedmohdsalman]

Very well explained, thank you. Could be little quick.

[@brucehyman]

i would like to know why i couldnt achieve a comparable result with a tailored curve adjustment layer to the entire image. this is not meant to be negative about masking - it''s more a defense of how i used to do things, and i dont want to abandon something unless the alternative is demonstrably better.

[@gregbenzphotography]

They are actually very complimentary. An adjustment such as a curve determines HOW pixels will be transformed. A luminosity mask determines WHICH pixels will be transformed and how much. A luminosity mask or selection's only purpose is to help give you control of some other adjustment you make to the image. They don't do anything on their own.

[@antonys8467]

great tutorial sir! thanks

[@MegaDwilkinson]

outstanding instruction - thank you

[@alvaromercado4106]

great job my friend! Thanks!

[@rogerbeltz2370]

Excellent tutorial. Very thorough and to the point. BTW - do you know if your luminosity masking actions set would work on PS CS4? Thanks much.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Hi Roger Beltz - I would expect the actions (and perhaps the panel work), but I haven't tested in anything older than Photoshop CS6. If you try it, please let me know what you see!

[@rogerbeltz2370]

Thanks Greg. Will do.

[@rogerbeltz2370]

@ Greg Benz I just downloaded your luminosity masking actions and have experimented around a bit - these are great! Having these available will save me a lot of time in my work flow. BTW- this action set works fine in Photoshop CS4. Now one more (stupid) question. How in the heck would I insert your picture icon in this text? Thanks much, Greg.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks for validating that!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Not sure I understand your question. Are you trying to send an image? Could try me on Google+...

[@StormSignal]

In KZbin you use +(person's name) instead of @ and done :-)

[@rogerbeltz2370]

StormSignal I must be You Tube deficient but this isn't working for me....???

[@StormSignal]

.

[@gsfxmentor]

Thank you for this tutorial

[@rogerbeltz2370]

In the process of buying a new iMac, I somehow lost your excellent Luminosity Masks Actions. Being that I am still using an old version of PS (CS4) I was wondering if this older Action set might still be available on your web site. When I go to you web site, it appears that it isn't but just asking. Thanks.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Yes, should work fine. It's in the ZIP file when you download the panel. Email me and I'll set you up if you don't still have the welcome newsletter. You can also get it from the bottom of the latest newsletter.

[@rogerbeltz2370]

+Greg Benz Appreciate the quick answer Greg but unless I'm missing something I do not find an option to download your luminosity mask action set. Here is where I am looking - gregbenzphotography.com/newsletter/ Is this your current email address < [e-mail] >? I might have unsubscribed to your newsletters because most everything you are currently talking about pertains to Adobe CC which I don't have.

[@gregbenzphotography]

+Roger Beltz that's the link to sign up. Once you subscribe and click to confirm, the link is sent. What's your email?

[@gregbenzphotography]

Roger Beltz By the way, nearly all my content can be used on CS6, even if I'm showing CC. Even my recent video on Path Blur shows a lot of tips that apply with the more limited blur options in CS6.

[@Willie_C.]

Thanks for the great tutorials!

[@normancoffey7734]

Greg my name is Norman Coffey would this work in Photoshop elements 10 ? I tried to follow you but 10don't have an action tab. So what do I do ?

[@AnVoPhotography]

Excellent tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing. New subscriber here :)

[@NigelWatts]

Great tutorial Greg. I am having difficulty getting the plug in to work. The Action installed OK and I placed the free-masks folder into the Filter folder under Plug-ins. Is it compatible with Photoshop CC 2014? Thanks.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Hi Nigel Watts - Yes, it works with CC and CC2014. However, it is an extension panel, not a plugin. You don't manually copy it to any folder, you install it with the CC extension manager program (free from Adobe). See the readme file that came with the installer for more info.

[@NigelWatts]

Thanks for the help Greg. CC extension manager sorted it out.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Glad to hear you've got it up and running!

[@mpsinghphotography1]

Hi Greg. Thanks for the tutorial. However the link for the action is not working

[@gregbenzphotography]

The link is automatically emailed out to anyone who subscribes to my newsletter, which you can do here: gregbenzphotography.com/newsletter/

[@bradlarsen1665]

Why not lower the highlights to help bring the detail in the sky?

[@gregbenzphotography]

More control with a luminosity mask. Some images fine with just RAW adjustments, but many can be much better with the fine control.

[@cosimorucellai1592]

Thanks

[@gingerific39]

Question... how is it effective if I have to paint in the end anyways? I'm trying to avoid the painting parts.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Goal here isn't a "do it all button". Goal is something that is high quality (admittedly I didn't finish the detail here and would do more detail work to complete the image) and non-destructive. If you use selective color layers in photoshop, you aren't getting precision (can specify which shade of "red" for example). If you use the other color replacement tools, you are making a destructive change (so you can't easily refine issues later, and not so easy to change the colors of you want to tweak further). A little painting in the end is actually a faster and easier process for many color replacement jobs, in my opinion.

[@gingerific39]

Interesting. It seems that there are multiple ways to achieve a desired result and I need to learn the ones that fit the image and my captured exposure properly

[@gingerific39]

It is intriguing that painting is involved, but it makes sense in your application of it. I shall watch more. Thanks for putting then up!

[@gregbenzphotography]

+Matthew Parent oh, sorry! Replying on my phone and thought you were commenting on a new vid I posted on replacing color... Let me try again. This also comes back to being non-destructive and precise, but has nothing to do with color replacement. And yes, there are many ways. Luminosity masks are hard, really hard, to grasp at first. But once you understand them, they are amazing.

[@vladepast4936]

awesome!

[@srinivasaraju7697]

why the links are not working? its saying that the websites ip has been changed.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thank you for alerting me to this. I have just fixed the issue. Please try now. May need to clear cache or hold while reloading (you'll still see the issue if you're running from the cached version).

[@21Gannu]

is that place sunset cliff?

[@gregbenzphotography]

Yep!

[@21Gannu]

+Greg Benz been there multiple time but my shot doesnt look like that good

[@TERRAMOUNT]

amazing stuff :)

[@gregbenzphotography]

Norman Coffey I haven't tested the actions with Photoshop Elements, I don't know if that will work. However, this article may help you: graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/qt/actions.htm. If you get it to work in PSE, please let me know!

[@Argyll9846]

Links on your website are not working when you register your email.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks for the heads up. I have hundreds of links on hundreds of pages. Could you point me to the particular one that isn't working? Note that there is a MailChimp backup link on my newsletter site if that's what you need: gregbenzphotography.com/newsletter/

[@Argyll9846]

They don't seem to be working on gregbenzphotography.com/luminosity-masking-tutorial/ I filled in the detail and click 'Lets do it' and...... nothing!

[@gregbenzphotography]

+Nicholas Fox thanks, I'll check into that. What browser are you using? Were you able to sign up via the other link I provided?

[@Argyll9846]

Yes I registered on that one.

[@marnienorris]

Thank u

[@rudeboymendo]

Wow, so the maching ants really don't show a true representative of what gets masked? I think I've been relying too much on trying to have the ants around the objects I want to effect or hide with using luminosity. Thanks for the video!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Yep. They just show you the boundary between what is >50% selected and what is

[@rudeboymendo]

Yeah I was trying to paint over luminosity masks, wanting the selections to keep me within that area. This video and your explanation really helped me wrap my head around how I was misusing them, and how I can use them more effectively going forward. Thank you very much!

[@BrianPex]

Why is it important to have your selections reversed? I mean when I create a lumonosity mask the dark areas are masked and the white or lighter are shown.... Hmmmm

[@Druffi]

I have no idea why your channels show the masks inverted and then flip them around afterwards. It's certainly not the case in my version of photoshop!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Try double clicking on the thumbnail of a channel you create to open the "channel options" dialogue. Make sure "masked areas" is selected. Delete the masks, and re-create them. They should be inverted now.

[@BrianPex]

Druffi I don't get this either. Why is it important to change it from the default way?? I have seen other luminosity tutorials and this isn't the case. And how are people not picking up on this if using these??

[@gregbenzphotography]

Brian Peixinho I recommend not changing from the default. I accidentally had it switched when I recorded this video (my other videos show the way I primarily work).

[@BrianPex]

***** THANK YOU! I am fairly new to this and hearing that makes me realize I wasn't missing something! THANKS! Great videos BTW

[@FaizUllah-oi4ww]

Hy sir how are you

[@dreadchampion5840]

tutorial starts at 4:00, and then does not show you how to create mask.

[@wake4law]

explain how to do the thing that is in the title of your video rather than make us go to your website to download the action

[@gregbenzphotography]

I have other videos that show how to create masks without actions, but it is laborious and totally unnecessary. Actions and panels are much better.

[@karthickm1940]

WewV

[@carnkiecameraclub8497]

Good - but please just get on with it and don't waffle as much - almost 5mins into the video before anything happens

[@netzhaut6494]

The first luminosity masks video not showing how to create a luminisoty mask. Waste of time.

[@gregbenzphotography]

+Tschännel I have many other videos that show that.

[@alvaromercado4106]

great job my friend! Thanks!

[@Robertobinetti70]

Thanks

[@PieterHanja]

thanks