In basic terms, Luminosity masks are selections based upon the brightness (or darkness) of various portions of a scene. As you’ll see in the quick tutorial below, they enable you to discretely select the bright, dark, or midtone pixels in an image and then make whatever adjustments you desire.

If you’re tired of hearing photo purists claim that, “you’re not a real photographer unless you shoot in Manual,” join the club. That’s simply a lot of bunk, as numerous pros of all genres regularly shoot very effectively in Aperture or Shutter Priority modes.