A solid understanding of how to employ Masks is essential if you want post-processing results that are the best they can be. These easy-to-use tools enable you to make selective adjustments to specific parts of an image and achieve optimum color, exposure and balance.

But here’s the catch: There’s a common mistake made by users of new AI Masking tools that can really compromise your efforts. Fortunately there’s a solution to what today’s instructor calls “the #1 mistake you’re making with Lightroom AI masking,” and that’s what you’ll learn how to resolve in the nine-minute tutorial below.

Chris Parker is a professional landscape and wildlife photographer and very adept instructor based in Jacksonville, FL. He kicks off today’s episode like this: “If you’re relying 100% on Lightroom’s AI masking, then the quality of your images is not as good as it could be. In fact, if you don’t fix this mistake from the beginning, the rest of your edits will be more difficult.” This warning grabbed your attention in a hurry, right?

Parker pulls up a selection of landscape images, all with similar problems, and then provides what he insists is “the quickest and fastest way to fix them.” His first example is a nice landscape image Parker made in Arizona’s beautiful Superstition mountains. He already made the necessary global adjustments to the original file, before jumping into masking for some very important selective enhancements.

As you’ll see, he applied both an AI Sky Mask and Landscape Mask to further enhance the shot, and at first glance everything looks great. But watch what becomes apparent as he zooms in on the photo and examines details along the edges. In short, the result is a big disappointment. One problem is that the AI Sky Mask selected more than the sky: namely, the top of a prominent saguaro cactus rising above the foreground.

Parker’s other two images have different, but equally objectionable problems. He then provides a clear explanation of why all three photos are so disappointing thanks to a singular mistake when employing Lightroom’s AI Masking technique. The remainder of the lesson is a simple solution that’s very easy to achieve.

Once you’re done watching pay a visit to Parker’s instructional YouTube channel where there are many more post-processing tips and tricks to be found.

And be sure not to miss the earlier tutorial we posted from another expert with a three-minute beginners guide for mastering Tone Curve tools when editing photographs on the desktop, a tablet, or even with your phone.

OK, it’s time for some honest self-reflection if you’re not a fan of supplemental illumination: Do your avoid flash photography because you prefer the look of available-light imagery? Or are you under the misconception that it’s too difficult to do right?

If you’re like many photographers and fall into the latter category, this helpful beginners guide will allay your fears in barely 10 minutes so you can start using flash to improve the look of your photos today. The basic tips you’ll learn will prove very valuable for a variety of common tasks. A simple flash goes a long way to boosting the impact of macro images, filling in shadows in with environmental portraits, freezing action when shooting moving subjects, and much more.

Instructor Adrian Lard is an accomplished Texas-based pro who specializes in portraiture and wedding photography—two genres in which an affordable flash unit is an indispensable accessory. In this episode he demystifies flash settings and modes and explains how they interact with the way in which you configure the camera.

Lard describes today’s speedlight primer like this: “I’m going to dumb stuff down to make things easy to understand, because when I first started using flash I was freaking confused by the settings.” With that in mind he avoids unnecessary technical details and concentrates on practical applications. This way you can move on to more complex flash techniques once you’ve mastered the basics.

Using a speedlight’s Manual mode is the first topic of conversation. You’ll see how easy it is to take control and make flash settings yourself once you understand the various options. This is the approach Lard has always employed from his first days as a flash photographer. As he says, “You can’t always depend on your camera’s Auto settings and I feel the same way when it comes to flash.”

For photographers who are willing to give up some control to the flash, Lard explains the benefits of TTL mode and how to put them to work. He also describes Multimode flash for those who want to give this technique  try.

The lesson includes a variety of other simple but important tips, like modifying flash power and using what are known as flash Channels and Groups. He also demonstrates how a simple bounce card will often have a dramatic impact on your results.

So dig out that speedlight from the back of your cabinet, take a deep breath, and spend 10 minutes watching this lesson. We bet that by the time you’re done, your flash will no longer be hidden behind your daily gear.

There much more to learn on Lard’s instructional YouTube channel with its 26K enthusiastic subscribers, so be sure to pay a visit where you’ll find an abundance of helpful videos deigned for beginners.

And don’t miss the related tutorial we featured recently from a photographer with a unique niche who explains how she shoots sensuous boudoir photos without flash—using available light streaming through a window to achieve soft, even illumination.

We often turn to the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel for their latest tutorials that explain how to process landscape images for unique and compelling effects. Today’s episode from one of our favorite image-editing instructors demonstrates how to transform dull images by creating an awe-inspiring sunrise look in Lightroom Classic.

Cristian Mohrle is an acclaimed German photographer and educator whose processing workflow can be a real revelation. As always, he includes a link to his demonstration Raw File so that you can follow along while making the changes yourself.

Mohrle notes that “with contrast-rich scenes like this we first want to merge an HDR file so we can use the full potential of dynamic range.” As you see, all this takes are a couple quick clicks. Next Mohrle makes a few basic adjustments to prepare the uninspiring shoreline photo for the magic that follows.

These preliminary modifications begin by changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Landscape which immediately boosts base saturation. He then raises shadows and whites while dropping the blacks. Other global enhancements employ White Balance tools to restore warm sunrise tones as much as possible.

After a few more quick tweaks it’s now time for the meat of the tutorial that starts in Lightroom’s Masking panel. Mohrle employs Linear Gradients to adjust both the sky and the water in the foreground, as well as a Radial Gradient to add a small, subtle glow to the top left corner of the frame.

The image is now significantly improved and much closer to the sunrise appearance that Mohrle wants to achieve. He now boosts the effect further with judicious and straightforward color grading. He pulls up Lightroom’s Color Mixer to work on the Hue by slightly dropping the orange and yellow tones. Mohrle then turns to the Saturation tab and bring up reds and yellows, while further dropping the orange tones. He slightly increases the blues, and then uses the split-toning effect we explained yesterday to top off his color enhancements.

All that’s left to complete the amazing transformation is a bit of very careful sharpening. Check out Mohrle’s before/after image and you’ll be convinced that this technique is a winner. Then head over to his instructional YouTube channel for more powerful landscape editing and shooting techniques.

And don’t forget to watch the tutorial we mentioned above in which another accomplished pro demonstrates how to use  split-toning when editing outdoor photographs in Lightroom.