Three years ago, near the start of the pandemic, my photography ground to a halt. There’s still a gap in my Lightroom catalog where May and June 2020 should be. I’m glad that my break was temporary, but it crystalized to me that there’s more to being a good photographer than just pressing the shutter button at the right time.

Photoshop’s Luminosity Masks and Blend-in tools are similar and often used to accomplish the same tasks, and photographers often confuse the two methods and wonder when they should use one over the other. The quick tutorial below answers that question so you can make the right choice when editing your work.

Nino Batista is a photo-retouching expert and popular instructor with an avid following on his YouTube channel. In barely six minutes he clears up all the confusion between these two powerful tools, discusses their differences, and explains how and when to use them.

Batista illustrates that both easy-to-use tools may provide the same results with his outdoor image of a pretty model. So why does it matter which one you use? You’ll see that Blend-If offers more flexibility and control with some tasks than does a Luminosity Mask—but that doesn’t means it’s always the superior method.

According to Batista, here’s the difference: A Luminosity Mask involves “tangible pixels” and this approach is a “destructive” method; i.e. if you make a mistake you don’t get a do-over. By comparison, he says, “Blend-If is just an instruction with a set of parameters, not actual tangible raster data, that tells Photoshop to do something.”

He further explains that the Blend-If tool works by “paying attention to the luminosity of the underlying layer and applies the layer in question to that luminosity.” That’s quite a mouthful, but what does it actually mean in practical terms?

Put another way, when you put a Curves (or any other exposure modification) layer under the Blend-If layer, for example, this is what happens: “When I brighten and/or darken I change the range because the Blend-If instructions are telling that layer to match the parameters.” Conversely, if you put the same Curves adjustment below a Luminosity Mask the range that you set doesn’t change when you brighten or darken.

All this will makes far more sense when you’re watching the video and observing Batista illustrate the difference. Bottom line: Neither of these tools is better than the other. It’s all about the task at hand and understanding the limitations involved.

There’s much more to see and learn on Batista’s popular YouTube channel, so make sure to pay a visit.

We also suggest you watch another editing tutorial we posted, explaining what one expert says is “the best effects plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom.”

There’s nothing wrong with being a beginner because, let’s face it, all great photographers have been there. But here’s the deal: You needn’t make unavoidable mistakes that prove your novice status to the world.

The intent of the video below is to reveal a handful of common beginner errors and explain how to avoid them. The pro tips you’ll learn in barely 13 minutes will accelerate your learning curve and improve your imagery by leaps and bounds.

Instructor Joshua Peg is an accomplished outdoor photographer, who says one of his goals is “to share my passion with others in an engaging, straightforward way.” And best yet, he does so with tutorials that don’t require the latest and greatest gear.

Peg begins with this blunt statement that likely contradicts what you’ve heard in the past: “Don’t shoot in Manual mode.” What? Conventional wisdom is that switching the mode dial to M when first starting out is the best way to learn how a camera works and understand the interaction between various settings.

According to Peg there are several good reasons for letting your camera to the heavy lifting at the onset of your evolution. He explains why using easy automated modes is nothing to be ashamed of, and will keep you from making a bunch of bad photos early on that may destroy your confidence. In his mind, the time by switch to Manual is after you’ve made some progress.

Another mistake that Pegs says he sees all the time is waiting for perfect conditions. This one is controversial too because we frequently preach the importance of patience and waiting for the right light. While this tactic delivers optimum results for intermediate and advanced shooters, Peg explains why it can be counter-productive for beginners.

Another potential danger for those getting started is paying too much attention to social media trends. In other words, ignore what’s cool at the moment. Peg puts it like this: “If you’re constantly chasing a trend, rather than what fills you creatively, it’s really easy to get burned out.”

The other tips provided by Peg are equally powerful, understandable, and easy to put in practice and are sure to set you on the right path for becoming s better photographer and making images that prove it.

There’s more great advice on Peg’s instructional YouTube channel, especially for landscape, nature, and wildlife photographers. So make it a point to pay a visit.

And speaking of tips for novices, don’t miss the earlier tutorial we posted with a complete beginner’s guide to using Layer Masks in Photoshop.

Yesterday I was walking with my camera through the beautiful Krkonose mountains on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. Even the rain could not take away their beauty. I used one of the smallest Nikon Z-mount lenses available to photograph one of Europe’s largest rivers, the Elbe. Specifically, my lens was the new 27mm f/2.8 from TTArtisan, which you can read about below. I will be reviewing the lens soon.