Earlier this week we featured an easy five-minute fix for poorly exposed photos using Layer Masks in Lightroom. But that simple task provided just a taste of what these powerful tools can do.

So in response to a couple requests from our readers, we’re taking a deeper dive today, with the complete beginners guide below that will enable inexperienced users to unlock the power of layer masks in Photoshop for a wide variety of purposes.

Instructor Unmesh Dinda is a globally acclaimed image-editing specialist with 4.5 million subscribers to his YouTube channel. In this detailed episode he describes how layer Masks work, when and how to use them, and provides real-world examples of just about everything they can do to enhance your photos.

Dinda begins with an unusual analogy comparing Photoshop Layer Masks to facial mask worn as part of a costume. Just as the latter are employed to hide the wearer’s identity, “the only purpose of an image-editing layer mask is to hide the layer. That’s it.”

To clarify this curious comparison Dinda pulls up a photo of a beautiful ballerina in motion, with some text that he want to move from in front of the subject to behind her. This is a very basic example, and he demonstrates how easy it is to achieve with a simple masking technique.

Of course there are far more practical uses of Layers Mask for photos shot indoors and out, and Dinda provides clear examples while explaining how to get the job done. He also discusses several advantages of these powerful tools, including their “non-destructive” abilities and compatibility with non-rasterized layers.

You’ll also learn how to turn these Masks on and off, how to link and unlink multiple Masks, easily create duplicate Masks, and a technique he calls “double masking.” He also reviews a few potential pitfalls like potential problems when copying Masks,

This comprehensive demonstration runs almost 30 minutes and Dinda covers a lot of ground in a hurry. So be sure to have pen and paper by your side to you can take a few notes for future reference.

This particular lesson is Part 4 of Dinda’s popular “Photoshop for Beginners” series, and you can find earlier episodes on his YouTube channel where there are a variety of other tips and tricks for editing your work.

And don’t forget to watch to watch the tutorial mentioned above, with a five-minute fix for poorly-exposed photos using Layer Masks in Lightroom.

Photo By Ross Stone

Congratulations to Ross Stone for winning the Go Wide Assignment with the image, “Black Mountain Pond.”

Be sure to check out our current photography assignment here and enter your best shots!

The post Go Wide Assignment Winner Ross Stone appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.

Many of use would love to pursue a career as a professional photographer, but lack the necessary skills, means, experience and gear to make that dream a reality. But that doesn’t mean we can’t aspire to create pro-quality images.

There’s no secret sauce, other than years of practice, knowledge and dedication, that will enable us to quit our day jobs, but the tutorial below offers a method for giving your images a more professional look with a little help from Lightroom.

Instructor David Johnston is an accomplished landscape pro who says, “My passion s to provide the best tips and tools to level up the success of your photography,” and the amazing Lightroom trick he demonstrates in this episode is a great place to begin.” He insists your photos will look better in minutes and save you tons of time.

The episode begins with a traditional landscape shot of a rather impressive scene, but the Raw file itself is rather uninspiring. That’s intentional, of course, because Johnston is a very adept photographer and his goal is to demonstrate a dramatic transformation that’s very easy to accomplish.

Johnston opens a Lightroom panel containing a number of Adjust Point tools, that “enable you to make fast edits without even knowing what you’re doing.” That sounds a bit weird until he explains how they work. He begins by selecting an Adjust Point for a Tone Curve and the magic begins.

As you’ll see, you can now hover over any part of the photo and make whatever adjustments you desire. So let’s say you want to bump up the highlights in a specific portion of the image. The task is immediately accomplished with a quick click and drag up. Similarly, if you want to darken the sky, clicking and dragging down will drop the sky tones for a more dramatic look.

As you’ll see, there are a bunch of other adjustments you can make with this surprising technique. For example, darkening a shadow area of the scene is accomplished with a click and another downward drag.

So what exactly is going on under the hood when using this method to adjust tones or colors? Johnston’s response is somewhat along the lines of  ”don’t sweat the small stuff; just do it!”

You can find more intriguing shooting and editing tips on Johnston’s YouTube channel, so pay a visit and see what he has to offer. We also suggest you watch an earlier tutorial we posted, explaining how fix poorly exposed photos with a five-minute Lightroom masking technique.

Right about now you’re probably saying to yourself, “No experienced landscape photographer would be out on the field shooting with a smartphone.” And with a few exceptions you’d be right—unless the camera’s battery died and there’s nary a spare in sight.

But the tutorial below from New Zealand-based landscape pro William Patino isn’t intended for accomplished landscape photographers, but rather for those who are out and about in the great outdoors without what some would call a “real” camera.

In less than five minutes Patino breaks down four essential pillars of landscape photography—finding the perfect location, creating captivating compositions, working with natural light, and editing the results. He does this in the context of unlocking the power of a smartphone to create “jaw-dropping” landscape images.

While Patino’s top tips won’t represent more than a quick refresher for advanced landscape shooters, they’ll be a revelation for most phone photographers. And the techniques he describes work equally well for iPhone and Android owners alike.

Location is everything when it comes to landscape photography, and Patino has several great tips for the uninitiated. As he says, it’s important to not just be in a scenic place, but to take time soaking up the surroundings and narrowing down that grand view into a smaller slice that makes a great photograph.

Similarly, when it comes to composition, Patino explains that, “First and foremost it’s important to narrow down your subject matter and base your composition around that.” He demonstrates several powerful techniques, including the use of leading lines to guide the viewer’s eyes through the image. A strong foreground object also really helps add depth to the shot.

Patino’s advice for using light to advantage is equally powerful, whether you’re shooting at Blue Hour in the morning, Golden Hour at the end of the day, or even when the sun is high in the sky. He wraps up the lesson with some simple tips for editing the images on your phone.

There’s much more to learn about landscape photography on Patino’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time.

And check out another tutorial we posted recently (for photographers using a camera), with several more tips for those new to landscape photography.