What I Am Working On: Using a Mask

There are times when I am editing that I would like to apply an edit to only a certain part of a photograph. This is a file I was working on where that happened:

ISO 400 f/8 1/20sec 55mm

I did a few standard edits first and then applied a Luminar look called Blue and White. While I mostly liked the look, I wanted to remove it from the sky. Using a mask I erased the look out of the sky. When you are doing something like this, most editing software has a mask button that will show where you are working. While I was editing mine looked like this:

Shows the mask in progress

Toggling that button on and off helped me get a sense of where I was working and it can also pretty easily show if I have missed a spot. While it is not a tool I always use, I do find that it is a handy one to have.  The final edit is this:

ISO 400 f/8 1/20sec 55mm

Feel free to leave a comment below about this edit. This photo is also a response to Lens-Artists Challenge, Treasure Hunt. The photo includes the following items on the “treasure hunt” list: a sunset, a boat, and two churches, Matthias and St. Mary Magdalene.

Cheers!