Not Even Adobe Knows My SECRET Lightroom Sky Selection Trick

Awesome.... Didn't realise this saved as a present actually creates the same quality mask on different images...❤

Thanks for the great video. However, I have a problem. I am using the latest version of Lightroom Classic. When I try to create a Preset I click on the Preset + button but the dialogue box called "Create Preset" never comes up. How do I get to this? Thanks in advance for your help.

You've taken the bar for teaching online and shot it to the moon. Well done. You think of everything and everywhere someone might stray off the teaching (i.e. making a preset mask with other settings in it by mistake) and make sure that we get it right. Awesome job on all your videos I've seen so far!!

The sky masking in Lr is great but, after using it for a while, I noticed the masks sometimes spilled over onto other elements of the photo. Thanks for sharing this masking technique, which is a drastic improvement over the default AND how to save it as a preset!

Brilliant!

Thank you! Any suggestions for removing halos you get on edges in LR?

Top 👍👍👍👍

Todd Dominey did a video about this technique about 2 or 3 months ago. Exactly the same technique. Still, great work around. More people need to share this. Like you said, hopefully Adobe pick up on this and improve the masking in future. Great video.

Plus tip: you can do the same trick over and over again if you are not satisfied with the first results ( the same sky mask + subtract + invert, then you repeat the Subtract sky and invert as many times as you need in the same mask)

In my testing of the technique, it is better than the basic 'select sky mask' that LR classic provides. But not perfect. My subject is a marina with boats, sail boats, flags in the mid ground and trees/foliage, buildings in the background. The standard mask clearly includes the boats down to water line in the middle area, as well as covering the trees to water in the background. The improved (Better Sky Mask) reduces the mask of the boats and water in the middle area, as well as removing the mask from the trees and water in the background; however, there is still some mask covering the sail boat masts that is above the tree line from my POV. Thanks for the tip to add this to my User Presets, I will definitely make use of this in other images. Smile!

Great Brian, many thanks for sharing this technique.
It also works to separate a subject from the background more accurately. 🙏🏽

Interesting technique. But I'm more bothered by the default Select Sky command failing to select parts of the sky between fine foliage, and I don't think your technique solves this problem.

works on LR classic too (the preset-section is on the left side in a panel, but can be saved/used as all other presets to set the mask on any picture)

Great video, can’t wait to try this

Help! Anthony Morganti directed me to your video. That trick is pretty cool. I wanted to do a preset like you showed but in my LRc 13.0 windows version there does not seem to be a preset panel to click on to view the steps that you did to create your mask preset. I did save your mask under "custom" but it only shows after I do the first mask and then select drop down on custom and select your mask but I don't see it applied by name or effect on photo. It just says mask 1 as the title.

Wow! Very helpful, learned so much – didn't know I could make mask presets. Thanks!

Nice idea but for me doesn't work if the foreground is similar color with the sky... In my case a clear pale sky over a snow-covered mountain, I have to manually adjust the mask anyway as the masks bleeding in both cases...

I think what you have done is equivalent to the old film technique of unsharp masking. This would have the effect of cancelling the lower frequency areas ... the bleeds into the tree branches.

Brilliant tutorial thanks! I even tried your method on portrait hair and eyes and it is so much better than the first pass with AI.

Could you do a sunset adjustments as my sun is either blown out or has a ring around out please

Fantastic tutorials
Thank you so much for sharing
🎉❤❤

Brilliant! thank you!

Thank you very much for the great video . I have always struggled to refine the mask with the brush. That is no longer necessary. Greetings from Germany. Thank you for showing on ipad too.

This is super cool and solves a major problem. But dude why are you using a BLUE mask when you’re trying to demonstrate sky selection??? 😂 Pick a color that isn’t already in the photo. Particularly for demonstration purposes.

Thanks for sharing this, Brian. I hadn't even realized how much the default sky mask was bleeding into the rest of my photos until I used your home brew.

I have seen this technique but not sure if it was you or someone who was inspired by you. The guy referred to someone.

1. Select sky
2. Subtract sky
3. Invert the selection

Someone how it works in dealing with bleed.

Does this method work in Photoshop also?

Thanks .

Can you create the preset directly on a ipad?

this seems similar to an old old version of LR that had "refine" mask in its controls. All this AI stuff these days seems to be what we used to do manually

When showing how to make a preset, you are in PS using the Camera Raw filter; right?

Interesting. Thanks !!! I seldom do landscape photography; mostly portraits. I tried to see if your trick would work on people masks, like Face Skin. I am trilled how the Face Skin mask bleeds over on eye lashes and other parts of the eye. Unfortunately, unless Adobe comes up with a primary Face Skin mask, there doesn't seem to be any way to subtract one Face Skin mask from another.

Thanks. If you Intersect mask with "select sky" works too. And save one step.

Just a quick follow up. I was able to save my own AI sky preset. :)

Brian, Great Trick! There still is a minor halo around the "non-sky," but it is minor.

However, I just discovered a trick upon your trick! If you wish to invert the "Better Sky" to mask everything else, I found the results very muddy. However, if I subtracted the (standard) sky, the new mask (of everything that's not sky) was great. And, this also can be saved as a Preset. I called mine "Better Sky Better invert."

I've never been into using Presets, but now I've got two I will use again and again. Thanks!!!

Hi Brian
I just purchased your AI preset back. Is there a way they can be applied to both color and black and white images. Also I can't seem to find the preset tab in Lightroom Classic. I have presets on the left side of Develop module but it doesn't look like your interface. Thanks.

In your LRc, the Masking, Spot Healing Brush, RedEye, Crop Tool and your Preset tool are set up vertically like how ACR shows from PS. The same toolbar is shown horizontally on my LRc and the Preset button is not showing up. How do I set it? Btw I tried your trick on two photos, both of which had a lot of tree encroaching in the sky and the technique worked really well! Great tip!

Thanks Brian. I have been using this sky subtract-inverse method for months. But my thanks go to you for the preset idea. Implemented and already have saved several minutes as I edit a balloon fiestival pics. Thanks again!!!

Great thx so much this certainly makes masking the sky a lot easier, can you use this for masking items?

Thankyou I have made the preset for both the sky and the inverted version for the landscapeand it works brilliantly.

very cool technique. I cannot implement the saving of the preset though as that icon you click on to save as a user preset does not exist for me. I am using Lightroom Classic on a Mac running 13.6.1, the Lightroom version 13.0.1 release. My panels on the right really don't look the same as your do at all. Would love to figure this out but so far I don't know what needs to be changed in my set up of Lightroom to be able to save this technique as a user preset.

Help please.


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Thank you for sharing an excellent technique!!!! Nothing is perfect, but another tool in the sky selection box.

Amazing! And spreding very fast!

Super Brian!!
De beste presentaties die ooit in Photoshop zijn gemaakt!

Thanks!

This is one of the best tips about masking I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing this!👍

Genius!

Thanks!