I am an advanced beginner shooting a Nikon D850 with a 60mm Nikkor micro lens, and using LRC to edit my photographs of still lifes (firearms). I shoot my still life objects on a table against a black background and want the background to be absolutely black. Even though I am using the blackest material I've found (black velour) you can still see pieces of lint or creases which is why I use the masking tool to mask my subject and darken the background all the way. The issue I am having is that when masking the background, LRC still selects parts of my subject. While editing I spend the most time using the masking brush tool to "add" or "subtract" sections of my subject and/or background. I don't know why LRC isn't able to more easily detect what is my subject and what is the background, and wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a tool that I am overlooking when masking? Hopefully this makes sense. Looking for any help in this regard - thank you!
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Masking in Lightroom Classic
- Thread starter P8riot
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While I use LrC masking I’m not an expert in that amount of detail. If it selects the subject correctly have you tried inverting the selection. I’m not sure intersect will help in this situation.
There many good videos about masking on YouTube. You also may want to ask this in the Retouching forums. I
Sorry for the double post. You may want to ask this question here as well. In the Editing Using Lightroom section.
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lehill
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Black on black is low contrast and very hard to do. Black velour attracts dust like a magnet and is hard to keep clean. Since you're going to crush the blacks anyway in Lightroom, does it have to be velour?
I'm with Zeee, ask in the retouching forum. The Lightroom Queen he linked to is supposed to be pretty good too. It would be helpful for them if you could mention your version of Lightroom Classic and upload a sample photo.
Leonard Migliore
Forum Pro
If you're going to mask the background anyway, use a lighter background so the software can differentiate between the subject and background more easily.
I typically photograph firearms against a white background because they have a lot of black features and would blend in.
I didn't even know that you could mask in Lightroom. I always switch to Photoshop for that.
Lot's videos out there. Since masking came out in LrC 11 I have not set a file to PS. LrC is now v 14.
To me this sounds more like a lighting problem than a masking problem.
I'd recommend Light — Science & Magic for a comprehensive understanding of how to light products.
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If you have LRC then presumably you have Photoshop.
Using the right tool makes every job easier.
The options for selecting and modifying a subject are almost infinite and far more precise in PS than what is in the converter, the same converter that can be used as a layer one or more times in PS. There are almost infinite guides on compositing, which is what you are doing.
A simple suggestion: on the PS desktop click on select/subject. If the marching ants have done a reasonable job, which I would expect them to if the background is black, you can simply modify that selection by clicking modify feather (a radius of two is a good general start) which blurs the edges between the selection and background.
If you don't know how to get past that, for example to put the selection on its own layer and then tweak the background you would benefit from learning the basic PS tools.
Using the right tool makes every job easier.
The options for selecting and modifying a subject are almost infinite and far more precise in PS than what is in the converter, the same converter that can be used as a layer one or more times in PS. There are almost infinite guides on compositing, which is what you are doing.
A simple suggestion: on the PS desktop click on select/subject. If the marching ants have done a reasonable job, which I would expect them to if the background is black, you can simply modify that selection by clicking modify feather (a radius of two is a good general start) which blurs the edges between the selection and background.
If you don't know how to get past that, for example to put the selection on its own layer and then tweak the background you would benefit from learning the basic PS tools.
Doesn't have to be velour but I have found it to be the blackest material I have found and I have tried many. In photos, they all appear as very dark gray whereas the velour looks black. I have even tried vantablack paint with disappointing results. I am using version 14 of LRC.
Yes, I have tried inverting. It's really inexplicable because it will select small undefined areas in my subject as background forcing me to "subtract" that area with a brush. Thanks for the feedback.
It's somewhat counter intuitive but shooting against a black background does give enough contrast on a well lit subject. And it's kind of become my trademark look. I don't think contrast is necessarily the issue, but thanks for the feedback.
I will check it out, thanks.
That is hugely helpful, thank you! Not only does it help me in dealing with “bleed” when masking (another common issue I face) but it lets me know that the bleed is normal to begin with! I need to practice and come up with some presets but I can already tell this will be a time saving tool. Thanks again.
CameraCarl
Veteran Member
I often need to use a brush tracing the outline to clean up the borders to prevent harsh transitions. This video about selecting the sky might give you some suggestions since the transition between sky and land can often be harsh and need fixing.
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