Stop Overcomplicating Luminosity Masks — This Is the Easy Way

Learn what luminosity masks are, how to create them, and when to use a third party plugin.

Watch the video for a step-by-step breakdown in Photoshop ⬆️

What are Luminosity Masks?

In order to understand luminosity masks, we must first understand what makes up a single pixel. They are composed of three values:

• Luminosity (Brightness)

• Hue (Color)

• Saturation (Intensity of Color)

Therefore, at its most technical level, a “luminosity mask” is simply a mask that is based on the brightness of the pixels. The brighter the pixels, the more white the mask will appear. The darked the pixels, the more black the mask will appear.

Luminosity masks are used to make extremely specific adjustments to an image because they are more precise than normal Masks.

Practical Uses of Luminosity Masks

• Increase/decrease the brightness of a specific object

• Add color/contrast to specific objects

• Make nearly any adjustment to specific objects

How to Use Luminosity Masks

Watch the video tutorial above for a step-by-step breakdown in Photoshop.