Understanding how to fine-tune colors in your images can dramatically improve your final results.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this informative video walks through the use of color range masks in Lightroom. Starting with a panorama, Möhrle shows how to merge images into a single frame, which is a necessary first step in handling wide, scenic shots. After cropping to eliminate distracting elements, Möhrle dives into the basics of image correction, adjusting the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Standard to give more flexibility in controlling contrast. By correcting the white balance and reducing a green color cast with the tint slider, you can achieve a much cleaner, natural look.
Next, Möhrle explains how manipulating highlights, whites, and shadows reveals details in the sky and river while avoiding overexposure. The adjustment process doesn’t stop there—by introducing texture and vibrance, the image gains sharpness and saturation. These subtle changes add punch and make the overall photo feel more polished. The before-and-after comparison speaks for itself, as the adjustments significantly enhance the visual appeal.
The real power of this video comes from Möhrle's demonstration of color range masks. He breaks down how these masks let you isolate specific color tones, such as the greens in the grass or the blues in the sky, and apply targeted edits to improve contrast, brightness, and texture. By carefully selecting areas, you can adjust exposure and other settings without affecting the rest of the image. This level of precision makes color range masks incredibly effective for dodging and burning, a technique that can add depth and drama to your photos. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!"
Pretty good and very clear demonstration showing the creative possibilities of using color range masks which are very useful tools not just for landscapes. Learning how to precisely target certain areas of an image using these tools does take some practice but he demonstrates quite nicely a few ways just how to do this. Well worth a watch.