Import or open a photo in the Edit panel.
Last updated on
8 December 2023
The October 2021 release of Lightroom for mobile (version 7.0) introduces an organized Masking panel to edit specific parts of your photo with greater precision and more creative control.
AI-powered features like Select Subject and Select Sky help you automatically select a subject or sky in a photo so you can make adjustments to that selection, quickly. Bring your imagination to life by using masking tools like Brush, Linear and Radial Gradient, Color Range, Luminance Range, and Depth Range tools.
Starting Lightroom for mobile (iOS) version 7.4, you can invert masks in just one tap. To know more, see Invert Masks.
Note:
Features like Select Subject and Select Sky in Masking are unavailable on some devices. For the complete list, see Devices not compatible with features like Select Subject and Select Sky.
Create a new Mask
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Tap the '+' icon to 'Create new Mask' using your preferred masking tool (for details, see the first section). A default Mask 1 is created in the Masks panel. To rename this mask, click the three-dot menu and select Rename.
Use the following Masking tools to make a selection:
Brush
Tap and drag the Brush tool over the areas you want to edit.
Use the icons on the left side of the screen to do the following:
- Size - Specifies the diameter of the brush tip in pixels.
- Feather - Creates a soft-edged transition between the brushed area and the surrounding pixels.
- Flow - Controls the rate of application of the adjustment.
To make a more precise selection, use the Eraser tool on the left side of the screen to remove areas of the selection.
Linear Gradient
Drag the blue pin in the area you want to edit. This is useful to adjust a large portion of the photo with a gradually fading pattern that creates soft transitions.
- Drag the blue pin at the center of the overlay to make a selection.
- Tap and rotate the out gradient white line at the center to adjust the tilt (angle) of the overlay.
- Tap and drag either of the outer gradient white lines toward the edge of the photo to expand the effect at that end of the spectrum; drag toward the center of the photo to contract the effect at that end of the spectrum.
- Use the Eraser tool to erase parts of the mask area.
Radial Gradient
Drag the blue pin to select areas of the photo you want to edit. This tool helps you make local adjustments inside or outside an oval shape. Use the Feather slider to determine how soft you want the adjustments to be.
- To move and position the overlay on the photo, drag the blue pin to the center of the selection overlay.
- To adjust the size and shape, drag the white pins.
- To adjust the Feather of the radial selection overlay, drag the Feather control on the left side of the screen.
- To apply the edits outside the radial selection overlay or invert the radial selection mask, tap the Invert icon on the left.
Color Range
Use this tool to sample color within the mask area. Do any of the following:
- Tap and drag an area around the colors in the photo that you want to adjust. You can use two modes to make this selection.
- You can add multiple color samples using the Change Color option.
- Adjust the Refine slider to narrow or broaden the range of selected colors.
- Tap Invert if you wish to invert the selection.
- Tap Delete to remove a Color Range mask.
Luminance Range
Select a point or area in the photo using this tool. All areas with the selected range of brightness will become a selection. This way, you can make precise adjustments to just those levels of brightness in a photo. To select a luminance range within the mask area, do any of the following:
- Define the luminance range using the Select Luminance slider. You can use two modes to make the selection.
- Tap Change Luminance in the corresponding control on the left to change the luminance range.
- If you wish to invert the selection, tap Invert.
- Tap Delete to remove the luminance range mask.
Depth Range
This tool is enabled only for photos containing depth information.
Use this tool to select areas based on their distance from the camera. To select a depth range to adjust, do any of the following:
- Drag on the photo to define the depth by an area, or use the Select Depth slider to adjust the depth manually.
- Tap Change Depth to redefine the selection.
- Tap Invert if you wish to invert a tool.
- Tap Delete to remove the mask.
Select Subject automatically detects the most prominent subject (people, animals, and foreground objects) in the photo, helping you to make adjustments more precisely than ever. Follow these steps to select the subject in a photo:
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To refine the mask, click Add or Subtract. Use the editing sliders at the bottom of the screen to make local adjustments. To know more, see Local adjustments.
If you wish to automatically select the sky in a photo and make specific adjustments to it, tap Select Sky. Here's how you can create a mask using Select Sky:
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Once you have refined the mask area, you can now make selective adjustments to create precise photographic edits. For more information, see Local Adjustments.
Add to mask
Once you have created a mask, you can add to it using the masking tools. To add to an existing mask, do the following:
Subtract from mask
Once you have created a mask, you can subtract from it using the masking tools. To subtract from an existing mask, do the following:
Rename a mask
Follow the steps below to rename a mask in the Masking panel:
To invert a mask in Lightroom for mobile (iOS), follow the steps given below:
Invert a selection
If you wish to select everything in a photo except the initial selection, tap the selection, and tap the Invert icon in the left panel.
You can easily edit the color of the mask overlay using the following steps:
To make local adjustments to your photo, select the type of adjustment you want to make from the Edits panel at the bottom of your screen.
Light
- Exposure - Sets the overall image brightness. Applying an Exposure local correction can achieve results similar to traditional dodging and burning
- Contrast - Adjusts image contrast, mainly affecting mid-tones
- Highlights - Recovers detail in overexposed highlight areas of an image
- Shadows - Recovers detail in underexposed shadow areas of an image
- Whites - Adjusts the white points in a photo
- Blacks - Adjusts the black points in a photo
Color
- Temp - Adjusts the color temperature of an area of the image, making it warmer or cooler. A graduated filter temperature effect can improve images captured in mixed-lighting conditions.
- Tint - Compensates for a green or magenta color cast
- Saturation - Adjusts the vividness of the color
- Hue - Adjusts the hue in a photo. Tap Use Fine Adjustment for precise adjustments.
- Color - Applies a tint to the area affected by the local correction. Select the hue by dragging the Color swatch. The Color effect is preserved if you convert the photo to black and white.
Effects
- Texture - Smoothens or accentuates textured details in your photo. Move the slider to the left to smoothen details; move it to the right to accentuate details. When you adjust the Texture slider, the color or tonality does not change.
- Clarity - Adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast
- Dehaze - Reduces or increases existing haze in a photo
Detail
- Noise - Reduces luminance noise, which can become apparent when shadow areas are opened
- Sharpness - Enhances edge definition to bring out details in the photo. A negative value blurs details
Optics
- Moiré - Removes moiré artifacts or color aliasing
- Defringe - Removes fringe colors along edges
Available on iOS devices with RAM capacity of 4 GB or more:
- iPhone XS/XS MAX and newer (excluding iPhone XR & SE2)
- iPad 10th Gen and newer
- iPad Air 4th Gen and newer
- iPad Mini 6th Gen and newer
- iPad Pro 2nd Gen and newer