What images are ideal for contrast masking?
Contrast masking will not work on all images. It is recommended you use it on images where distinct areas are significantly brighter or darker than others, images that lack definition or look to flat. It only takes a few minutes to apply contrast masking, and it doesn’t hurt to try you can always ‘undo’ or adjust it if it doesn’t look right. I found the contrast masking works great on images that are slightly under exposed. It is recommended you experiment with all types of images to get used to the effects of contrast masking. When do I apply contrast masking? I recommend applying contrast masking after adjusting levels, prior to any color adjustments, cropping, or manual touching up the image. The image above is slightly underexposed, increasing the exposure would blow out the highlights in the water currents. Deep shadowing in the upper right quadrant leads to an uneven tone across the whole image. With contrast masking applied, the overall tone of the image is more balanced. There
