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J
Jubilant_Lightning5D28
Participant
June 25, 2026
Question

Lightroom 15.4 Select Subject: better edges, but broader selections

  • June 25, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 3 views

Hi,

I wanted to ask about the new masking improvements in Lightroom Classic 15.4, because I have noticed a behavior that seems very relevant for people photographers.

The new Select Subject is clearly much more refined on edges. In many cases, the mask is more detailed and more accurate than before. However, in some images with a model sitting or lying on a sofa/bed, Select Subject does not select only the human subject. It sometimes includes parts of the environment close to the model, such as the sofa, bed, cushions, or similar elements.

This is a serious issue in a people-photography workflow. If the goal is to mask the model, a mask that also includes part of the sofa or bed becomes basically unusable, even if the edge refinement is better.

On the other hand, Select People is semantically more correct because it identifies the human subject, but in my tests it still seems to have less refined edges than the new Select Subject. So, at the moment, there seems to be a strange trade-off:

Select Subject: better edge quality, but it can include non-human elements near the model.

Select People: better semantic accuracy for the person, but less refined edges.

For photographers working with portraits, glamour, fashion, boudoir, or fine art nude, this is quite important, especially when applying masks in batch to hundreds of images. It is not realistic to manually inspect and correct every mask one by one.

I understand that Select Subject and Select People are probably different models, and that only Select Subject may have improved in this update. But from a practical workflow point of view, better edges are not enough if the selected subject is no longer the intended subject.

Ideally, it would be very useful to have Select People with the same edge quality as the new Select Subject, or a “person only” option for Select Subject.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior with Lightroom Classic 15.4?

    2 replies

    gary_sc
    Community Expert
    gary_scCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 25, 2026

    I hear ya. 

    My pet grief is that we can select an item but cannot use that already selected item as an “Add” or “Subtract” on another item. For example, let’s say you select your sofa; make a great selection becuase you took your time, and you saved that selection as “Sofa.” Now, you go do your Select Subject, and when you try to select the same sofa for Subtraction, that’s not available, all you have are the tools to select, not anything that you’ve already selected.

    It sure is frustrating that these wonderful tools are still a limitation. 

    gary_sc
    Community Expert
    gary_scCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 25, 2026

    This is an excellent call for the technology of selecting people to become equal to the quality of selection subjects. In my work, it’s wonderful for the bed, hammer, whatever is selected as part of the mask. Different strokes…

    In the meantime, have you tried subtracing the unwanted items? I guess you need to figure out which takes more time: using subjects and the time to remove, or using people and add the time to fix.

    Not really what you wnated to hear, sorry.

    J
    Jubilant_Lightning5D28Author
    Participant
    June 25, 2026

    Thank you.

    For a single image, subtracting the unwanted parts is of course possible. The problem is mainly a batch workflow problem.

    When working with people photography, I often copy masks and settings across hundreds of images from the same shooting. In that context, Select Subject becoming more inclusive creates a new risk: in some images it may include the sofa, bed, cushions, or other nearby elements, and it is not realistic to inspect and manually subtract those parts on every single image.

    What I find difficult to understand is the change in behavior. In the past, when I used Select Subject on images with a single human subject, it usually selected only the person. Now the edge quality is clearly better, but the selection sometimes becomes broader and includes elements around the person.

    So yes, the current choice is exactly as you say: either use Select Subject and spend time removing unwanted areas, or use Select People and spend time fixing less refined edges.

    My point is that, for people photographers, this feels like a strange trade-off. Better edge refinement is very welcome, but it is less useful if the selected subject is no longer only the intended human subject.

    Ideally, it would be very useful to have Select People with the same edge quality as the new Select Subject, or a “person only” version of Select Subject.

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