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rjWilner
Participating Frequently
December 6, 2021
Question

Luminance Range Tool Changes

  • December 6, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 1453 views
I've been finding both the new 'Luminance Range' and 'Color Range' masking tools more than a little challenging to learn how to use effectively as similar tools in previous versions.
 
Attached are a couple screencaps to help illustrate what I'm encountering.
 
The image is one I'd started working on prior to the update. And I'd originally created a 'Radial Filter' and applied a Luminance-based Range Mask to it in LR10.x. The result is the 'LR-Masking_OLD' screencap.
 
The LR-Masking_new' screencap was created when I opened the image this am and clicked the 'Update' option for the mask presented...which, in theory, I would hope would result in generating a mask utilizing the new tools that would be identical to the original...or at least pretty darn close. Clearly, that's not the case. The converted mask is significantly different and MUCH more high contrast.
 
Ok, I thought. Clearly, the new tools don't work the same as similar functionality in previous versions and it will take a little learning to figure out how to optimize the mask with the new tools. And I've been chasing that virtually since I installed the update. And I can't make the new/converted mask in this latest update remotely close to the original. In fact, this is actually the closest I've been able to get.
 
And I've seen similar with numerous images where I'd employed the RadialFilter/LuminanceRangeMask combo on images processed prior to the latest update. I've also tried leaving the original application intact, but turned off its visibility, and then tried re-creating it with the new tools, and no diff.
 
At this point, I'm fairly convinced the issue is not machine-based as I see the same behavior on both machines where I have LR installed. So, it seems it's either a 'nut behind the wheel' problem or *perhaps* a bug(??).

Color me stumped. I was a *frequent* user of the Radial Filter with a Luminance-based Range Mask applied in previous versions and occasionally had to 'fiddle' with the settings to get the desired result, but rarely failed to get the desired result. With this new version, I can create a 'Radial Gradient' and either intersect a Luminance Range with it or Subtract the Luminance Range, and just can't manage to create the same effect.
 
And as a bit of a sidebar, the 'Color Range' tool exhibits similar untoward behavior here.
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    1 reply

    Rob_Cullen
    Community Expert
    Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 7, 2021

    A couple of suggestions-

    1) Change your mask to a different color & opacity. A B&W mask on a B&W image is impossible!

    2) Learn about the changes to the Range graph-

    https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/whats-new.html

     

     

    Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
      R
      rjWilnerAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      December 7, 2021

      Appreciate the reply. A couple notes...

      1. The image is not b&w. The screen caps I posted are employing the 'Black On White' option for 'Show Overlay' of the mask.

      2. I'm well aware of the options to manage the overall range as well as how to feather.

      3. Re: the 2 screen caps...

           a. One is of the mask originally created in a version of LR prior to the release of v11. That's the one with 'old' in the filename. And the screen cap is the 'Show Overlay' option activated to display the mask as originally created....which employed a 'Radial Filter' with a Luminance based 'Range Mask' applied (the quote bits being the names for the tools in the prior version).

           b. The screen cap with 'new' in the filename is what was generated when I selected to 'Update' the Luminance Range portion of the original mask. I.e., because the Luminance Range is now a separate & distinct tool in v11, we have no choice other than to 'Update' the Luminance Range option of the original mask if we hope to make refinements of the original mask (adjust the overall range and/or modify the 'feather'). This screen cap is simply the result of my having opted to 'Update' the Luminance Range. And the result is clearly an entirely different mask. And I have tried to adjust the overall range as well as the feather of it, and am simply unable to find a combination of those tools that will make the 'converted' mask produce the same results as those originally created in the previous version of LR.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      December 7, 2021

      To tease apart the issues for future contributors to this discussion:

       

      - LR isn't able to convert pre-LR-11 luminance and color range masks to the LR 11 versions while maintaining the same appearance. I recall Adobe employee Rikk Flohr saying that the color math was too hard, or something like that, but I can't find that thread. Someone else has posted a feature request for better backward compatibility:

      https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-ideas/p-masking-luminance-range-better-backwards-compatibility/idi-p/12501314

       

      - You're finding that with the new range masks, you're not able to get the effects you want.

       

      If others have thoughts, it's probably best to focus this thread on the second point (using the new tools to get desired effects), and post any thoughts about backward compatibility in the feature-request thread.

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