P: Creating a mask on full image area

[rstobbe]

Now that the masking tool gets more and more powerful I do miss an easy possibility to create a mask which includes all image area (which somehow would correspond to a PS adjustment layer without a mask).

The reason for a full image mask is that you can apply an effect on the full image without changing the global development settings.

One example would be e.g. you want to add some color toning of B&W images and you want to do it by adjusting the color channels of the tone curve setting and not using the color grading global adjustments. You can create a preset and then apply it to a whole set of images. However, it will override tone curve adjustments of the indivitual images.

Since the tone curve is now adjustable in the masking tool you are able to have a mask which adds the same color toning using a mask. And you are also able to apply it to the full image area (like layer without a mask) if you 1) add a gradient mask and place it outside the image area which will apply the full effect to all of the image or 2) add a luminosity mask and select the full range. While these are workarounds it would be nice to have the possibility to have another mask creation which includes the image area as a whole. It might be just another range mask in addition to luminosity and color range or another mask type.

Cheers

Ruediger

[John R Ellis]

While waiting for Adobe to implement this, you could define a preset "Full Image" that applies a full-image linear gradient mask.  When a preset containing a mask is applied to an image, the mask is added to the image rather than replacing existing masks.  

[rstobbe]

@John R Ellis  Yes, that is actually what I do. Add one OK, add another one via the same preset and it replaces the first one because of the same name. So you will have to have multiple of them with different names of the mask. I think the best bet at the moment is to create an all tones luminosity mask, I do not know how the gradient that you have to create outside the image behaves if you apply for differnet sizes and aspect ratios.

Let's see if it gets picked up by Adobe. Normally they are very good with implementing my ideas without me even expressing them. This is the first time I have to ask for 😉

[John R Ellis]

"I do not know how the gradient that you have to create outside the image behaves if you apply for different sizes and aspect ratios."

It works on all photos. Internally, LR represents all coordinates in [0..1], where (0, 0) is the top-left corner and (1, 1) the bottom-right.  When you position a linear gradient outside the image, its coordinates are negative, so it will get placed outside all images.

[John R Ellis]

I just added the Full Image Mask command to my Copy Settings plugin -- it lets you add as many full-image masks to an image as you'd like.

[rstobbe]

@John R Ellis Just downloaded your plugin to try it out. This is good stuff. Thanks!

[GoldingD]

Or, you could use the gradient mask, start at a corner and drag out, creates a solid mask

Or you could "zoom" way in, the apply a radial mask bigger than the frame. (or a large brush)