LrC masks in PS

[FWG99]

I might be looking for something which does not exist but is there a way of using the masks generated in LrC via the new AI selection tool (LrC version 12.x) in PS. LrC generates such good selections it would be the icing on the cake if they could be used in both modules. If the option is not available I might post again as a suggestion for future upgrades!

[Abambo]

No, LrC generated masks don't get read by Photoshop. But, I suppose, Adobe Camera Raw does read them. Photoshop was never able to read Lr data directly. The communication always passed via Adobe Camera Raw.

[FWG99]

After your hint / suggestion I tried the route to PS via the smart filter and in fact the selection(s) do go across to PS but of course only as a single layer. If you want or need to edit a photo with multiple LR masks it seems you would need to generate multiple masked images in LR and send each to PS and then produce a composite with all the differnt images (after doing inPS what you need to achieve) combined as a composite image. It is a clumsy way but the desired results can be achieved. Since it is possible I would have thought the skill of the Adobe programmers would be up to the challenge of automating the process. Just a thought though I can now do what I wanted even if a bit slow! Thanks for your input.

[TheDigitalDog · Accepted solution]

You'll have to file a feature request, and it is very possible, what you wish isn't possible. 

The masks do work between Lightroom Classic and ACR, but in Photoshop proper (which a raw SO isn't really), unlikely due to how the other two products work along with parametric edits, how the data is encoded, that they both deal with raw data (PS doesn't) etc. 

[jorgeperezmartinez54]

I really would love to have this feature as part of the ecosystem between LRC and PS. It would add so much ease to my post procesing! Thank you for the insightful comments on this string of replies and comments. Fantastic idea to have this done "automatically" by PS. Thank you.

[Abambo]

Best would indeed be to include this great technology into Photoshop at the select level.

[Lumigraphics]

You can get most of the way there. Create your mask and save just the masking as a preset. Open a new file the same dimensions into Photoshop just one layer, white fill. Use the Camera RAW filter, apply the preset, and use the controls to change the tone to black/grey. You can do some adjustments to get it the tonality you want. Convert mode to greyscale and you'll have a mask that can be added to other images.

[jorgeperezmartinez54]

Wow! Sounds a little challenging but certainly worth trying it... with the
hope that one day Adobe may incorporate the process in a simple way.

Thank you so much for providing this technical expertise.

Best regards - Jorge.

[Lumigraphics]

Not challenging at all. Takes just a few seconds.

[jorgeperezmartinez54]

I think you are right. Your comment seemed intimidating at first; I guess I
reacted too quickly to it. But after my first reply I re-read your message
and thought about it again. It does seem rather straightforward and I will
definitely give it a go.

I may come back to this space and tell you about my experience...

Meanwhile, thank you once again for your thoughtful input!

Best regards - Jorge.