Luminosity Masks allow you to combine exposures to recover information from the brightest highlights to the darkest shadows. This will ensure that your photos fully capture the depth and detail in a scene. We even show you how you can take advantage of Luminosity Masks when you only have one photo available!

What is the purpose of luminosity?

The idea is that you use the luminosity (brightness) or color/saturation of the image to make selections. Basically, you can tell Photoshop to make adjustments to just the bright blue pixels in the sky, put more contrast in the mid-tones of those buildings, or give those green colors more pop.

What does luminosity do in Photoshop?

Luminosity: Creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the base color and the luminance of the blend color. To truly see the effect, open a new image and create a curves adjustment layer that is set to RGB with a normal blend mode.