What the @*&$ are "Luminosity Masks" ???

Let's start at the beginning - what is a luminosity mask? It's a powerful way to make dramatic, but natural looking adjustments to an image in Photoshop. In this video, Greg Benz starts with the basics of selections and masks, then show the limitations of the magic wand tool, and then how luminosity masks can be used to overcome these limitations.

Key segments:
0:00 Intro
0:50 Use selections to limit how changes are applied to a layer
3:23 Use masks to control visibility of the layer
6:45 Making a selection with the Magic Wand
8:32 Limitations of the Magic Wand
11:09 Luminosity Masks

How to Create Luminosity Masks in Photoshop
This video shows the basic steps to create your own luminosity masks for any image in Photoshop. Luminosity masks offer a powerful way to create natural looking masks based on the brightness of various parts of your image.

Text and videos via Greg Benz