Use live mask edits
How to apply non–destructive live masking to your images
REQUIRES Affinity Photo 2 (affinity.serif.com), $69.99
YOU WILL LEARN How to modify adjustment layers and filters using live masks
IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes
Image rights: Apple Inc, Serif (Europe) Ltd.
THE FEATURE–RICH AFFINITY Photo 2 now has a new collection of live masks that enable you to mask layer content based on an image’s luminosity, hue, or frequency (color and tonal range).
We covered the Live Hue Range Mask in part one of this series of tutorials, so here we’ll focus on how the Live Band–pass Mask and the Live Luminosity Range Mask enable you to take more control as you work on an image. For example, when retouching a portrait you can use the Live Unsharp Mask to sharpen the shot. Sharpening works by increasing contrast around edges, such as eyelashes, for more impact. However, this sharpening process also exaggerates textures, such as skin pores. Here, we’ll show you how to use the new Live Band-pass Mask in conjunction with the live Unsharp Mask to get a satisfactory balance between sharpening details such as eyes while preventing features such as skin pores from being sharpened.