Lightroom Tutorial : Select Sky Easy and Quickly with the Latest Lightroom Feature

In this Lightroom Tutorial, we will learn how to use Select Sky Easy and Quickly with Lightroom’s latest features.

I think you will agree with me when I say it’s hard to select a sky quickly

Well, it turns out you can select a sky Precisely and quickly using the latest Lightroom tools.

Let us dive right in –

Mask Panel will appear. You can see the Sky in the image selected. Check the Show Overlay checkbox to see which area of the Sky is selected.
You have made the initial Sky selection. You can use this Sky Selection as a good starting point.

Once you make the initial Sky selection, under the Mask panel click on the selected mask.
Below the Mask, there are 2 options- Add and Subtract

To add more areas to the Sky selection, click on Add.
There are multiple options to Add to the current selection.
The brush option helps extend the selections. Select the brush option and paint over the area you want to select.
To subtract from the selection, select the Subtract option. Select the brush and paint over the area which you don’t want in the selection.
Out of multiple selection options, I find the Brush option to be helpful in adding or subtracting to the Sky selection.
Feel free to try if your Sky selection demands additional selection options. It’s worth it.

You can visualize the selected Sky using various overlay modes.
To visualize the selection, under the Mask check the Show overlay box.
You can see a default overlay as Color Overlay. Now you can choose a different color for overlay. Click on the color palette and select the color of the overlay.
Also, there are other overlay modes available. I chose color overlay or Color Overlay on B & W as I find that overlay’s easy to refine the Skyselections. You can choose which you find useful for your images.

Select the Sky as mentioned in the above steps. Use Select Sky to select the Sky.
Make Targeted adjustments to the Sky. Specifically targeted adjustments I recommend are – Black and White point, Highlight/ Shadows, Vibrance and Saturation, Clarity, Texture, Sharpness, and White Balance. Every image is different hence you can apply targeted adjustments as per the image requirement.
The key Idea here is, to create a beautiful sky that compliments your main subject. Increase the impact of the Main subject by gently optimizing the sky.

Now it’s your turn

I hope this Lightroom tool will help you to select and edit the Sky faster and more accurately.

Now I would like to hear from you.

What type of Images will you edit with Select Sky Feature in Lightroom? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

EXPLORE. PHOTOGRAPH. INSPIRE