7 Masking Tips in Lightroom That Changed How I Build My Composites

Every composite I build starts on paper. I sketch the light sources, the shadow angles, the rough silhouettes before I ever open Photoshop. But the dirty secret of that workflow is that no matter how carefully I plan, the real work happens in the masking panel. That is where a movie poster either breathes or dies. Sloppy masks make subjects look pasted. Tight, intelligent masks make them look like they were always there.