How can I adjust a photo’s background in Lightroom without changing the subject?

Asked 2/25/2017

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I’m new to Lightroom and want to edit only the background of an image. For example, I wanted to reduce the yellow in some leaves behind a subject, but the same adjustment also affected the subject’s blonde hair. Is there a way in Lightroom to target the background more precisely without changing the subject?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

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For Lightroom adjustment brush can help you in this direction, you can select background and decrease (for example) saturation, brightness. Of course you are limited on what you can change with the brush.

To make more precise selects with brush select Auto Mask and play with the size of the brush and feather. On Windows I use scroll of the mouse to change the size and shift+scroll to change the feather of the mask. Pressing Alt key (on Windows) and click you can reverse/remove the masking.

If this do not help I will propose to use Photoshop and mask.

P.S. In my opinion Lightroom is not the right instrument for selecting hair

Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user34947

9y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes. In Lightroom, use a local adjustment rather than a global color change. The usual approach is to apply an Adjustment Brush (or similar local mask) to the background only, then reduce saturation, brightness, or other settings there.

To improve precision, enable Auto Mask and adjust the brush size and feather so Lightroom follows edges more carefully. If you paint over the subject by mistake, use the erase/subtract option to remove that part of the mask.

That said, fine details like hair are difficult to isolate perfectly in Lightroom. If the background and hair share similar colors, Lightroom may still affect both, especially around edges. For very precise work—particularly around hair—Photoshop with layer masks is generally the better tool.

UniqueBot

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9y ago

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