The new masking feature I covered this week in Lightroom and Photoshop (click here for a video) has been really well received. But I have gotten a lot of questions so I thought I’d go through some of the common ones in case you have them too.
Don’t forget I also released my new SceneSplit AI Presets and Mini Course to take advantage of these new changes at a really affordable price. It’s still on sale for a few days.
Okay, let’s get started with the FAQ…
Q. I’m unable to see the new versions of Lightroom and/or Photoshop?
The latest versions are LRC (version 14.3), Lightroom (version 8.3) and Adobe Camera Raw (version 17.3). Maybe try restarting your Adobe Creative Cloud app or your computer. If that doesn’t work then contact Adobe. If you do have those versions and the feature doesn’t work… contact Adobe. If anything you see in any of the videos doesn’t work the same for you or you get error messages or crashes… contact Adobe �
Q. Can any of the new masks be saved back to the main Photoshop interface?
No. That feature isn’t available so you can only use them in the raw editors.
Q. Why does Adobe add features to ACR and not Lightroom? I use Lightroom and now have to go to ACR too.
The features like reflection removal and people removal that I demo’d in this video, are really “beta” features. Remember, YOU have to turn them on, so you’re making them different by voluntarily turning them on. I have no official word from Adobe to say this but ACR seems less used than Lightroom and it seems to be a bit of a playground for Adobe to test features that are stable but may need a bit more time to refine. So they put them in ACR for that test and require you to manually turn them on if you choose to be part of that test. But to me, other than the odd reflection removal, there is no feature worth leaving LR to go to ACR for. If you’re going to do that, distraction removal is better in PS, so just go there and do it.
Q. Are these the new presets in your SceneSplit Presets and Mini Course, the same as other Landscape or AI Presets I have purchased from you before?
No. These presets are brand new as of April of 2025. This feature did not exist before April 24th, 2025 so any presets or training videos you have (from me or anyone else) do not include the material here. Simply put, these features were not possible before the April 2025 release from Adobe.
Q. How are the presets that can be created with this new feature, different from other AI Presets?
Before April 25th, 2025 these features did not exist. Adobe AI masking included Subjects, sky, portraits and objects. But it did not include the “Landscape” option that allows for masks that split the scene up based on Architecture, vegetation, natural ground, mountains, artificial ground, water, etc… Because of that, we now have a lot more creativity for adjusting our photos selectively whether that’s with presets, or manually taking advantage of the new masks that were added.
Q. Will these presets and new features work on the tablet or phone version of Lightroom or Photoshop?
No they will not. The tablet and phone do not support this feature yet. I don’t know if or when they will.
Q. Why do I sometimes still get halos around a selection edge even after I try to fix it using one of the tips you gave?
There is no halo fixing tool. Halos usually result of doing something that looks unnatural to the photo (making something too bright or dark for it’s surroundings). You could try to subtract with a soft brush around the edge, but the best way to avoid halos is to not apply a change that brings them out in the first place.
Q. Do you anticipate Lightroom ever having a sky replacement feature?
I honestly have no idea. I’d say no. But I also never thought we’d have some of the features we have today so I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But sky replacement would mean layers of some sort and I don’t think they’ll add that feature. But again… I’ve been VERY wrong before so what do I know �
Q. Can I use the intersect feature with these masks?
You can, however just about every time I use intersect I realize I could have done the same thing with add or subtract in some way. It’s not to say intersect doesn’t have a place, but remember that every more complex mask you create could have probably been created in 5 different ways.
Q. Matt… For some various reason, I have no intention to purchase this from you. Should I send you an email telling you so and why?
Absolutely please DO NOT. This is like deciding you no longer want to be on Facebook and posting that you’re leaving. Just leave… You See… every day you go through life watching ads and seeing a promotion for a product or service you don’t plan on buying. Do you send them an email? Probably not.
I understand you may not want to purchase products from certain companies located in a certain somewhere right now… and that’s your decision. Please don’t feel the need to share that with me. I saw an ad for a Ford car yesterday. I have no plans on buying anything from them right now, but I would NEVER send them a message stating so (ESPECIALLY if that reason had nothing to do with their product). I know it’s great material, but I do understand it’s not for everyone. Thanks! �