Today, Adobe announced a brand-new masking tool, set to come to Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw this fall. Replacing the current brush and gradient tools, the new Masks tool will let users selectively adjust certain areas of a photo differently than other areas.

Utilizing Adobe Sensei technology, you’ll be able to create multiple masks, select subjects and skies, and make adjustments to each mask independently. The tool automatically selects the subject or sky and creates the mask, without manual work.

You can also tweak and refine the mask, even inverting it if necessary. This makes things like darkening or brightening backgrounds or subjects easier than ever before.

Finally, you can name the mask to keep track of what you’re doing along the way.

Available on any device

The tool not only comes to desktop applications, but will also be available across mobile devices, tablets and the web.

Mask groups

Using mask groups, you can combine any mask tool with another mask tool. This lets you mix and match selection tools with tools like the brush, gradient, luminance, select subject and select sky.

More control with range masks

Range masks also work globally, adding more power to your workflow. The luminance range’s falloff also has additional control.

The updates to Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw are expected to come October 26, 2021, as a part of the Adobe MAX Conference. For the complete announcement, visit Adobe’s blog.