How to Create a Color Range Mask in Camera Raw
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- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:12 Conver the Layer into a Smart Object
- 0:25 Apply a Local Adjustment in the Camera Raw filter
- 1:44 Create a "Mask" with the Color Range Mask.
- 3:06 Understanding the Color Range Mask Sample Points
- 4:00 Add to the current Targeted Adjustment
- 4:16 Edit the Camera Raw Adjustment
- 4:35 Final Thoughts
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
A color range mask in Camera Raw narrows an Adjustment Brush stroke to one color, so the edit skips everything else you painted.
If you’re not that confident with your masking skills, there’s a perfect technique to create a color range-targeted adjustment in Photoshop’s Camera Raw!
Note: The video was recorded in Photoshop 21.2 (Camera Raw 12.3), the current release in August 2020. Since Camera Raw 14.0 and Lightroom Classic 11.0, the October 2021 releases, the Range Mask dropdown moved into the Masking panel. There the Adjustment Brush is the Brush mask, Color is Color Range, and the old Color Range slider is called Refine. The steps below still work; look for these names if your panel looks different.
Key Takeaways
- A Color Range Mask only narrows an adjustment you already started with the Adjustment Brush. It never creates a selection on its own.
- Camera Raw holds five color samples at most for one mask.
- Clicking and dragging with the eyedropper samples a whole range of colors at once, which usually catches more shades than five single clicks.
- Holding Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) previews the mask in black and white, so you can see exactly which pixels the color change reaches.
- The adjustment lives on a Smart Filter, so you can reopen Camera Raw and change the color range at any time.
- Since October 2021, the same option sits in the Masking panel as Color Range instead of the old Range Mask dropdown.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Color Range Mask in Camera Raw: Keyboard Shortcuts
- Tutorial Image
- Convert Your Layer into a Smart Object
- Apply a Local Adjustment in the Camera Raw Filter
- Create a “Mask” with the Color Range Mask
- Understanding the Color Range Mask Sample Points
- Add to the Current Targeted Adjustment
- Edit the Camera Raw Adjustment
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Camera Raw Color Range Mask: Final Thoughts
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to convert a layer into a Smart Object before applying Camera Raw as a filter
- How to paint a rough color selection with the Adjustment Brush
- How to narrow that selection to one color with the Color Range Mask
- How to add more sample points to catch every shade of a color
- How to preview the mask in black and white before you commit to it
- How to reopen and edit the Camera Raw adjustment later
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 21.2, the June 2020 release, or the current version, with Camera Raw 12.3 or later.
Color Range Mask in Camera Raw: Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Preview the mask on the Color Range slider | Alt | Option |
| Add a single color sample | Shift click | Shift click |
| Sample a range of colors at once | Shift click and drag | Shift click and drag |
Tutorial Image
You can download the tutorial image here to follow along with the tutorial!
Convert Your Layer into a Smart Object
Start by right-clicking on the image layer and selecting Convert to Smart Object. By doing so, you will be able to apply adjustments, distortions, filters, or transformations while keeping it editable.
Apply a Local Adjustment in the Camera Raw Filter
Choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
In Camera Raw Filter, you’ll be able to take full control of color and tonal adjustments in an image.
Camera Raw’s Color Grading panel works inside that same filter, with three color wheels for tinting shadows, midtones, and highlights. See color grading in Camera Raw for that workflow.
Also, you can apply selective adjustments using the Adjustment Brush. Simply use the tool to paint over areas you want to apply adjustments.
With the Adjustment Brush selected, check the box for Mask Options so a white overlay will mark the areas that will be affected. Then, start painting on the parachute and its reflection.
Select the Eraser tool by clicking on the eraser icon and use it to paint on areas you want to subtract from the selection. But it will be tricky for photos like this where the water interrupts the parachute reflection.
Disable the Mask Options to have a clear view of the objects that will change in color.
Then, scroll down along the sliders until you find the Hue output slider and select any color.
The Hue/Saturation adjustment layer has a similar idea: pick a color range, then use Invert Hue Range Markers to flip which colors the effect touches.
Since the Adjustment Brush also selected the water, it changes color too.
Create a “Mask” with the Color Range Mask
Scroll down to the bottom of the slider and set the Range Mask to Color.
Tip: For more ways to build a precise selection, see 5 Pro Photoshop masking tricks.
Use the Sample Color eyedropper tool to select the color you want to mask. For this image, click on the parachute’s dominant yellow color.
Right away, you may notice that the surrounding water that previously changed color has now returned to its original color.
Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) as you click the Color Range slider to set the range. Since it’s a mask, the principle, “white reveals, black conceals,” applies here. The color change will only affect the white areas and will not show in black areas.
By dragging the Color Range slider to the left, you subtract pixels from the mask, where sliding it to the right adds pixels to the mask. Find the perfect range where you get as close as possible the pixels from which you are sampling.
Select the Sample Color eyedropper tool again. Then, add the parachute’s yellow shadows by clicking on it, and you will see two eyedroppers, indicating two sampled colors.
Tip: Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and click with the eyedropper to add another sample color, up to five in total.
Understanding the Color Range Mask Sample Points
Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) and click and drag to create a wide selection of pixels. This captures the lightest to the darkest color in the parachute.
Then, keep on doing this to other areas to further widen the range of color you can adjust with the Camera Raw.
Note: You can only create up to five (5) sample points, so make it count!
From here, you can use the Hue slider or the other sliders in the Properties panel to change the parachute color.
Add to the Current Targeted Adjustment
Zooming into the parachute’s water reflection, you may notice how there’s an area unaffected by the color change. You can include it in the mask by selecting the Adjustment Brush and painting over it.
Camera Raw will take note of the sampled colors, so it will not include the surrounding water in the mask as well.
When you’re done adjusting and setting the new color for the object, press OK to apply the changes, and you’ll be taken back to the document workspace once again.
Edit the Camera Raw Adjustment
If you want to come back and edit the Camera Raw adjustments, just double-click on the Camera Raw Filter label under the Smart Object. That takes you back to the Camera Raw workspace.
See? Camera Raw has more in store for you than you imagined.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Camera Raw, a Color Range Mask narrows an adjustment you already painted with the Adjustment Brush down to one color. Click a color with the eyedropper, and only that color keeps the effect.
Yes. Converting to a Smart Object keeps the Camera Raw Filter editable, so you can reopen it and change the color range mask at any time.
Five at most. Click once with the eyedropper for the first sample, then hold Shift and click to add up to four more. Clicking and dragging samples a whole range of colors at once.
It previews the mask in black and white. White areas keep the color change, and black areas do not, the same as any layer mask.
The Adjustment Brush makes a rough selection by painting. The Color Range Mask then narrows that rough selection down to one specific color.
Yes. Because the adjustment sits on a Smart Object, double-click the Camera Raw Filter label in the Layers panel to reopen it and adjust the mask again.
In the Masking panel, added in Camera Raw 14.0, the October 2021 release. Click Masking, choose Color Range, and use Refine in place of the old Color Range slider.
Camera Raw Color Range Mask: Final Thoughts
A color range mask in Camera Raw turns a rough Adjustment Brush stroke into a precise, single-color edit, without leaving Photoshop for a dedicated selection tool.
Because the adjustment lives on a Smart Object, you can always come back and adjust the range, the color, or the strength of the effect.
Watch the full video above to see it applied to the parachute photo, and comment on the video if you have a question.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, see how Range Mask targets skies and colors in Camera Raw and Lightroom.
