Boosting Contrast And Color With The Luminosity Mask

Step 5: Group The Luminosity Selection Layers

The steps on this page are optional and only apply if, like me, you've lost detail in part of your image after increasing the contrast and you want to bring the detail back.

In my case here, I have two layers that contain the pixels I selected with my luminosity selection:

In order to bring back the detail in the sky, I'm going to use a layer mask to hide the top areas of these two layers so that the sky in my original photo on the Background layer will show through. Since there's two layers, I'm going to group them together and then apply the mask to the group, which is easier than trying to work with each layer separately. To do that, with the top layer selected, I'm going to hold down Shift and click on "Layer 1" to select it as well, so both layers are selected together. Then I'll use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G (Win) / Command+G (Mac) to place the two layers into a Layer Group in the Layers palette, which Photoshop names "Group 1":

To twirl the layer group open and closed, click on the small triangle to the left of the word "Group" and you'll be able to see the two layers inside the group.

Step 6: Add A Layer Mask To The Layer Group

With both of my luminosity layers inside the group, I'm going to add a mask to the group itself by clicking on the Add A Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. A white layer mask thumbnail will then appear on the group:

Step 7: Paint With Black On The Layer Mask To Reveal The Detail In The Original Image

Now that I have my mask on the layer group, all I need to do is grab my Brush tool from the Tools palette, or press B on my keyboard to quickly access it. Then I'm going to press D on my keyboard to reset my Foreground and Background colors so black becomes my Foreground color. Then, with the layer mask selected, all I need to do is paint over the top of my image to hide the two luminosity layers in that area and reveal the sky in the original photo underneath them:

To quickly change your brush size as needed, use the left and right bracket keys on your keyboard. Continue painting with black on the layer mask until you've brought back the detail.

Once you've brought back any lost details in the image, you're done!

Here's my original once again for comparison:

And here is my final result after boosting the contrast and color using the luminosity mask: