2 weeks ago
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Adobe quietly added a depth map masking feature to Camera Raw in a recent Photoshop update, which lets you isolate specific depth layers in a photo. Unlike subject or background masks, this one lets you target a slice of depth in a scene, from foreground rocks to a hazy midground to a distant sky.
Coming to you from Matt Kloskowski, this detailed video walks through one of Kloskowski's favorite recent Photoshop additions: the new AI-generated depth range mask in Camera Raw. The feature isn't new in name, since depth range masking existed before, but it previously only worked with phones or cameras that embedded a depth map in the file. Now Photoshop generates that depth map itself, on any image, including JPEGs. Kloskowski is clear that this isn't a replacement for subject or background masks. Those still exist and work well. This tool is specifically for situations where you want to affect a band of depth in a scene, like pulling back atmospheric haze in a mountain midground or darkening a background to draw attention to a subject.
The workflow starts with the masking panel in Camera Raw, where you'll find the depth range option. You use an eyedropper to set an anchor point at the depth you want to target, and then adjust the falloff on either side to expand or tighten the selection. Kloskowski walks through multiple real images to show how the depth map preview works, what white, gray, and black areas represent in that preview, and why the red overlay is the only thing that tells you what's actually selected. One practical example he covers involves using dehaze and a warmth adjustment on a hazy background, then subtracting the sky using a separate mask rather than fighting the depth range controls to get pixel-perfect edges.
One important limitation: this feature is only in Camera Raw inside Photoshop. It's not in Lightroom Classic or Lightroom, and there's no workaround that keeps it in a fully non-destructive Lightroom workflow. If you're a Lightroom user who wants access to it, the path is to send the photo to Photoshop as a smart object, apply the depth range mask inside Camera Raw via that route, then save it back. You'll have a copy of the file with the edits baked into a layer, and your original raw file in Lightroom stays untouched. But once the file is back in Lightroom, the mask isn't editable there. You'd have to go back into Photoshop to make changes. It's a multi-step detour, and Kloskowski is honest that you should only go that route if no other masking tool can do what you need.
What Kloskowski covers in the video beyond the basics includes more example photos, a closer look at how the anchor point and falloff sliders interact, and a creative vignette-style use of the depth mask that's worth seeing in context. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Kloskowski.
English (US) ·