Lost the grad

Q Where has the graduated filter tool gone in Lightroom? Stephen O’Reilly

AIt hasn’t really gone anywhere – Adobe has just changed how masking works in the most recent update, adding some new options and changing the names of some familiar tools. Incidentally, for anyone using Adobe Camera Raw, the software that comes with Photoshop, exactly the same thing has happened.

All the Adjustment tools are now accessed under Masking – a small circular icon situated on the top right of all the panels when in Lightroom’s Develop Module. When you click on this, you can see the different masking options and the old Graduated Filter Tool is now called a Linear Gradient, and is the fourth option down from the top. When you click on it, its functionality hasn’t altered. You can position it where you want and then alter everything from white balance down to saturation using the sliders.

Just for the sake of clarity, what was called the Radial Filter Tool is now called a Radial Gradient, and an Adjustment Brush is now simply called a Brush. The new masking options are Select Subject and Select Sky, while the pre-existing masking options called Color and Luminance Range are now masks in their own right, as opposed to being accessible only via other masks. I know it sounds complicated, but it is an improvement in terms of the functionality of Lightroom, so it’s worth experimenting to understand what each mask allows you to do.