Editing a Photo in Under 2 Minutes using Capture One’s Magic Brush
Post-productionOne of the most overlooked features of RAW processing software is the ability to create masks based on color values. Lightroom has recently introduced Range Masks, a feature that I constantly use on my edits. As a response, Capture One has come up with a new feature in the latest software update: the Magic Brush.
But, how good is it? Spoiler alert: Ridiculously good!
While writing this post I realized that it would be better to just show it on video, so I recorded my screen. Check out the real-time process in the video below (sorry for the lack of audio) :
Just like that, I have 3 masks to control different parts of the image. It just took 3 strokes to select the sky, one for the coat and two for the pavement. Here are individual screenshots of the masks created automatically:
And here is a before / after comparison:
I am positively surprised by C1’S Magic Brush. It is a feature that should definitely inspire Lightroom to update its existing Range Masks. Here is a summary of the pros and cons I found about the Magic Brush:
- Like:
- It’s precision is just unbelievable.
- Create masks in seconds.
- Layers: Every adjustment layer let you modify ALL of the image parameters (Exposure, Temp, Color, Sharpness, etc.)
- Dislike:
- Some tool adjustments are not retroactive: it is not possible to modify the tolerance or refine the edge once you have drawn a mask. (Because of the fast calculation times this is not much of an issue, as it is easy and fast to redo a mask)
Have you tried this new feature? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
