Masking in Darktable - an example

[Wildwood]

I'm very far from an expert in Darktable so if I can do this then anyone can.

I recently took this photo of a Bobobo. I really like it but the brightness of the straw is a bit distracting. Let's fix that.



I created a new instance of the Expose module - a one-click process.

I then went down to the masks and created a drawn and parametric mask. For the parametric part I used the Jz channel (which is basically luminance). Obviously this included the bright background. I then drew a path around the straw so that the resulting mask excluded bright areas from the rest of the image. The path didn't need to be particulary accurately drawn. I then used to mask to drop the exposure of the straw.



A very simple procedure which took no more than a minute and shows how easy to use and powerful Darktable's masks are. How much darken the straw is very much a matter of taste.

This image was taken at 20,000 ISO and is shown before any noise reduction or sharpening has been applied.

[Clanpix]

Did you consider a black and white version ?

[Wildwood]

Did you consider a black and white version ?

No. It's not really my style.

[Billsyn]

Seems to have lost the feeling of depth in straw. Would a little dodging and burning a better choice?

[Wildwood]

Seems to have lost the feeling of depth in straw. Would a little dodging and burning a better choice?

You could use dodge and burn but it would take a very, very long time and I posted it as an example of how powerful Darktable's masking features are not as discussing of how best to treat the image.

[Keith-369]

I quite like what you did with the straw. It works for me.
I think that the background could also be darkened to give the Bobobo portrait more prominence.

[Wildwood]

I quite like what you did with the straw. It works for me.
I think that the background could also be darkened to give the Bobobo portrait more prominence.

We all see things differently don't we? Personally I think darkening the background would make the subject stand out less clearly. Easy to do though.

[R99C99]

Masking is a tool I’m yet to practice. This is a great example of what’s possible with the straw.

Oddly though, the darkening of the straw somehow makes my animal look lighter to my eyes. It’s probably an optical illusion, but in the first image the animal appears slightly darker with a little more contrast across its skin and hair. Possibly because of the brighter straw.

[Wildwood]

Masking is a tool I’m yet to practice. This is a great example of what’s possible with the straw.

Oddly though, the darkening of the straw somehow makes my animal look lighter to my eyes. It’s probably an optical illusion, but in the first image the animal appears slightly darker with a little more contrast across its skin and hair. Possibly because of the brighter straw.

The brightness of the subject hasn't changed (I've check it using a snapshot).