Can I brighten just one part of a photo?

Yes. Add a radial or brush mask over the area and raise its exposure - only the masked region changes, so the rest of the photo stays exactly as it was.

What is the difference between radial, linear and brush masks?

A radial mask is an adjustable ellipse for a spot; a linear mask is a straight gradient, good for skies and edges; a brush mask is a freehand area you paint exactly where you want it. Any of them can be inverted to affect everything outside instead.

Is selective editing free?

Selective adjustments are a Pro feature (free to try during the open beta). The core Film Lab editor, manual tone adjustments, grain, fade and export are free for everyone.

All guides

How to edit just part of a photo

Sometimes you only want to fix one area - lift a dark face, deepen a bright sky, warm one corner. Film Lab’s selective adjustments let you mask a region with a radial, linear or brush mask and change only what is inside it (or outside, with invert). It all runs in your browser. Here is how.

1. Open Film Lab and add a photo Drop in a JPG, HEIC or camera RAW file. It is edited on your device - nothing is uploaded.
2. Open the Selective tab and add a mask In the Selective tab, add a Radial mask for a round spot, a Linear mask for a gradient across the frame (like a sky), or a Brush mask to paint the exact area by hand.
3. Place or paint the area Drag a radial or linear mask onto the spot and resize or angle it. For a brush mask, paint over the area with an adjustable brush size and erase to tidy the edges - the painted region is highlighted on the photo.
4. Adjust only that area Move the exposure, contrast, saturation and warmth sliders to change just what the mask covers. Flip on Invert to edit everything outside the mask instead - handy for darkening a background while leaving your subject untouched.
5. Stack masks and export Add several masks for different fixes in one photo, then export at full resolution. On phones and tablets, export opens the share sheet to save straight to Photos.

Open Film Lab · Read the full guide

Can I brighten just one part of a photo?: Yes. Add a radial or brush mask over the area and raise its exposure - only the masked region changes, so the rest of the photo stays exactly as it was.
What is the difference between radial, linear and brush masks?: A radial mask is an adjustable ellipse for a spot; a linear mask is a straight gradient, good for skies and edges; a brush mask is a freehand area you paint exactly where you want it. Any of them can be inverted to affect everything outside instead.
Is selective editing free?: Selective adjustments are a Pro feature (free to try during the open beta). The core Film Lab editor, manual tone adjustments, grain, fade and export are free for everyone.