Masking Bird Wings - Can't Remove White Highlights

[flashpixx]

The attached photo shows a Whistling Kite which I have edited in LRC 14.0.1.
Noise reduction/sharpening has been applied using DXO pro Pure Noise.
The resulting image is a DNG
All edits are to the DNG
I have added a subject mask to the bird and an inverted subject mask for the sky.
When the subject mask is applied to the bird it also includes the sky between the feathers at the end of each wing as part of the subject.
I remove this part of the subject mask by subtracting using a brush.
When I apply exposure adjustment to the subject (increase exposure) white edges appear right at the base of the "finger feathers" at the end of the wings.
No amount of subtracting (or adding to the inverted mask) will remove these.
I note if I leave the overlay highlighted (in red), the white highlights are shown as solid red.
The image was shot using a Nikon D500 and a Nikkor AFS 300 f4 PF.
There is no Purple fringing evident.
As can be seen in the photo there are obvious white edges to the ends of the wing feathers.
Is there a way to edit the image to better apply an exposure adjustment to the subject in situations like this one?
Is Auto Mask an option?
Many thanks

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[TheLRC]

Without seeing your masking overlay, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly why this is happening, but you could try is adding the same color as the sky to the areas between the feathers to blend them in and remove the white highlights.

 

[DownToThis]

I may not be following your workfow but I have to remove the area between the feathers in the mask and then usually have to add them back in when I invert the mask (not sure why I have to do it twice). I also use a Wacom tablet to help get more precise brushing.

 

[Tibor Hrnko]

It’s tedious but doable, IMO. Instead of a brush, I prefer using the object selection tool. Especially for a blue sky, this works well. Here’s my process:

1. Select the sky
   Zoom in (200% or more if needed) and use the add/subtract objects option to fine-tune the selection. Object selection is smart, so precision isn’t critical.
2. Adjust problematic spots
   Repeat the above for other tricky areas to refine the mask.
3. Modify brightness
   Adjust brightness as needed. I usually prefer dehaze over exposure since it minimizes artifacts. If using both, I’m cautious with exposure.

Tip: Use SPACE + mouse button to zoom in/out while refining the mask.

 

[flashpixx]

It’s tedious but doable, IMO. Instead of a brush, I prefer using the object selection tool. Especially for a blue sky, this works well. Here’s my process:

1. Select the sky
   Zoom in (200% or more if needed) and use the add/subtract objects option to fine-tune the selection. Object selection is smart, so precision isn’t critical.
2. Adjust problematic spots
   Repeat the above for other tricky areas to refine the mask.
3. Modify brightness
   Adjust brightness as needed. I usually prefer dehaze over exposure since it minimizes artifacts. If using both, I’m cautious with exposure.

Tip: Use SPACE + mouse button to zoom in/out while refining the mask.

Thanks Tibor, your process sounds like a great option. I will give it a try.

 

[Helo48]

I know the problem too. Now I have changed the process. I no longer use Motiv in the mask, but use the Object tool. This works much better than motif.
Then I invert the mask and edit the background.

 

[flashpixx]

I know the problem too. Now I have changed the process. I no longer use Motiv in the mask, but use the Object tool. This works much better than motif.
Then I invert the mask and edit the background.

Thank you I will give it a try, appreciate you replying

 

[Anjin San]

I haven’t tried this idea yet…but Brian Matiash as well as others have a technique called better sky selection which can be done similarly perhaps for a better subject mask. Otherwise it’s just the tedium of mask editing.

 

[cchuck]

Like Tibor, I select subjects using the LRC Objects selector, which I've found to be more precise than any other "quick" method offered by LRC. When that fails, I'm stuck with using "Subtract using brush" method which is tedious, in part because of the frequent brush size adjustments needed. But I'm happy to have that option -- the brush can be made really small to remove those "blown out" gaps between the flight feathers.

 

[bleirer]

OK here is a weird one I saw on youtube. You first select sky, then you subtract select sky, then you invert the result. This supposedly gets a much cleaner sky selection relative to the objects that are not sky. So in your case once you had the new clean sky selection you could then invert to select everything that is not sky. At that point it seems there are several ways to isolate the bird, maybe "intersect mask with" object.

 

[flashpixx]

OK here is a weird one I saw on youtube. You first select sky, then you subtract select sky, then you invert the result. This supposedly gets a much cleaner sky selection relative to the objects that are not sky. So in your case once you had the new clean sky selection you could then invert to select everything that is not sky. At that point it seems there are several ways to isolate the bird, maybe "intersect mask with" object.

Like Tibor, I select subjects using the LRC Objects selector, which I've found to be more precise than any other "quick" method offered by LRC. When that fails, I'm stuck with using "Subtract using brush" method which is tedious, in part because of the frequent brush size adjustments needed. But I'm happy to have that option -- the brush can be made really small to remove those "blown out" gaps between the flight feathers.

I haven’t tried this idea yet…but Brian Matiash as well as others have a technique called better sky selection which can be done similarly perhaps for a better subject mask. Otherwise it’s just the tedium of mask editing.

Thank you, lots of suggestions here. Really appreciate the responses. Will give the video a look.

 

[Anjin San]

OK here is a weird one I saw on youtube. You first select sky, then you subtract select sky, then you invert the result. This supposedly gets a much cleaner sky selection relative to the objects that are not sky. So in your case once you had the new clean sky selection you could then invert to select everything that is not sky. At that point it seems there are several ways to isolate the bird, maybe "intersect mask with" object.

That’s similar to my thought…maybe select subject, subtract subject and inverter will give a better subject selection. I can confirm that the trick works for the sky and BG…so if the subject idea doesn’t work do the BG one and invert the selection. Either still might need minor cleanup though…but brush and auto mask should help there.

 

[flashpixx]

Like Tibor, I select subjects using the LRC Objects selector, which I've found to be more precise than any other "quick" method offered by LRC. When that fails, I'm stuck with using "Subtract using brush" method which is tedious, in part because of the frequent brush size adjustments needed. But I'm happy to have that option -- the brush can be made really small to remove those "blown out" gaps between the flight feathers.

Yes I agree Chuck. While the brush is tedious with some deterity it can do the job, I still struggle with the highlights between the subject and the sky but now at least I have some options.

 

[flashpixx]

That’s similar to my thought…maybe select subject, subtract subject and inverter will give a better subject selection. I can confirm that the trick works for the sky and BG…so if the subject idea doesn’t work do the BG one and invert the selection. Either still might need minor cleanup though…but brush and auto mask should help there.

Thank you Anjin San. You are correct with your thought that some clean up is still required. This is all good information and great for learning different approaches to editing depending on the subject.