How to best mask a blurred object?

[russellcbanks]

I'm struggling to make a mask around an area in part of the image with shallow depth of field. It's a yellow towel that I want to darken and turn gray:

 

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  I tried a mask made with Color Range, and it's OK for starters. Here it is with a color fill layer (color mode):
   
  
  

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  Wanting to darken the area more, I made a group, put the mask on the group, and in it I put the Color Fill layer and a new Levels adj. layer. But when I darkened it, the flaws in my mask were revealed:
   
  
  

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  Here's what the mask looks like:
  

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  I'm obviously going about this all wrong. It will require a very subtle mask! How should I go about this?
   
   
   
  Thanks,
  Russell

[inoneeye]

Hi Russell, this worked well for me and easily when I recently needed to select, blur, and blend edges of a mask for an assemblage.

macworld

 

but if you need further refinement or visual help this video is a pretty good

adobe

 

For what I was after paying close attention to the opacity (after blur & feathering) really nailed it. good luck.

Edited February 4, 2022 by inoneeye

[mikemorrell]

Nothing to add to @inoneeye's great links on subtle masking. Just that you also have the option (in the fill layer) of filling with a darker grey that more closely matches the color you're going for. Then your curves adjustment can be more subtle too.

[Robin Smith]

My reaction to this kind of thing, is to just find another shot. Is white less visible than yellow in a color image? And I am certain you will notice a fake dark-grayed triangle just as you will a yellow or white one. In fact it may well just look worse. I would consider whether this small irritation is worth the work you are trying to do. The best solution would be to clone it out all together, but that is even harder.