Masking (art)

This can describe either the techniques and materials used to control the development of a work of art by protecting a desired area from change; or a phenomenon that (either intentionally or unintentionally) causes a sensation to be concealed from conscious attention.

Masking materials supplement a painter's dexterity and choice of applicator to control where paint is laid.

Liquid masks are preferred where precision is needed; they prevent paint from seeping underneath, resulting in clean edges.

Representations of a scene—whether film, video display, or printed—do not have the dynamic contrast range available to the human eye looking directly at the same scene.

These adjustments are typically performed on "blown-out" highlights, and "crushed" or "muddy" shadow areas, where clipping has occurred; or on desaturated colors.

(The word "marquee" describes the "crawling ants" border used to highlight the active region.)

Both negatives are combined and registered, and collectively exposed with additional time to compensate for the presence of the mask.

Unsharp masking allows the photographer to sharpen areas that have become blurred in the original negative, due to long shutter speed/exposure time, or from using a wide aperture/"fast" lens.

(Adjusting the threshold allows the editor to apply the effect selectively upon moderately defined edges and ignore image noise.)

Unsharp masking is computationally more complex than other sharpening algorithms, but results in a higher-quality remedy.