PhotoLab 10 Depth Mask: How to Separate Portraits and Sports Photos by Distance
A normal mask asks what something is. A Depth Mask asks where it sits. PhotoLab 10 builds an AI depth map from a regular RAW, then lets you select a band of distance: near, mid, far. You do not need embedded phone-style depth data. That is why the tool shows up in both portrait and sports work. The job is the same. Keep the subject. Push everything that is not on that plane. New users can get 15% off with discount code EDALDRIDGE15.
The basic move
Open Customize → Local Adjustments → Depth Mask.
Click the plane you want to protect or edit. On a portrait, that is usually the face. On a race car, the bodywork you want sharp.
Tighten the near/far handles so the overlay covers only that band.
Feather the edges so the transition does not look cut out.
Invert the mask if you want to work on the background instead of the subject.
Add a small blur, a little minus exposure, or a touch of ClearView. Then stop.
Show the mask overlay while you build it. Hide the overlay before you judge the photo.
Portrait 1: two people, not quite enough glass
The first demo file is a prom-style pair shot at 70mm and f/4.5. That aperture is ok but it is not enough for good separation. Click the subjects, expand the depth band until both faces and torsos are inside the mask, invert, then add a light background blur. You are not turning the file into an 85mm f/1.4 shot. If one person stands a half-step closer than the other, widen the band until both stay protected. If a planter or step at the edge stays sharp, that is often geometry, not a bug. The algorithm thinks that object is nearer the camera. Pull the near handle or paint it out with a Control Brush.
Portrait 2: sharp but still messy
The second portrait is closer: 50mm at f/2.2. The subject is already isolated somewhat by the steps. The leftover problem is a flower pot sitting just off to the left. Isolate the subject, invert, and increase fall-off on the offending prop. A little extra blur on one object is enough. Overdo it and the file looks computed. Rule of thumb: if the lens already did 80 percent of the work, Depth Mask should do the last 20. Here Depth Mask is a finisher, not a fake-bokeh generator.
Sports 1: two cars
Sports files break color masks. Red car against red barrier. White kit against white stand. Depth does not care about hue. In the two-car example, the rear car is the subject. Click that plane, protect it, invert, and soften the front car plus the clutter around it. Watch holes and overlaps. A body work opening should stay a opening, not fill with mask. If the front car shares too much of the same distance band, narrow the handles until only the intended car is protected. This is the editorial use case. You cannot always stand in the right spot. You can often make the frame read as if you had.
Sports 2: 400mm but f4.5
A 400mm f/4.5 motorsport frame already compresses space. The background is still full of fences, people, and other cars. Protect the subject car. Invert. Add a modest blur or a small exposure drop on the background and people if it is going to be used for editorial purposes. A sports editor wants the car to pop. They do not want the grandstand turned into soup. If the mask creeps onto a wing endplate or a driver’s helmet because those parts sit slightly nearer or farther, refine with an elliptical Control Point or the Control Brush. Depth Mask gets you 90 percent. U Point finishes the job.
How much blur is enough
Depth Mask can imitate a wider aperture. It cannot copy a specific lens. There is no “make this look like a 135mm f/2” checkbox. That is a fair feature request, not what version 10 shipped with. Use this scale:
minimum blur / small exposure drop: editorial, news, sports, event albums
More than that: only if the original file was already close to shallow DOF and you are making a hero portrait
Never: blur so hard that hair, fence mesh, or rain spray turns into a smear against a sharp subject
Match the photograph you shot. A 70mm f/4.5 prom photo should still look like a 70mm f/4.5 prom photo, just cleaner.
When not to use it
Skip Depth Mask when:
The whole scene is on one plane (flat wall, group lined up on a step)
You need to select by object, not distance (one face in a crowd at the same depth as others)
You are trying to invent bokeh that the lens never had, on a file that must stay documentary
In those cases use People / Face AI masks or a Control Point, the tools combine and work well together.
