Masking just got a major upgrade in Photo RAW 2026, and this webinar will show you how to make the most of it. From one-click subject and background selections to powerful new depth masks and the all-new Masking Layers, you’ll see how easy it is to target the areas you want and protect the ones you don’t. We’ll keep it fun with practical tips and creative examples, so you’ll walk away ready to add drama, detail, and polish to your photos like never before.
Masking in ON1 Photo RAW 2026 – Recorded Webinar
Published: Nov 11 2025 5520 Views
On November 11, 2025 at 11:17 pm robmorford1@gmail.com wrote:
Hey Dylan
just finished watching this webinar, the question I have for you. say for example you have for layer masks and your finished editing your picture. Since I’m a former Lightroom & Photoshop user you use to had flatten the image or merge the layers together when you were finished in Lightroom & Photoshop do you have to do that On1 Photo Raw 2026 when exporting the picture back to its original file where it came from?
thanks
Rob M
On November 12, 2025 at 7:55 pm Mark Drudge replied:
Rob,
If you open a RAW file from BROWSE into EDIT, make adjustments, create layers, etc. and then click the button/check to save it, it goes back to browse with all edits settings and layers, and the file extension changed to (filename).on1photo.
If you right-click on the file in browse and choose to export as jpg, tiff, etc, it will export the edited version with all of your layers and edits included, that were visible at the time it was saved.
Hope that helps!
On November 12, 2025 at 12:32 am Bengt Håkansson wrote:
If you want to paint in an effect you have to click
add filter.
click apply to nothing
chose the filter
you got a black mask to add a mask
On November 12, 2025 at 6:58 am ON1 Customer wrote:
No wonder there are so many masking videos. I guess I’m not the only one finding the masking interface very confusing.
On November 12, 2025 at 7:56 am Robin Hatton wrote:
Show us how to remove the background and add a new layer.
Every year you guys rearrange the UI and we have to relearn where you hid everything.
On November 12, 2025 at 1:44 pm ON1 Customer replied:
try this with the CAR image from the video:
when you enter the EDIT mode, click on MASKING (where you see ‘blending, masking, text’)
then choose BACKGROUND
(the background will disappear) (use O to view the mask to tweak it)
NOTE: use a MASKING BRUSH to clean up the mask if needed.
Now click on the LAYERS panel, to expand it. {you can see “develop, local, effects..etc” just below the word:layers. so you are in the right place}.
Now, click on the + sign (‘add layer’ is displayed)
you can now choose an image to create on that new layer.
in that LAYERS expanded panel, you will see two layers, the new layer with the new image on the top. the car is at the botton layer.
Now, drag the bottom layer (with the car) over the top layer.
Your car will now be superimposed onto the image you brought in.
CONFUSING EH ? lol.. i hope i explained it right.
On November 12, 2025 at 1:17 pm David Price wrote:
Thanks Dylan, for these sorts of videos. As I am beginnig to understand the changes that ON1 has made to the UI. The new UI has possibilities and seems to be qute powerful.
On November 12, 2025 at 1:19 pm David Price replied:
PS I missed the live edit, because having started my working day at 5.30 am, I didn’t have the stamina to stay up until almost midnight. But well done on moving start times, because you now have a worldwide audience. Besides we can always watched the recordign, when it suits us 🙂
On November 12, 2025 at 3:43 pm Jerry Clark wrote:
I found this presentation not up to your usual standards. I came out of it with as many questions that I had going in.
On November 12, 2025 at 8:27 pm Stephen Morley wrote:
Missed the webinar and but watched the replay … or what there was of it. Been an ON1 user from the start and with each new yearly release I spend an inordinate amount of time relearning the UI. This is my number one peeve with ON1.
Suggest a part 2 where some the questions of this webinar are re-answered and the
more detail is given in mask modification and the tools involved … I find in most webinars the masks are glossed over and not very precise. On the lion, adding a temporary colored layer underneath would show the accuracy of the mask and indicate areas where more precision is needed.
On November 13, 2025 at 12:19 am Richard Marsh wrote:
The new masking options deserve a short series of 20 minute videos each focussing on a separate aspect. Trying to do an all in one type approach doesn’t work and even Dylan seemed to get lost in the process more than once. I suggest a series of topics as follows;
1. Basic masking in adjustments and effects (without reference to properties and layers).
2. Intermediate masking 1 – adding in masking properties and layers.
3. Intermediate masking 2 – cleaning up mask edges using the various manual tools
4. Advanced masking – complex masks, using multiple layers, intersecting layers.
On November 13, 2025 at 7:35 am ON1 Customer wrote:
an example issue (correct me if wrong)… To make a series of local adjustments on the subject part of the image, , you use the Local Adjustment pane.
BUT
if you want to place an effect on that same subject, you have to go to the other side of the screen and use the Super Select tool.
On November 13, 2025 at 10:52 am Israel Falcon wrote:
I wish there was an easy explanation on how to cut from the photo. In Photoshop you select the area, hit “cut” and you see the empty space on the photo. Simple
On November 13, 2025 at 10:55 am Israel Falcon wrote:
Lets say I have a frame that I want to keep to be reuse with other photos How do you get rid of the photo on it and save the frame for future use?
On November 13, 2025 at 12:59 pm ON1 Customer wrote:
(copy paste mask): if you add an effect, you should be able to paste your copied mask, right there in that new layer showing on the right panel. you shouldn’t t have to go and do it on the Target Mask. maybe your pasted mask is creating a new layer which will be PART of the target mask.
On November 13, 2025 at 2:54 pm Allan Cruickshanks wrote:
What happened to all the questions that were supposed to be answered? The video just stopped suddenly at just short of 53 minutes and no questions were dealt with.
Probably trying to do too much in one video. I liked the suggestion from Richard Marsh to do a series of shorter videos.
On November 14, 2025 at 3:03 am Susan Stoneman replied:
I was wondering the same thing. Is the rest of the webinar available somewhere?
Agreed with shorter videos.
Dylan, you need someone with you when you host these sessions to handle the chat and the Q&A’s for you. There is a lot of blank time in the recording while you are reading the chat silently and that time could be used to demonstrate another part of what you’re trying to show us. Having a co-moderator keep and eye on those details would allow you to do what you do best, help us learn to use ON1 2026 to its fullest.
On November 14, 2025 at 1:52 am David Price wrote:
Agreed, but cutting out inside of Photoshop only feels easy to people who have already got their heads around the PS UI. And it is the same with PR. Once you understand the User Interface, it all becomes easier. (For background I visited a Photo College last week, and wittnessed a student throwing their mouse against a wall, because she was so frustrated with just how difficult the Photoshop AI was. “Nothing, B@@@ Works” unquote. The tutor just sighed and tried again. I didn’t envy him).
ON1 has changed the UI again, and suddenly we are all back in Infants School.
But, once you get why there is a Target Mask, you will realise that it is a significant step forwards. I used PR to cut out a horseshoe sculpture, that was sitting in front of a similar coloured background. The AI had probably never seen anything like it before, and tried, but got it wrong. Being able to create multiple masks, with different tools, allowed me to refine the mask, and to get the image cut out properly.
But I agree that ON1 does need to have lots of small, bite sized videos to explain key points. Having the key points all jumbled together in an hour long video makes it harder to learn.
Although, if Dylan is reading this, I find the autohide on the masking tools bar annoying. Could you refresh the options on how to stop the toolbar vanishing when you are trying to use the tools?
On November 15, 2025 at 1:08 pm Oleksiy Yefremenko wrote:
I would propose to On1 team to combine Local adjustments and Effects in one menu tab. this will simplyfy editing workflow significantly. Because both “Effects” and “Local” in most case needs masks to apply changes selectively. in addition “Effects” already has AI mask selection menu like “Subject” “Background”, “Sky”, etc. Also “Local” tab uses only “Tone Enhancer” only in combination with different masks. Both menu tabs “Local and Effects” has a lot of similarities and combining those two menu tabs will make editing process easier. Choose of specific mask option also different between Local and Effect tab but I would like to see unified masking approach for both menu tabs. Dear photographers please share your opinion what you think about my proposal to combine “Local” and “Effect” tab into one common “adjustments” tab.
On November 16, 2025 at 8:31 am Aaron Anderson wrote:
At about the 30 minute 30 second mark, you are using the subject and background select with the image of the car. Using that same image on my computer, it reports “Subject not found” or “Background not found” Is there a setting to tell it how to find objects as subjects?
On November 16, 2025 at 10:21 am Jean-Benoit DeStaercke wrote:
Really happy with this detailed review of the possibilities with version 2026.
Thank you so much Dylan for taking the time to explain and demonstrate everything so well.
On November 16, 2025 at 5:19 pm Cynthia Clark wrote:
We are not able to use O on our keyboard to view the mask. Running Windows 11 on standalone On1 2026.