Luminar Corner - Adding "Magic" to an Image

By Chamira Young

If you've never been to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on the west coast of Michigan, it's a lovely place to venture when you have the time. At nearly every turn there are countless possibilities to make both great memories and fantastic photos. The area is very picturesque, and today's featured photo is evidence of that.

I snapped this photo years ago while hiking the dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan. The original image is a bit dark, but had a ton of potential. I couldn't resist taking it into Skylum's Luminar and seeing if I could add a dreamy quality to it. Check out the original image:

Adding a Dreamy Quality in Luminar

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the entire process took me all of about five or 10 minutes. That's what I love so much about this software.

First I selected the "Outdoor" category within the list of presets. Although there is a "Daydreams" preset, I decided I wanted to add my own dreamlike quality manually, so I selected the "Autosmart Enhancer" preset. From there, I raised the Vibrance to a value of 70, which was a little on the high side but like I mentioned before, I wanted to go for a dreamy quality. From there, I added the HSL Filter and raised the Blue slider to an aggressive value of 67, and the Aqua slider to 14, which effectively enhanced the sky. I also raised the Shadows slider to 11, which brought out just a bit more detail from the blades of grass. In order to add even more detail, I raised the Clarity slider to 43. And as a final touch, I used the Sunrays Filter to add just a hint of warm glow between the branches of the trees.

Check out the final result below. I was quite happy with it!

Still the Biggest "No Brainer" Decision in Photography!

Click to visit Skylum and check out Luminar 3 along with all their other amazing software!

​Put in the special discount code of "SKIPCOHEN" and receive an additional $10 off.  That means you can buy Luminar 3 for just $59 USD. ​

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