Accentuating colors in highlights & shadows with Luminar^AI‘s Toning Tool

Luminar^AI has several amazing tools that can help you convey a certain look and feel with an image. One of the tools that rarely gets the attention it deserves is the Toning Tool. 

The Toning Tool allows you to assign colors to highlight and shadow areas independently. It can be used to make subtle changes or for dramatic effects.

I put Luminar^AI’s Toning tool to use on a photo of Rome that I captured in 2007. By adding a slight blue tone to my highlights and a red tone to my shadows, I was able to enhance the red brick and tile in the city and give the image a feel of late afternoon warmth, even though the day was mostly overcast.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Apply a Luminar^AI Template

Open your photo in Luminar^AI and click on the Templates tab. Under the Scenery Collection, choose Fast Fix.

PRO TIP: Click the heart next to the Fast Fix Template to mark it as a Favorite. It does a great job of improving color, contrast and exposure with a single click, giving you an improved starting point for your creative edits on a variety of photographic subjects.

2. Get creative with the Toning tool

Switch to the Edit tab, scroll down to the Creative section, and choose the Toning tool.

Toning the Highlights

Select the Highlights tab and move the saturation up to a higher value, then move the Hue slider along the color spectrum to see how the various colors affect your image. Once you find a color you like, adjust the Saturation to a more natural level.

Toning the shadows

Select the Shadows tab to repeat the process of auditioning colors using the Saturation and Hue slider. Once you find a color you like, adjust the Saturation amount to your liking.

3. Refine the results

Expand the Balance section of the Toning tool and drag the slider to the left to more heavily weigh the shadows with color, or to the right to more heavily affect the highlights.

For this photo, I tilted the balance slightly to the shadows with a negative Balance value. If necessary, go back to the Amount slider and decrease (or increase) the overall amount of Toning effect to your taste.

Luminar^AI‘s Toning tool is a great way to subtly (or dramatically) alter the tones in a photograph. The added control with being able to independently manipulate shadows and highlights makes this tool extremely versatile and a great addition to your creative workflow.