Enhancing Details in Luminar Neo
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Enhancing details during an edit can have a huge impact on the image. In fact, I consider Detail to be one of the 3 key tenets of image editing (the other two being Light and Color). I may talk about that in more detail at a later time. But, as with Light and Color, I truly believe you have to be rather careful with it. Here are a few things to consider:
Try Structure AI. It’s a great tool and my favorite one for enhancing details. It’s also human-aware, so you can try it on portraits without crunching up someone’s skin.
I notice that Structure AI also slightly brightens the area where it is applied, so keep that in mind when using it.
I use Structure AI negatively all the time (slide it to the left instead of to the right), which smooths out details and makes it more soft and dreamy. This works great on skies and water.
Use the Details tool itself. I use this one less often, but on certain subjects it really helps. There are sliders for Small, Medium and Large Details, but most of the time I am happy just using Medium. Whenever I try out Small, it feels like it gets really overdone, quickly. Experiment and see what you like.
Regardless of which tool you use, consider masking the adjustments into specific areas. If not, the entire photo can end up looking a little crunchy and over the top. Certain things in a photo look good with enhanced detail, and other things do not. Hence the use of masking - a key skill in photo editing.
The image below is a great example of this technique. I used Structure AI to increase the crispness of the bridge stonework and the teahouse. Then, I used Structure AI again, but negative this time, to help smooth out the sky and water.
