Control Color in Luminar Neo (the Mistake Most Editors Make)
How to Control Color in Luminar
Fewer Color Tools → More Control → Better Images
If you're anything like me, you love big, expressive color in your photos. I've been drawn to that style ever since I picked up a camera more than 15 years ago.
One of the things that originally attracted me to Luminar Neo was its incredible collection of color tools. It has some of the best color controls I've ever used.
So Many Tools
Every editor has Color/HSL, and that is an important one for sure, but Luminar Neo also has a lot of more unique and targeted color editing tools. These include Golden Hour, Toning (normally known as Split Toning in other editors), Color Harmony (a beast of a tool, comprised of 4 different tools), Twilight Enhancer, Water Enhancer, Color Transfer, Mood (LUT), and even the old reliable Accent AI will impact your colors to some degree.
That is quite a list - but it’s also a problem.
What’s the problem with having a lot of tools at your disposal?
The Problem
The problem is twofold. There is a sense of confusion that can occur due to having so many choices. You may not be sure which ones to use. Also, when you start stacking color tool after color tool in an edit, it's very easy to overwhelm an image and push the colors too far.
One of the biggest mistakes I see in Luminar is stacking color tool after color tool, trying to make an image pop. In my experience, the best color and the best results often comes from using fewer color tools and applying them more selectively with masks - or using tools that are selective, even without masks (I will explain this concept below).
How I Start an Image Edit
I always start with Develop RAW, and then usually use Supercontrast and Light Depth to get the light exactly how I want it, at least until I get into more advanced light adjustments to emphasize certain aspects of the photo (dodge and burn, if you will).
Then I tend to use Structure AI, both positively and negatively, to increase or decrease the appearance of detail in the image. This is two uses of the tool, with each use being applied using a mask.
While there are color adjustment tools in Develop RAW (Saturation and Vibrance, that is), I rarely use them, and if I do, it’s a very minimal amount. I prefer to save color adjustments until after I've adjusted light and detail. Not only does that fit my workflow, but I think Luminar's dedicated color tools give me more control than simply increasing Saturation or Vibrance.
However, I do often make Temperature and Tint adjustments in Develop RAW, and that does impact the overall look of color in the photo. So while I use these two sliders to get the overall base temperature set properly, I generally avoid massive color shifts here. It’s more about correcting or aligning to the mood instead of an image overhaul.
My Top Color Tools
This is the fun part for me, but again I’m a big nerd when it comes to playing around with color. These are the tools I depend on again and again, and they always deliver for me. It’s very important that you learn them well, and learn masking too so you can maintain ultimate control over their use.
Color (aka HSL) is very powerful, and allows you to isolate 8 separate color channels, and then adjust them in terms of Hue (shade), Saturation (intensity) and Luminance (brightness). This is very powerful stuff, and usually doesn’t need a mask because by definition each color is isolated.
Golden Hour takes the existing warm/golden tones in any image, and gives them a boost. This is sort of selective because it’s only impacting the golden/warmer tones. However if you have a sunset sky full of golden light, the whole thing will pop. I use this on most sunsets, and if there is a good balance of blue sky behind/between the golden tones, then I don’t mask. If it’s all golden tones, I often will mask it, and generally with a luminosity mask.
Toning (Split Toning in other apps) divides the photo into Highlights and Shadows, and allows you to pick a Hue (shade of color) and a saturation level for each one. So again, this tool is somewhat selective already, since it’s only impacting highlights and shadows. You also have a slider for Amount, which defaults to 50 (out of 100) and I tend to leave it there - so that is like a 50% strength. It also has a Balance slider, which allows you to drag it left (toward the shadows) or right (toward the highlights) and it will apply more of the color you picked for each zone according to whichever direction you slide it. So if you want to give preference to the color you picked for highlights, you slide it to the right. Again I tend to leave this in the center, but it is a good way to help control how much color is going into your image.
Color Harmony is arguably the most powerful color tool in Luminar Neo because it combines four different color controls into one place: Brilliance and Warmth, Color Contrast, Split Color Warmth and Color Balance. In the video below, I show how I use three of these on a single image - there’s a lot of power there. But the key thing for me with Color Harmony is that masking is usually required. Especially when using multiple tools here, you can quickly overwhelm an image (check the video to see this in action). My particular favorite is a Luminosity Mask. Specifically, I like to align the luminosity mask with the tone distribution in the histogram so that I cover a lot of the major areas of light in image. There is so much you can do with this powerful tool!
While there are still plenty of other color tools in Luminar - and they are definitely worth having at your fingertips - I don’t use them nearly as often because the ones above do all the heavy lifting for me. Coupling these tools with masks gets me the end results that I like, and I have excellent control over how they appear in my image.
Wrapping It Up
In the end, great color isn't about using every color tool available. It's about using the right tool, in the right place, and with intention.
That's why I've gradually moved toward using fewer color tools and relying more on masks. The more selective I become, the more control I have, and the better my images look.
The same philosophy influences how I build my presets as well. Rather than cranking every slider, I try to create presets that enhance an image while still leaving room for your own creative choices.
So the next time you're editing a photo, try using one or two color tools instead of five or six. You might be surprised at how much stronger the final image looks. And don’t forget to mask! 😊
Question for You
What's your favorite color tool in Luminar Neo, and do you find yourself using just a few tools repeatedly or experimenting with everything?
I did a video covering this topic as well, which you can see below. Hope it helps and enjoy!
