It’s Fall - You Know What That Means
Fall is my favorite time of year, and the other seasons are not even close.
And yes, I love to photograph the fall colors, but it goes far beyond that. I love the cooler temps (eventually they arrive here in Texas!), the shorter days, the less intense sunshine, the anticipation of the upcoming holidays, and the general sense that everything just feels better to me.
But of course, I’m here to talk about photography - and specifically fall landscape photography - and how I like to edit these images.
The changing colors of the leaves can be absolutely breathtaking in a photograph. But they also present some interesting editing challenges, particularly when it comes to balancing all those colors without overdoing them.
(This article is focused on editing in Luminar, but the general ideas and approach can be replicated in other editors, such as Lightroom, ON1, etc.)
As you know, my editing approach is based on Light → Detail → Color, and for fall edits in particular, I spend a lot of time on that final step.
There are so many potential colors at play in a fall image, and I think you have to be careful when editing so you don’t push them too far. A lot of those colors are similar too - yellows, oranges, reds - so creating some separation between them requires a little extra attention.
By the way, I’m heading out to Colorado to shoot fall colors really soon, so be on the lookout for a bunch of new fall images in my upcoming videos and blogs. 🙂
Light
For Light, I always start with Develop Raw. This sets the stage for the edit and gets me off on solid ground.
Next up is Supercontrast, which lets me manage the light with a little more nuance, followed potentially by Light Depth.
These three form the foundation of my approach to Light. The extent to which I use each one varies with every edit, but this is the most critical step in my workflow, and I always spend some time here to get it right.
Detail
My preference for detail in a photo is to keep it under control, so I tend to only use Structure AI, and I keep it selective.
In landscape photos, this is generally a linear gradient applied across the foreground with a slight positive bump in structure. I’ll often complement that with another linear gradient across the sky using negative structure to soften it a little.
Both are preferences, of course, and it very much depends on the photo. If there is water in the image, I will often use negative structure there as well.
But one point is clear: use a mask every time you use this tool.
Detail looks best when it is selective. That lets you draw the eye toward certain portions of the photo while reducing emphasis elsewhere. It’s another way of guiding the viewer through the image.
Color
Ah yes, color - my favorite part of an edit, and the one that I personally think can make or break a fall image.
Fall colors can vary wildly from greens to reds, but there is also a lot of overlap between yellows, oranges, and reds. It’s very easy to push all of that color too far and end up with an image that looks oversaturated.
Each photo is different, of course, but here are some of my favorite tools and how I like to use them.
Golden Hour
Golden Hour, found in the Landscape tool, is fantastic at taking the existing warm tones and giving them a little pop, so I use this one quite often.
However, I generally use it with a mask so I can control exactly where that warmth goes. Often I’ll apply it with a radial gradient across a section of foliage, using a nicely feathered edge to blend the effect into the rest of the edit.
Color Harmony
Color Harmony is the best color tool in Luminar, in my opinion, and it’s made up of several different sections.
Be careful here because it can add a significant amount of color saturation. While I often use this tool with a mask, in other cases I apply it globally to help establish the overall mood and color grade of the image.
Experiment and see what looks best. Generally, I keep each adjustment fairly restrained so I don’t overdo it.
Color / HSL
This is often the color tool I use the most because it gives me the ability to create more separation between individual colors - and for me, that’s a key part of a successful fall edit.
The colors I spend the most time on are greens, yellows, and oranges. Some images also need work on reds and even blues.
I rarely mask this tool because these colors are usually present across much of the image. Making these adjustments globally can also help balance the overall look of the photo.
Here are some of the key decisions I make:
Hue: If the image lacks warmer colors, I’ll adjust the green and yellow Hue sliders by dragging them to the left, shifting them toward warmer tones. This can help bring out more of that fall color look in the foliage.
If the image already has plenty of yellows and oranges, I may do almost the opposite. I’ll move the greens slightly to the right to make them greener - and therefore cooler - while taking the yellows and oranges slightly to the left to make them warmer.
The idea here isn’t simply to make everything warmer. It’s to create separation between the warm and cool colors. That contrast helps the fall colors stand out without turning the entire image into a sea of orange.
Saturation: This one is pretty straightforward. I adjust each color as needed so that nothing becomes too dominant or oversaturated. More isn’t always better.
Luminance: Generally speaking, I like to slightly brighten the warmer colors - mostly yellows and oranges - while slightly darkening the cooler ones, particularly greens.
As with the Hue adjustments above, this is about creating separation. The darker greens receive less emphasis, while the brighter yellows and oranges become more prominent. That combination of tonal and color contrast can really help the fall foliage pop.
HSL - again: After all of these custom edits, I will often open Color/HSL again as a new instance of the tool. This keeps my original adjustments intact while giving me another opportunity to refine individual color channels.
If you have a blue sky in your image, pay particular attention to the overall balance between warm and cool colors. Adjust the saturation of any color that needs it.
I love having blue in these images because of the interplay it creates with all those warm fall colors. Warm and cool working together can be much more interesting than simply making everything warmer.
Final Adjustments
At this point, the colors should be balanced and looking good.
Near the end of my edit, I like to come back to the light one more time and make any final adjustments. This could mean another Develop adjustment for overall contrast and light, but my personal favorite here is Mystical.
Mystical can add some additional contrast and help both the light and color pop a little more.
But be careful: any adjustment to light or contrast can also make colors appear more saturated. So keep an eye on those colors as you make your final moves.
Season to taste, in other words. 🙂
Want to Try This Yourself?
I also have a free set of fall presets for Luminar that you can use as a starting point for your own fall edits.
As with any preset, I don’t consider these a finished edit. In fact, these specific presets are heavy on the yellow/orange color theme, helping to accentuate those colors in a photo. So think of them as a way to quickly establish a direction for the image, and then use the ideas above - Light, Detail, Color, masking, HSL adjustments, and your own creative choices - to make the photo your own.
Get my free Fall Presets for Luminar → https://jimnix.com/luminar-neo-autumn-moods-collection
That’s it, my friends - that’s how I approach editing a fall landscape image in Luminar. I hope it helps!
