Creating a glowing light spill effect can dramatically alter the mood and atmosphere of your landscape photos. Here's how to do it in Lightroom.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this helpful video dives into the process of adding a glowing light spill using Lightroom. The first steps involve basic adjustments to set the stage for the effect. Möhrle starts by addressing overexposed areas in the sky, balancing shadows, and fine-tuning the white balance. These initial tweaks are crucial because they ensure that the glow effect will look natural. By reducing contrast slightly and adjusting highlights, shadows, and whites, you prepare the image for more detailed work.
As Möhrle moves into masking, the focus shifts to precise control over specific parts of the image. He starts with color range masks, targeting the blues of the sky and refining the contrast between the sky and clouds. This step is essential for creating depth, which makes the glow effect more pronounced. The way he manages the reflection in the water with a linear gradient and increases clarity to make the reflection pop is a clever technique that adds dimension to the image. Through careful masking and subtle adjustments, Möhrle shows how to create a balanced image where the glow effect doesn’t feel artificial but rather enhances the natural light in the scene.
The real magic happens when Möhrle introduces the glow effect. Using a radial gradient, he places the brightest part of the glow outside the frame, which helps achieve a more natural look. This technique of brightening the darker areas adjacent to the light source without affecting the highlights is key to avoiding overexposure while creating the illusion of soft, glowing light. By adjusting the dehaze slider, the glow effect intensifies, adding an ethereal quality to the image. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!"
