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Home » Photo Editing » Transform Your Images From Dull To Wow With Just Three Luminar Neo Tools
Transform Your Images From Dull To Wow With Just Three Luminar Neo Tools

Transform Your Images From Dull To Wow With Just Three Luminar Neo Tools

by Darlene Hildebrandt | Last Updated: December 4, 2022

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If you use Luminar Neo and have dull, lifeless-looking images that you want to save but don’t want to spend a lot of time editing them – then I have the solution for you.  With just three Luminar Neo tools, you can turn blah photos into WOW photos.

Do you have a photo like this?

The colors are just drab

Or perhaps like this? The images are okay but they are a bit flat, dull, and generally lack punch and contrast. 

I wanted the flower to pop more

If you have images that are lackluster like this, I have a quick solution for you using just three tools in Luminar Neo.

Note: If you don’t use Luminar Neo you can do the first two steps with Luminar AI as well.

After applying the approach in the video below, you will be able to make your dull images pop! Scroll down to see the before and after images. 

From blah to WOW with 3 Luminar Neo Tools

Watch the tutorial now and I’ll show you which three Luminar Neo tools can quickly and easily transform your dull images from BLAH to WOW. 

One thing I want to make clear about this is that you cannot fix or save images from certain flaws. If you have any of the following issues, just toss the image:

  • It’s drastically out of focus
  • The image is extremely under or overexposed (more than 2 stops)
  • The lighting on the subject is bad
  • The composition isn’t good
  • There is no clear subject

You can recover sharpness to a degree in post-processing but the better plan of action is to learn how to get your images sharp in the camera. Read: How to Get Sharper Photos – 6 Essential Settings You Need to Know.

Likewise with exposure. If you shoot in Raw format you can pull a lot of detail out of an image that is either underexposed (too dark) or overexposed (too light). But if you have a JPG and the highlights are blown out, or the blacks are clipping – pitch it into the reject pile.

The better choice there is to learn about the exposure triangle and the different camera settings that control exposure. Then you can make smart decisions about the shooting mode, and all the related options. Read: Camera Modes – Do Real Photographers Only Shoot in Manual Mode?

If you want to compose better photos read: What is Visual Mass and How to Use it to Take Better Photos.

Before and after examples

Here are a few example images that I used to demonstrate the three Luminar Neo tools in the video tutorial above. The left images are unedited before versions and the after images are on the right.

And all I did was adjust THREE THINGS! If you are dying of curiosity and want to know which ones I used, they are:

  • Smart Contrast (slider in the Develop Raw tool)
  • Color Contrast (slider in the Color Harmony tool)
  • Duplicate layer

Of course, if you watched the video you already know that right? 😉

Action Plan

So, do you have any images that might benefit from this treatment? If so, and you have Luminar Neo – what are you waiting for? Give it a try!

If you do not have Luminar Neo but are interested to give it a try to see how it compares to your editing software, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you download it and don’t like it, you can get a full refund. CLICK HERE or on the image below to get more info.

Use my coupon code DPM-NEO to get a discount on Luminar Neo when you buy the annual plan (I recommend the Pro Package so you get all the extensions).

If you use something else to edit your photos – see if you can find three similar tools and try the same technique.

NOTE: Lightroom doesn’t have anything like the three tools I used in the video. If you want to try the same idea, use the Curves Tool instead and watch the video below. It was made using Luminar AI but the Curves tool works the same in any software so you can follow along and apply the tips.

So dig up some old, dull, flat images and see if you can bring them to life!

Cheers,

Darlene Hildebrandt photographer DPM
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About Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene is an educator who teaches aspiring amateurs and hobbyists how to improve their skills through her articles here on Digital Photo Mentor, her beginner photography course, and private tutoring lessons. To help you at whatever level you're at she has two email mini-courses. Sign up for her free beginner OR portrait photography email mini-course. Or get both, no charge!

Digital Photo Mentor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate Digital Photo Mentor earns from qualifying purchases.
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