How to Create Stunning Reflections in Luminar NEO

Welcome back to another Luminar Neo tutorial! Today, we're diving into a fantastic technique for creating realistic reflections in your landscape images. This method, inspired by Scott Kelby from KelbyOne, is straightforward and can be done entirely within Luminar Neo.

Step 1: Prepare Your Image

First, open Luminar Neo and load your landscape image. In this example, I’m using a drone shot of the iconic Eilean Donan Castle in the Scottish Highlands. While the original photo has some natural reflections, I wanted to enhance them and eliminate distractions like seagrass.

If you’d like to follow along with the same image, you can download the sample file here.

Step 2: Duplicate the Layer

With your image ready, move to the Edit module in Luminar Neo. Here, we’re going to start by duplicating the current layer. Right-click on your image layer and select Duplicate Layer. This gives us two layers to work with.

Step 3: Flip and Adjust the Layer

Next, select the top layer, then go to the Layer Properties on the main toolbar. Scroll down to the Blend Modes and select Flip Vertical. This flips the image upside down, which will serve as our reflection.

To make adjustments easier, lower the opacity of the flipped layer to around 75%. This allows you to see both the original image and the flipped layer. Now, drag the flipped layer down until the sky in the reflection aligns with the original sky. Adjust as needed to get the reflection looking just right.

Step 4: Masking the Reflection

With the flipped layer still selected, go to the Masking tool and choose the Brush option. Set the brush softness to about 5 and strength to 100. Now, carefully erase the top part of the flipped layer, leaving only the water area visible. This will create the basic reflection.

For finer adjustments, zoom in and use the space bar to navigate around the image. Adjust the brush size to create a smooth transition between the reflection and the original image.

Step 5: Add Realism with Motion Blur

Now that we have the reflection in place, it’s time to make it look more realistic. Go to the Creative section in the toolbar and select Blur. Then, choose Motion Blur. Increase the amount to 100 to see the effect, then adjust the angle so that the blur follows the direction of the water. Reduce the blur amount to around 4 or 5 to create a subtle, natural-looking reflection.

Step 6: Darken the Reflection

To enhance the realism, darken the reflection slightly. Go to the Develop tool in the Essentials section and lower the exposure. However, you don’t want to darken the entire image, so use the Linear Gradient masking tool to apply the exposure change only to the reflection. This step will make the reflection blend more naturally with the original image.

Step 7: Fine-Tune the Details

At this point, your reflection should look great, but some areas might need a bit more tweaking. For example, if there are rocks or other features that don’t align perfectly with the reflection, use the Brush tool to erase or adjust those areas.

Zoom in and out to check your work, making sure the transition between the original image and the reflection is smooth. Adjust the opacity and masking as needed to get the perfect look.

Step 8: Final Adjustments and Crop

Finally, you can crop the image to your desired aspect ratio. I recommend a 16:9 ratio, ensuring the reflection is centered in the composition. This step gives the image a polished, professional look.

And there you have it! A stunning, realistic reflection that enhances your landscape photo.

Conclusion

If you found this tutorial helpful, don’t forget to follow us on our YouTube channel for more tutorials! And if you’re eager to learn more, check out our Luminar Neo Photo Manipulation Masterclass. This course includes over six hours of in-depth training across 15 projects, perfect for taking your editing skills to the next level.

Watch our video tutorial to learn how to nail reflections in Luminar NEO: