Luminar NEO: How to use Color Transfer tool

luminar neo Oct 03, 2024

With Luminar NEO’s Color Transfer tool, you can easily transform your photos by drawing inspiration from other images. Whether it’s a breathtaking landscape or a stylish portrait, transfer the colours and mood from any reference photo to your own. Capture the essence of another image, match tones, and create a cohesive look with just a few clicks. It’s perfect for experimenting with new styles or recreating the vibe of your favourite photographers—bringing fresh inspiration to every edit!

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What is the Color Transfer Tool

Luminar NEO’s Color Transfer tool lets you instantly blend the colours and luminosity of a reference photo into your image. Fine-tune the look with Color and Luminosity Intensity sliders, and create smooth transitions with Smoothing controls. Want more precision? Use Match Similar Objects' Colors to transfer colours between specific elements like skies, cars, or people. Perfect for creating seamless, cohesive edits in just a few clicks!

Introducing Color Transfer sliders

Reference Selection

To choose a reference image, click the Reference Selection drop-down menu, then click the "+" icon to add your reference photo.

Amount

This slider adjusts the overall blend between your image and the reference photo. Use it to control how much of the reference look is applied to your image.

Color Intensity

Adjust the amount of colour transferred from the reference image to your photo using this slider. By default, it's set to 100%, transferring all colours. Lower the slider to reduce the colour influence all the way down to 0% if you want no colour transfer.

Luminosity Intensity

Control how much luminosity transfers between the reference image and your photo with this slider. The default setting is 100%, transferring all luminosity details. Adjust down to 0% to prevent any luminosity transfer.

Transition Smoothing

This slider controls the gradient and blending between the transferred colours and luminosity areas in your image. The default value is set to 50. Increase the value for smoother transitions or set it to 0 for a sharper, more contrast-heavy effect.

Color Smoothing

Use this slider to smooth the transition of transferred colours in your photo. The default value is 30, but you can adjust it for more seamless colour integration.

Match Similar Objets' Colors

This advanced option allows you to transfer colours and luminosity between specific elements in both images. It works best when similar objects are in each image, such as matching sky to sky, car to car, or human to human. This targeted transfer results in more precise colour matching between corresponding elements.

Getting started with Color Transfer Tool

Open your image and move to the Edit module (E).
Open the Color Transfer tool located in the Creative section.
To start, select your reference image by clicking the Reference Selection drop-down. You can choose from the default images or click the "+" to add your own reference image.
Once the new look is applied, begin by adjusting the Amount slider to control the intensity of the overall transferred look.
Fine-tune the effect with the Color and Luminosity Intensity sliders.
Adjust the Transition and Color Smoothing sliders for a more polished result.
Optionally, use the Match Similar Objects' Colors feature for a more precise colour match between similar elements in both images.
At any point, click the Eye icon to toggle between the before and after views.

Color Transfer Tool video tutorial

Watch the full video tutorial covering all controls in this tool.

Luminar Neo: Elevate Your Photo Editing with AI-Powered Tools

Luminar Neo is Skylum's cutting-edge photo editing software powered by advanced AI tools. Since its release, it has become a favourite among photographers for its intuitive interface and powerful features that simplify complex editing tasks while still offering incredible creative control.

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Explore Luminar Neo’s capabilities here.

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Written and published by: Jakub Bors | #BorsPhotography | www.borsphoto.com