Luminar NEO: How to use the Toning Tool

luminar neo Apr 23, 2023

The toning tool in Luminar NEO can dramatically change the mood and temperament of your photo. This tool offers a classic colour grading technique designed for split toning adjustments. Split toning allows you to add two-toned treatments to your images. You simply choose a colour tint for the highlights, choose another for the shadows, and set the transition between them.

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What is the Toning Tool

A Split Tone is a two-toned treatment for an image. It is a classic color grading tool. Choose a color tint for the highlights, choose another for the shadows, and set the transition between them.

Introducing the Toning Tool sliders

Amount

This slider sets the overall strength of color toning applied to the image.

Highlights

- Saturation. This slider increases the intensity of the color in the bright areas of the image.
- Hue. Slide through a spectrum of colors to choose the toning of the bright values in the scene. Becomes available once you apply Saturation.

Shadows

- Saturation. This slider increases the color intensity in the darker areas of the image.
- Hue. Scroll through a spectrum of colors to choose the toning of the darker values. Becomes available once you apply Saturation.

Balance

This slider shifts the balance between the Highlights adjustments and Shadows adjustments for split toning. Slide it to the left, and Shadows adjustments will take precedence; slide it to the right and adjustments to the Highlights will take precedence.

Getting started with the Toning Tool

The Toning Tool is a color grading tool, and it isn't the most frequently used tool of Luminar NEO. However, it is still handy for you to know how it works and how you can use it on your images.

Toning Tool:

Open the image in Luminar NEO using the Add Photos button (Cmd/Ctrl + O) in the Catalog module (L).
Move to the Edit module (E).
Depending on the image, apply a basic development with the tools available in the Essentials section (Develop, Enhance AI, Color).
In the Creative section, open the Toning section.
By default, the Amount slider is set to 50. You will notice that the other sliders of the Toning Tool are greyed out. For them to become available, push the Amount slider to 100.
The Highlight and Shadows sliders will enable you to choose a different color for the highlights and shadows of your image. This is called split-toning.
Select Highlights, and push the Saturation slider to 100 to understand the maximum effect possible with this slider. Then use the Hue slider to choose the color to apply on the Hightlights of your photo. Repeat this for Shadows.
Once you have set the Highlights and Shadows, use the Balance slider to adjust Highlights adjustments and Shadows adjustments.
Remember that to reset any sliders, you can double-click on them.

Toning Tool video tutorial

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

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