Luminar Neo’s Layers and masking functions provide a wealth of creative opportunities for combining images and parts of images to achieve eye-catching results. [Article courtesy of Skylum]

Luminar Neo makes it easy to combine images in various ways, using the layers, masking and editing tools. It provides straightforward ways to add new layers, adjust their opacity, mask them for selective adjustments and blend them to produce a new, more interesting picture.

All these processes are carried out non-destructively, which means if you’re not happy with an adjustment you’ve made, it’s easy to go back to a previous step and change it. Works are only saved in a ‘final’ format when the creator is happy the project has been completed and requires an output for sharing. But even then, the original image(s) used in the project are stored along with ‘sidecar’ instructions outlining the modifications that have been made to them, which are stored within Luminar Neo’s catalog, separate from the original image files. This allows further changes to be applied to them at any time.

The two images used in this project.

For this project we’ve selected a night shot taken in Sydney in 2018, containing a large area of blank sky, to which we want to add a moon. The moon comes from an image captured in Namibia in 2014 with a completely different camera. Both source images had been archived as raw files, which are supported in Luminar Neo.

The first step is to open the background image and apply any required edits, such as cropping, as shown in this screen grab.

The next step is to upload the image from which the moon will be extracted. This image is edited – in this case to reduce noise – and re-saved in the Catalog as a high-quality JPEG.

Clicking on the plus (+) button in the Layers panel (indicated by the red arrow) adds the moon image as a new layer on top of the base image.

The moon layer is then edited by vignetting it to make it blend in more seamlessly with the base layer and then cropped to focus on the moon.

When the layers are combined it is clear further editing will be needed as the moon is too large and its surrounding area is covering the main image, reducing its brightness and colour intensity.

Using the erase brush with a soft brush tip and moderate strength we carefully reduce the density of the moon’s surroundings. A final brush-over with the brush strength at 100% will remove all traces of the moon’s surroundings, allowing the main components of the image to show through.

Final adjustments involve re-sizing the moon to give it more realistic proportions, increasing its saturation and contrast and adding a subtle glow, using Luminar Neo’s regular editing tools. The end result is then exported as a high-quality JPEG file.

The process can be repeated when you need to stack additional layers on top of each other and edit them using the regular tools in the software. You can also choose from various blend modes to change how each layer interacts with the layer below and adjust the opacity of each layer separately.

Layers that have been unsatisfactory are easily removed layers by pressing the Delete key or right-clicking and selecting ‘Remove Layer’. You also can Duplicate layers to apply successful effects multiple times.

Luminar Neo provides a selection of ready-to-use layers for users to choose from, grouped according to the types of effects they create.

Luminar Neo also offers a selection of ready-to-use layer effects, outlined in red in the screen grab above, which allow you to apply adjustments that introduce flare, sparkle, light leaks, stardust or textures. Simply select the one you want and click on the plus button. You can also add any special effects you’ve created to this collection.

To find out more about Luminar Neo click here.