In this video, you will learn how to fine tune a landscape photo with linear gradients in Lightroom CC.
You can follow along with any photo or you can download the sample file from the Adobe page for this tutorial.
Once you import the sample file, you will see it in the photo grid.
Double click on it to open it.
Sometimes with landscape photos, the foreground maybe too dark and lacking detail.
You can use the Linear Gradient tool for enhancing skies and foreground separately in urban landscape photos.
Click on the Linear Gradient icon to bring up the settings.
These settings are not global, they will only affect the gradient that you create.
Also, Lightroom CC remembers your previously used settings to reset all settings, right click on any slider and select Reset All Sliders.
To see how the gradient works, drag the Exposure slider to the left, then click and drag on this area, and drag to create the gradient.
While still holding down your mouse button, you can move the gradient to any direction, and you can hold the Shift key to constraint a gradient vertically or horizontally.
I'm still holding down the mouse button and I'm holding Shift, and I'll drag up, then release to create my gradient.
The exposure effect is applied at full strength below this line and it gradually fades out above it.
Anything above this line is not affected at all.
If you can't see the overlay, press the O key on the keyword to cycle between overlays.
The mask overlay shows the affected areas in red.
You can see how the effect gradually fades out on top.
This overlay is both the tool and mask overlay together.
Pressing O one more time will hide all overlays.
I prefer the tool overlay, so I will press the O key once again to enable it.
Now, click and drag on the center pin to reposition the gradient so that it only affects the foreground.
You can adjust the fade by dragging on either the start or ending lines.
Or you can click and drag on the center line to rotate the gradient.
Also, you can invert the gradient by checking this box.
When you have your gradient in place, you can increase the Exposure to brighten up the foreground.
Then, drag the Temp slider to the right to warm up the foreground and create contrast with the cool background.
You can bring more detail into the foreground by reducing the Highlights, then increasing the Shadows.
Add Clarity which is contrast in the mid tones to make the trees pop.
And then, add Saturation.
The foreground looks much better now, but we have one small issue.
The adjustments that we applied are also affecting part of the background.
We can easily hide the linear gradient effect from the background by using the Eraser tool.
Click on it to reveal the Size slider which controls the brush size.
You can also use the left and right bracket keys on the keyboard to reduce or increase the brush size.
Click on this triangle to reveal additional brush controls.
Feather determines the sharpness of the brush edge.
Set it to 50.
Flow sets the amount of paint applied on each stroke.
You can set it to 90.
Density controls the maximum opacity that the brush paints.
Leave it at 100.
If you're working with an image that has hard edges, then you can enable the Auto Mask which automatically prevents brush strokes from going beyond the edges.
But in this image, this option is not necessary.
Then, press the O key several times until you see the mask overlay.
And paint away the red areas from your background.
When you're done, tap on the O key to cycle to the Tool Overlay, then click on the Show Original icon to see the original photo and click again to bring back the adjustments.
Now, you can add a second gradient to enhance the mountain and the sky.
Click and drag down from this point, then right click on any of the controls and select Reset All Sliders Start by increasing the Exposure to brighten the background, drag the Temp slider to the left to cool the image and enhance the blues.
Make the clouds and mountains pop by increasing Clarity which adds contrast in the mid tones.
And add Dehaze to bring out more detail in the sky.
The linear gradient is only affecting part of the mountain.
You can use the Brush icon to add to the adjustments.
Click on the Brush icon. don't confuse this icon with the separate Brush tool on the right.
Press the O key to enable the overlay, and paint over the bottom part of the mountain.
Remember to use the bracket keys to resize your brush as you paint.
When you're done, tap on the O key until the red mask disappears, Then, click on the Show Original icon to see the original photo and click again to bring back the adjustments.
There is no need to save when you're done, Lightroom CC automatically syncs your adjustments to all your devices and you can edit them at any time.
And now, you know how to fine tune a landscape photo with linear gradients.
