Applying Effects

A number of effects can be applied to images in the Develop Tools pane.

Settings can be set as a preset for future use.

Photo Effect

Use the Photo Effect drop-down menu to apply a variety of filters to images.

To apply a Photo Effect:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the Effects group, enable the Photo Effect checkbox.
  3. Select a filter from the Photo Effect drop-down menu.

Use the Opacity slider and Blend Modes drop-down menu to adjust how the selected effect blends with the image. To access these tools, click the arrow button to the right of the Photo Effect drop-down menu.

Color Overlay

Use the Color Overlay drop-down menu to apply a color over an image.

To apply a color to an image:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the Effects group, enable the Color Overlay checkbox.
  3. Select a color from the Color Overlay drop-down menu.

Use the Opacity slider and Blend Modes drop-down menu to adjust how the selected effect blends with the image. To access these tools, click the arrow button to the right of the Photo Effect drop-down menu.

Gradient Map

Use the Gradient Map effect to add colors to the dark and light parts of an images. The Gradient Map effect maps shadows to one color, and highlights to another based on the lightness value of each pixel. Give the darker parts of an image a completely different color from the lighter parts.

To apply a Gradient Map effect:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the Effects group, enable the Gradient Map checkbox.
  3. In the Shadows drop-down menu, specify a color to be added to the dark parts of the image. In the Highlights drop-down menu, specify a color to be added to the light parts of the image.

Use the Opacity slider and Blend Modes drop-down menu to adjust how the selected effect blends with the image. To access these tools, click the arrow button to the right of the Photo Effect drop-down menu.

Add Grain

Use the Grain effect to make images look like they were printed in a newspaper. It is also useful to use the Grain tool in combination with other effects to achieve a general vintage look.

To apply a Grain effect:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the Effects group, adjust the Add Grain settings as described below.

Grain Options

Grain Amount

Specifies the strength of the grain.

Grain Smoothing

Specifies the smoothness of the grain.

Grain Size

Specifies the size of the grain.

Cross Process Effect and Lomo

A popular film photography technique in the '80s and '90s involved processing film in a solution that was intended for another type of film. This cross processing gave photos a boost in saturation and contrast, and shifted colors towards greenish-yellow highlights and bluish shadows. Simulate these retro-effects with the Cross Process tool. Using Cross Process along with Post-Crop Vignette creates an effect called Lomo.

To apply the Cross Process effect:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the Effects group, drag the Cross Process slider to the right to increase the retro-effect.

Right-click a slider to reset to the default value.

See also: