How To Use Gradient Filter In Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom'southward local adjustment tools are some of its all-time features. The Graduated Filter is i of the tools that I apply more than annihilation else when editing landscape photography. Very few of my images make it out of Lightroom without having applied these Lightroom filters in some way.
Landscape photography of a rocky mountain, waterfall and trees, edited using Lightroom graduated filter
The Graduated Filter is basically a Lightroom filters tool that allows y'all to apply the effect of a physical graduated neutral density (ND grad) filter digitally in Lightroom. ND grad filters transition from clear to dark, allowing you to darken office of the image by placing the filter in front of your lens when taking photos.
Being able to employ this issue in post-production gives y'all a lot more flexibility in the mode the graduated filter affects your paradigm.
At that place is more than to the Graduated Filter tool in Lightroom than just darkening bright skies, though. Its uses are only limited by your imagination.
I'm going to give you some Graduated Filter tips to speed up your workflow and prove you how you can utilize the tool more than creatively to brand your landscape photos look amazing.

1. Proceed It Straight

In the Develop module (D), select the Graduated Filter tool (G). Place the cursor at the point of the prototype that you want the effect of the filter to brainstorm, then drag it in whatever direction. The transition will begin where you lot outset dragging and finish where y'all release it.
If you lot want the filter to be parallel to the edge of the epitome, effort holding down the shift key while you drag the filter across the image. Holding downward shift and dragging upwardly or downward volition keep the filter horizontal, dragging from the left or right volition keep it vertical.

two. Edit Your Filter

Once yous've created a Graduated Filter, it's not permanent. You tin still drag to where you want it. You tin rotate it past moving the mouse over one of the lines on either side of the push until you run into the mouse alter into a rotate icon, allowing you to change the angle of the filter. Y
ou can fifty-fifty modify how "hard" or "soft" the transition is by clicking and dragging one of the parallel lines that represent where the grad begins and ends.
Screenshot of seascape photography being edited using Lightroom graduated filter tool

3. View the Filter Mask

You can come across the parts of the image that are affected by the filter by showing the mask (O). While the filter is even so active, pressing the "O" key will testify the mask.
Shift-O will change the colour of the mask, which can be helpful if the mask colour is hard to run across against the colours of the prototype.
Screenshot of seascape photography being edited using Lightroom graduated filter tool, Lightroom filters

4. Erase Unwanted Elements

Many times when you elevate a graduated filter across an image you will include elements that you lot don't want to employ the effect to. This is ane of the advantages of using the Graduated Filter tool in Lightroom rather than a physical ND grad filter, considering you lot tin can erase the filter from the places you lot don't want information technology.
With the filter agile, click "Brush" at the top of the panel (or Shift-T), then go to the bottom of the panel and click "Erase". Y'all can adjust the brush size, etc. Then, with the mask visible once again (O), brush away the parts of the filter where you don't want information technology applied.
Yous can besides add the effect of the filter to other parts of the image the same way by following the same steps, simply instead of "Erase", click on "A" or "B".
Afterwards that, brush the effect into the parts of the image that same way every bit if you were erasing some of the effect.
Lightroom screenshot of graduated filter tool panel

5. Add Colour Effects

You'll find that the Graduated Filter console has a lot of options. The command sliders can be used in many artistic ways. 1 of my favourites is to add or change the colours in my images.
Sometimes it's something every bit simple as making a white balance adjustment that I only want to apply to part of the photo, but I'll frequently use it to add a colour effect.
With the filter agile, click on the colour box at the bottom of the graduated filter console, then pick a colour from the chart. Motility information technology around the box until you notice a colour that you like and works with the other colours in the image.
When you're happy with the hue, you can accommodate the strength of the colour by adjusting the saturation slider below the colour chart.
It will take some experimentation, but less is normally more with these sort of artistic effects, so don't go overboard.
Lightroom screenshot of graduated filter tool panel - colour effects for Lightroom filters

6. Add a Blur Result

Using the sharpness slider, y'all tin blur part of the epitome. You might desire to do this to create a shallow depth-of-field (DOF) effect. It can likewise be a great way to create a tilt-shift issue in mail-production if you don't have an expensive specialist lens.
If yous movement the sharpness slider to the left, information technology will begin to blur the active filter. Motility it effectually until you get the right corporeality of blur.
Screenshot of editing a coastal landscape using Lightroom graduated filter tool - blur effects for Lightroom filters

7. Duplicate Your Filter

Sometimes you'll create a graduated filter effect that you want to apply to another part of the image. Instead of painting the event in like I mentioned in tip # you tin duplicate the filter and motion it to whatsoever position y'all like.
With the filter selected, right-click on the little round button that y'all used to drag the filter beyond the photograph, and click indistinguishable. Now grab the push button and move it to wherever you'd similar as in tip #two.
Duplicating a graduated filter tin exist helpful in many situations. If you want to use a shallow DOF effect like in tip #6 , you tin create the filter for the pinnacle part of the image backside your subject, so duplicate it and move information technology to the lesser of the image in front of your subject.
Information technology'southward also a great way to strengthen the upshot you've created past duplicating the graduated filter and leaving it over the original to double the strength of the filter. You could even requite one filter a soft-grad and requite the duplicate a difficult-grad effect.
You're only limited past your imagination.
Screenshot of editing a coastal landscape using Lightroom duplicate Lightroom filters

Summary

You'll exist surprised by the variety of ways you can use Lightroom filters to brand your photos shine.
The graduated filter in Lightroom is an incredibly powerful tool that tin can allow yous to make many creative edits to your photos. I encourage you to dig a little deeper and have some fun experimenting with it.
If you have whatever tips to add together that I haven't mentioned, please add together them in the comments below. I love to acquire new means to use my favourite post-processing tools!
Check out our article of best complimentary Lightroom presets for more great tips!