How to Use the Texture Overlay Filter to Replace a Sky in Luminar

© Nicole Young

The Texture Overlay filter in Luminar is a great tool to use to blend textures with your photographs. But the beauty of this filter is that you can use it for any type of image overlay, including skies, and that’s what I’ll be showing you how to do in this tutorial.

Note: This method works best with images that have a solid-color blue or gray background.

1. Open your image

First, open your photo into Luminar.

•  You can do this from the main Luminar window by clicking on the Open Image button. Then, navigate to the file on your computer.
• If you already have Luminar opened, you can also go to File > Open in the menu at the top.

2. Add the Texture Overlay filter

In the Filters panel, click on the Add Filters button. Then select the Texture Overlay filter from the list.

•  This filter is located in the Creative section of filters.
• For easy access in the future, you can also add this filter as a favorite by clicking on the star icon to the right of the filter name in the Filters Catalog.

3. Add a sky overlay

Now it’s time to find a new sky to replace the one in my image.

• In the Texture Overlay filter, click on Load Texture.
• Then, navigate to the sky overlay file you would like to use. The image will show as a thumbnail in the filter options, and you will see it overlay on top of your image in the preview window.

4. Refine the filter’s settings

Next, you will need to blend the sky overlay with the image.

• First, set the Amount to 100.
• Then, change the Blend mode to Overlay. This is a great way to mix the details in the two layers using a blending mode.
  

5. Select the brush tool to begin masking

1. Some of the sky overlay is showing on top of the main part of my image (in this case, a bald eagle). To fix this you can mask the filter.
2. Hover over the Texture Overlay filter, just next to the name, until a brush icon appears.
3. Click on the brush icon and choose Brush from the menu drop down.
4. An orange outline will appear around the filter, indicating that it is currently being masked.

6. Choose the brush settings

Next, in the options at the top of the window, you will want to select your brush settings.

• Make sure the mode is set to Erase.
• Set the Opacity somewhere between 25% and 50% to ensure that you don’t add visible brush strokes to your image. At a lower brush opacity setting you will be able to “build up” your brush strokes and help keep the masking look natural.
• Reduce the Brush Size to an appropriate setting for your image. For this example, I have the brush size set to 76, and I will adjust the size as needed while masking.

7. Mask out the affected areas

Now it’s time to mask the sky overlay from the parts of the image that you do not want it to show. This could be a tree, landscape, mountains, etc. In this example, I am masking the sky effect off of the bald eagle.

• Make several brush strokes over the area you want to remove the sky overlay from.
• You can also click on the eyeball icon at the top to view a preview of the mask.

Your sky is now replaced! This technique can be used on any image with a simple, solid-color sky.

Learn more about Luminar in Nicole’s new book — Luminar: Step by Step

If you’d like to learn more about Luminar, you might be interested in my new book, available in both eBook and paperback. This master-class book is the first of its kind and will walk you through all of the features and filters in Luminar. 

Click here to learn more about this title.