Customizing Radial Gradients from the Illuminate Presets in 3 Easy Steps

Customizing the Illuminate Preset Radial Filters

The lens flare, sun glow and rainbow halo presets included with the Illuminate Collection are a beautiful way to add that extra bit of interest to your photo or bring a bit more attention to the subject of your image.

This collection is meant to help you add a special touch to your photo that will help enhance the beauty that is already there.

Occasionally, you may find that when you add one of these presets to your photo, some of the lens flare may fall on an area that you don't want it too (your subject's face for example) or maybe you would like to adjust the sun glow to a different location in your image.

The good news is that the Illuminate presets are ADJUSTABLE and customizing them to fit your image is very easy!

Step 1: Choose the Preset

This step is as easy as it sounds.  Choose the preset you want to apply.  The best way to do this is to HOVER over the presets to see a preview of the preset on your image. (If you are using Lightroom 6 or before, the preview will only be seen in the Navigator panel.)  Once you have figured out which preset you want to add, click on the preset to apply it to your image. 

*Note: Some of these presets use MANY radial filters and that may slow down the preview a little.

Step 2: Select the Masks Icon on the Tool Bar

All of the presets in the Illuminate Collection are created using the Radial Gradient Tool.  In order to customize the preset, you will need to select the Masks icon on the toolbar in the Develop module. The Masking Panel will open and several pins will appear on your image.  These little gray "pins" will appear in each spot a radial gradient has been applied.

If you are not seeing any little gray pins when you click on the Radial Gradient Tool, tap the "H" key.  The "H" key hides the pins - and you may have accidentally hit it at some point!

Step 3: Select and Move and/or Delete Pins

This is the step that will allow you to customize the Lightroom preset.  Click on the pin you want to move or delete.  When it is activated, it change to a circle with a black dot inside.  With an activated pin, hover over the pin and wait for the hand to appear.  Once you see the hand, you can click and drag it to a new location or you can delete it by tapping the delete key.

In addition to moving or deleting pins, you can also change their size and shape.  To do this, look for the handles at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. Click and drag those handles to resize or reshape the radial filter as desired.

If you wish to change the color of any of the masks, simply click on the pin to highlight it and use the sliders (specifically the white balance sliders or by clicking on the box next to the word Color) on the right-side of Develop module.

If you want to customize any of the rainbow halos from this set, you will need to select and move several pins.  Chances are that these pins are right on top of each other or at least close to that.

This might take a little bit of patience.  Keep in mind that you can use the layers in the Masks Panel to select each of the masks.  This may be helpful when you the masks are right on top of each other. Click and drag the top pin where you want the halo to be and repeat with each of the pins underneath the top one.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Some of the radial filters are small and may be hard to grab and move.  If you don't see the hand appear while you are hovering over the radial filter, it is likely too small.  To fix this issue, just zoom in on your image.  You should then be able to see and move the pin more easily.

• If the radial filters are making your Lightroom move slowly after adding them, make sure to add them last after doing all other edits on your image.

• You may think, "It would be nice to select and move all these pins at once."  That would be really nice but, unfortunately, you can only move one at a time in Lightroom.  If you want them to be in the same place on another photo, just sync your settings and make sure that the you have the Radial Filter box checked in your Synchronize Settings dialog box.

If you are more of a visual learner and would like to see these tips in action, check out our video tutorial below:

Customizing Radial Gradients from the Illuminate Collection - Video Tutorial

Would You Like to Learn More about Editing with the Illuminate Collection? 

Check out these helpful posts:

• Editing Images with the Illuminate Collection Lightroom Presets

• Tips for Using the Lightroom Brushes in the Illuminate Collection

Do you have any questions or comments about customizing the Radial Filters in the Illuminate Lightroom Preset Collection?  Just leave us a comment below - we would LOVE to hear from you!  And PLEASE SHARE this post using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!