Twilight Glow with Color Curves

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to craft a soft, dreamy twilight look in Lightroom using a simple, effective set of three color curves. By gently lifting the red channel, pulling down the greens, and subtly raising the blues, you’ll create a peaceful, cool-toned twilight atmosphere. These targeted curve adjustments shape color and light in a natural way, giving your landscape photos a gentle glow without pushing them too far.

Once the look is dialed in, we’ll limit it to a precise “band” across your mountain range using a pair of linear gradients. You’ll see how to position one gradient from the top down and another from the bottom up, intersecting them to isolate the band where the fading twilight kisses the peaks. This approach lets you keep the effect where it matters most while retaining clean shadows below and a soft sky above, maintaining a balanced and believable edit. If you want to add subtle drama and mood to your landscapes while keeping your edits tidy, this workflow is for you.

Sunset, Antarctica
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Scott Davenport

Scott Davenport is a landscape photographer and photo educator and based in San Diego, California. He leads photo workshops, writes photo books, hosts podcasts, makes tutorial videos, and feels weird referring to himself in the 3rd person.

He also can't help getting his feet wet photographing at the beach.

https://scottdavenportphoto.com
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Banish the Blues: Removing Color Casts From Your Landscapes

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Shaping Light With Curves