PHOTO 101
Magically Enhance a Humdrum Sky
Lightleap by Lightricks
Dream photo effects & filters
Want to enhance a sunset you photographed or make the rain go away? Lightleap has a magical feature for creating striking composite images, no matter the weather when you snapped the shutter.
Known appropriately as the Sky tool, it automatically detects and augments everything above the horizon—or replaces it altogether with one of dozens of ultra-realistic images.
To start, select an image from your photo library, or capture a new image by tapping the camera icon, then follow these easy steps.
1. Look to the Sky tool
Tap the Sky tool (found in the adjustments toolbar) and behold dramatic skies of all types.
Replacing a dull sunset? Head over to the Sunset category and tap through the options until you find one whose tones match your scene.
If you fancy the abstract, Fantasy and Aurora will transform landscapes into something more surreal.
Ever wanted to know what the Manhattan skyline would look like if you could see all the stars? The sky is (literally) the limit.
2. Replace and refine
Tap your desired sky and it’ll appear in your image. A paintbrush and eraser tool will also pop up.
Pinch to zoom in on your photo, paint anywhere you see the old sky peeking through, and erase anywhere the new sunset shouldn’t be.
Err on the side of overpainting rather than leaving the old sky in the image. You’ll fix any small issues in the next step.
3. Fine-tune the details
Now tap the Sky tool again to see ways to perfect your photo:
The Horizon tool lets you raise or lower the horizon that Lightleap detected.
The Shift tool moves the clouds from left to right. (If only you could do this in real life!)
The Ambient, Details, and Opacity tools help blend your new sky with your old sky and the foreground.
4. Finish up
Now return to the main editing page to make image-wide adjustments.
You can apply tweaks with each tool individually, or use the Looks tool, which applies several adjustments at once with a single tap. Looks are similar to filters but also apply other modifications, like sharpness.
When you’re finished with your masterpiece, tap the share button in the top right corner to send it far and wide.