Is the Orton effect exclusive to Photoshop?

No, it is a common misconception that it must be done in Photoshop. This video demonstrates how to create a high-quality Orton effect entirely within Lightroom using its advanced masking capabilities.

Why do you adjust exposure and highlights when creating the glow?

I increase the exposure to add brightness and reduce the highlights slightly to ensure that detail is preserved in the areas where the glowing effect is applied.

How do you ensure the effect doesn't darken the shadows or lower-contrast areas?

By using the "Intersect Mask with Luminance Range" function, you can create a luminance map that excludes the darker areas of the image, ensuring the effect only targets the highlights.

Why do you use such high sharpening settings in the final step?

I set the sharpening to 100 and the detail to 75, but I mask out almost all of it. This allows the sharpening to only affect the most defined edges, recovering some of the crispness lost during the softening process.

Is the Orton effect suitable for every photograph?

No, it is not recommended for every image; it works best on photographs that feature interesting light and atmospheric conditions.

Try this Lightroom EFFECT on Your Landscape Photos! (you won’t be sorry)

Creating a Total Mask
📌 Utilize the Masking tool in Lightroom by selecting the Brush set to 100% size, flow, and density to paint across the entire image, ensuring total coverage for the effect.
📌 Avoid using linear gradients for this step, as they often leave gaps or fail to cover the scene uniformly.

Applying Glow and Softening
✨ Introduce the glow aspect by adjusting the tone: set Exposure to +0.15, Contrast to +20, and Highlights to -25 to brighten areas while retaining detail.
☁️ Add the dreamy, mystical look by adjusting the Effects panel: set Clarity to -25, Texture to +10, and Dehaze to -10.

Luminance Masking and Opacity
🎨 Refine the effect to target only highlights by selecting the mask, clicking the three dots, and choosing Intersect Mask with Luminance Range.
🎚️ Use the Luminance Range slider to exclude dark areas, ensuring the effect only impacts the bright, glowing portions of the photo.
📉 Adjust the Opacity slider (typically set between 75 and 100) to dial in the perfect intensity of the dreamy effect.

Restoring Detail and Sharpness
🔍 Counteract the softness by increasing Sharpening to 100 and Detail to 75 in the Details panel.
🎯 Hold the Option key while adjusting the Masking slider within the sharpening settings to ensure the sharpening only applies to the most defined edges of the scene.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The Orton effect is best utilized on images with interesting light to create an atmospheric, ethereal aesthetic.
➡️ Modern Lightroom updates, specifically the Opacity slider and advanced Luminance masking, have made it possible to replicate professional Photoshop techniques entirely within Lightroom.
➡️ Balancing aggressive adjustments (like high sharpening) with precise masking is essential to keep images from looking overly processed or blurry.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Aug 19, 2026, 13:04 UTC

Try this Lightroom EFFECT on Your Landscape Photos! (you won’t be sorry)

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