Retouching Landscape Photos In Photoshop For A Professional Finish – You’ve heard it many times: “Get it on camera. “If you type and open correctly, you don’t need to edit the image.”
When editing, it’s best to avoid “rescue mission” editing sessions where you’re trying to save a bad image. But shouldn’t landscape photography (or any kind of photography for that matter) be edited? Such an approach will only leave a half-baked image.
Retouching Landscape Photos In Photoshop For A Professional Finish
Below I share 10 tips for editing landscape photos, including basic tips for adjusting tones and colors, as well as more advanced tricks and techniques like replacing the sky.
Editing Landscape Images For Print
I used to think that shooting in RAW was only for top artists with advanced cameras, powerful computers, sophisticated software and lots of space. Then came Adobe Lightroom and RAW editing became much easier. I tried shooting in RAW and editing it to see what difference it made. There were things I could do with the RAW image, but not with the JPEG.
When you first open a RAW image in your editor, you might not be impressed – but if the exposure is within the histogram, you’ve got a good file to work with. Of course you have to make some adjustments, but a RAW image has a lot of potential for creative editing.
I first learned how to process RAW images by watching YouTube tutorials by Sir Serge Ramelli and Anthony Morganti (and a great way to learn if you’re new to RAW).
One of the first things he learned was the benefits of a standard workflow. I primarily edit with Adobe Lightroom Classic, so most of my references here will focus on that program – but if you use another editor, the basic concepts should still apply.
The Ultimate Photo Editing Workflow
Each image will be different and require additional adjustment, but here are my first steps with each landscape image in Lightroom:
Connect the object first. Always remove chromatic aberration and enable profile correction. I’ve set these as import defaults, so when the images are imported into Lightroom, the adjustments will be applied automatically.
Lightroom can detect the lens you used to take the photo and apply lens corrections to remove distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. Consider setting this import default. so the program will be used automatically the first time you import images.
You have a basic workflow that you use to convert RAW images. These may not be your final settings, but they serve as a good starting point.
How I Dramatically Improved My Photo Editing Workflow
Click your pointers at the top of the histogram to see if there are black or white notches. A black cut will look like blue spots and a white color will look like red.
Think of these steps as a starting point to use with any image for basic RAW processing. Non-composite RAW images will usually be smooth and attractive, and these first steps will prepare them for detailing.
A good cook often tastes while preparing a dish, especially when trying out a new recipe. They use it to learn what taste is and how to develop it. You can use the same approach when editing landscape photos.
After making the basic adjustments, taste test, that is, look around and decide what your image needs. Are the areas too bright? Is it dark? Do they need more attention? Are there things that can be cloned? Can another crop distract you or draw attention to your subject? Can the image improve texture or clarity?
Amazing A.i Landscape Editing Using Landscape Mixer Neural Filter In Photoshop
Here’s the same image – but after I’ve edited it. I darkened and enhanced the sky, adjusted the white balance, selected and enhanced the stock, and increased the saturation of the grass. I’ve also done some extra bypassing and burning. Below I explain how to do some of these things!
Also remember that you can create virtual models in Lightroom. Start with image editing – if you have second thoughts, try virtual copying and edit the versions separately. Then you can decide which one you prefer.
So far, I’ve talked about editing any digital image-related workflow. Let’s move on to adjustments more specific to landscape shots.
Landscape paintings often have the foreground and the sky above. Often the sky is sometimes brighter than the ground below
Creative Portrait Editing Techniques: Ultimate Guide
So, before any editing tools appeared, landscape photographers carried a calibrated neutral density filter. Like a tinted car window, GND filters are dark at the top and clear at the bottom. It was a way of extracting the general light in the scene to create an image
This approach worked, but it also had some drawbacks. Fixed GND effect, you can’t create another shape while editing. Also, if the gradient line is straight and objects at the top of the frame (eg trees, mountains, or buildings) extend into the dark part of the filter, they will also be dark.
Import the finished filter tool into the software. As long as you don’t erase the highlights of the original effect, you can use the Finish filter tool to darken the sky and lighten the scene as you edit. Then you can determine the location and intensity of the impact while sitting in front of the computer instead of in the field.
I used Lightroom Linear Gradient to darken the sky. But it darkened the trees and hills on the hills – they are not straight lines, so they do not lend themselves to a straight slope.
Hi, I’m Learning Landscape Photography And How To Use An Slr. Please Give Feedback On My Editing, Composition, Or Anything You Think Needs Improvement. Thanks 🙂
Originally, digital ready filters had the same limitations as physical filters: the effect was applied in a straight line across the image and affected objects that extended to the top of the frame. Since then, new options have appeared that increase the flexibility of the gradient.
For example, you can limit where the effect is applied by targeting a range of lights or colors. Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop have these options, and other editing programs often have similar features. Advanced apps allow for highly targeted light coverage, where you can even choose where the settings are applied.
In fact, the latest additions to Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Photoshop are just an afterthought. Want to adjust the sky without affecting other parts of your landscape? Use Sky Mask in Lightroom (or ACR) and be amazed as application masks
The sky works around trees and other objects that can extend into the sky. Then make corrections for impact
Portrait Photo Retouching In Photoshop: Basics, Tools, And Hacks
Using Lightroom’s newer tools, you can select just the sky and then make targeted adjustments that only affect the sky area.
In Lightroom and ACR, you can rotate the sky mask to target only the tree and ground. Next, add a luminance range mask, where you can selectively edit the fine details of the tree.
On the other hand, if you want to lighten the ground without affecting the sky, use the Sky Mask, invert the selection (the apostrophe key is the “shortcut”) and – voila! – Only location will be selected for customization.
You can make another stitch and work only the first row. You can even name your masks to keep track of where and what they are used for.
How To Make Any Photo Look Better In Seconds In Photoshop
Also use the Hide theme option if you want to customize your image. It will take some practice to master these new AI features, but it’s worth it.
Non-photographers can enjoy a bluebird day without a cloud in the sky. Not us! Clouds add interest, as does a cloudless landscape. It’s not that good in the picture – at least it wasn’t. These days you can add your own sky from canned sky images or from your own personal collection.
Skylum’s Luminar was one of the first programs to popularize cloud replacement, but it wasn’t long before Adobe added it to Photoshop (and did a better job in my opinion). It’s pretty cool stuff, which basically involves selecting a sky, pressing an arrow, and watching your character change. I won’t go into details, but I will briefly touch on the ethics of changing the sky.
Of course, the empty sky in the original image is excellent, and the extra clouds look great. But using a canned sky and then throwing in other things like birds and a hot air balloon will soon make you look like “photos”, especially when people start seeing other photographers using the same sky and effects in their photos.
How To Use The Orton Effect Without Looking Amateur — Andrea Livieri
As landscape photographers, one of the hallmarks of skill and dedication is finding the right scene at the right time, waiting for the right light and weather, and
Picture. On the contrary, if you build
Related Post "Retouching Landscape Photos In Photoshop For A Professional Finish"