I’ve been leading photography workshops that explore a number of topics and techniques. I encourage participants to think about what to do with their images from the perspective of ultimate end use, as well as how they process their images before they get to that point. I have a regular photography workflow, which I’ll detail in a future post, but this is intended to demonstrate just a few of the areas of color correction and retouching that are typical in my approach.
These photos are examples of post processing conducted in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. In each set, moving the slider to the left reveals the “AFTER” shot. The “BEFORE” shot shows the RAW image prior to any color correction adjustments, masks, or pixel manipulation. The only alterations to the originals are turning on the Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections settings. This is also intended to demonstrate the depth of detail available when working with RAW images.
Editing Photos with Lightroom and Photoshop
One of the key concepts I discuss when editing photos is that post processing should support the original vision rather than completely transform an image without purpose. Using Lightroom Classic and Photoshop allows me to make both broad and highly targeted adjustments, from correcting exposure and white balance to refining color, contrast, and distracting details. Each image requires a different approach, depending on the subject, lighting conditions, and the intended final use.
Optimizing Images for Their Final Use
A thoughtful approach to optimizing images begins long before an image is exported or delivered. An image intended for a website, print publication, marketing campaign, or social media platform may require different considerations during post processing. Understanding the final destination helps guide decisions involving color correction, cropping, resolution, sharpening, and retouching. This approach helps ensure that the finished image is both visually effective and technically appropriate.
A mask was created using Select Objects to isolate the leaves in the foreground to increase exposure, saturation, and clarity. The same mask was Duplicated and Inverted to increase exposure of the background elements.
This image was shot with the camera turned slightly to center the tree, but that made the opposite shoreline uncomfortably crooked. The image was cropped accordingly, Select Objects was used to isolate the tree, exposure and clarity adjusted, then Duplicate and Invert mask to isolate the water in the background, where exposure was reduced and saturation increased.
To correct the overexposure of the buildings, they were masked using Select Objects where highlights were decreased and clarity was increased. Outside of masking, saturation and clarity were increased on the overall image. Next, it was brought into photoshop where the distracting detritus floating in the foreground was removed using a combination of the Spot Healing Brush and the Clone Stamp Tool.
This edit consisted of mainly the brush tool to isolate foreground elements, then increasing shadows, saturation and clarity to bring more attention to the blooms.
Detail of the blooms was recaptured using the brush tool to reduce highlights, increase clarity, saturation and tint.
Details of the overexposed sky was corrected by reducing highlights in the entire image (no masking), the debris under the bench was removed in Photoshop using the Spot Healing Brush tool.
Developing a Consistent Photography Workflow
A consistent photography workflow can also make the editing process more efficient while helping maintain a recognizable visual style across an entire collection of images. From importing and organizing RAW files to making initial selections, completing color correction, and performing final retouching, each stage plays a role in the finished result. The examples shown here represent only part of my overall post processing process, but they demonstrate how much information can be recovered and refined when working carefully with RAW files in Lightroom and Photoshop.
In addition to conducting workshops, I offer instruction on photographic workflow, post processing and publishing.