Photo Enhancement Steps In Lightroom
As I discussed in a previous blog post, there are no limitations for Photo Enhancement. However, it all depends on what you are looking as the final result. Personally, I don’t like heavy handed photo enhancement, since it makes the picture unrealistic. Hence, a moderate photo enhancement is what I am after.
Basic Photo Enhancement in Lightroom
Lightroom is the most powerful software for Photo Management and editing. All the Organizing and Managements are done in Library Module. Whereas, the Develop Module is for Photo Enhancement.
In this article I cover basic editing steps that I use in Lightroom Develop Module.
Photo Enhancement Basics
Lightroom Develop Module; General View
First of all, let’s take a look at the Lightroom Develop Module layout. To make it easier to edit photos, in our Lightroom Training Program, I always divide the Tabs (Tools) into two separated groups; Global Adjustments and Local Adjustments, likewise, I am going to do the same here.
What are the Global Adjustments?
The Global Adjustments are those adjustments that affect the entire image. For instance, if you reduce the Exposure, the entire photo gets darker, and so on.Therefore, use the Global Adjustment whenever you want to make changes to the entire picture.
Local Adjustments for more Precision
As its name suggests, the adjustments will apply locally to the selected area of the pictures. Therefore, you have more controls for photo enhancement. For instance you just want to make the sky a little darker or a portion of the photo more or less saturated, in these sorts of editing you need to use the Local Adjustments.
Below is the picture of these tabs:
Lightroom Develop Tabs
On the Local Adjustment Tab, there are 6 different tools, which I will discuss 2 of them here.
The Local Adjustment Tools
Steps for Photo Enhancement
These are my suggested steps for a successful photo editing in Lightroom. First of all, look in to the entire picture and decide what Global Adjustments the photo needs. In most photos you just need to apply the adjustments under the BASIC tab. Here is an example for you:
Original Photo
You have noticed due to strong contrast of the scene, the whole picture looks a little dark. So I applied the Global Adjustments to the entire photo to open up the shadows and reduce the highlights. Look at my adjustments. That is all there is to it for this image.
Basic Tab Adjustments
The Local Adjustments, Graduated Filter
In some photos the Global Adjustments cannot justify your envisioned image. In this example after applying the Global Adjustments, the photo was not as I envisioned it, therefore I used the Graduated Filter and applied some Local treatments to the bottom part of the photo.
After the Global Adjustments
Applying the Graduated Filter
Local Treatment for the foreground
The Local Adjustments, Radial Filter
Graduated Filter is perfect when you want to apply the adjustments in a straight line. Therefore, the Radial Filter or Brush are the perfect tools for the job.
In the image below, after applying the Global Adjustments, I noticed that the purple flower was still too dark.
After The Global Adjustments
Applying the Radial Filter
Local Treatment for the flower only
Our Lightroom Training Program is a three-day workshop. It covers the fundamentals in Lightroom Library and Develop Modules in details. Lightroom training program is scheduled for May 16th. I cover many more tips in Photo Enhancement in Lightroom Workshop. Register now to secure your spot.
That is all for now. Stay tuned for my next photography Tips. We love to hear from you. Let us know if you have any questions, feel free to send us your questions and we will be more than happy to answer them. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more Free Tutorials and Tips.
Ted and the Omnilargess Team