We’re always a bit wary about so-called editing hacks, tips, and tricks that promise great results, especially when they’re of the 10-second variety. But the quick Lightroom technique you’ll today really pays off on the promise to easily transform any landscape photo in a hurry.

Instructor Roy van der Wens is a versatile Dutch pro with a unique style of shooting and editing landscapes, weddings, and a variety of other genres. In this six-minute episode he promises “to show you how to make professional-quality landscape photos that Pop off the screen” with an almost instantaneous editing hack.

The secret to this magic is Lightroom’s Calibration tool. And truth be told, this isn’t what we’d consider a hack, because this method is part of Lightroom’s vast array of capabilities. Regardless of what you call it, it’s well-worth learning how it’s done because the proof is evident in Roy’s impressive results.

Roy like to underexpose his photos for reason he explains, and he typically uses Lightroom’s Tone Curve to pinpoint the exposure. His goal for this video is to make things as simple as possible, and that’s where the powerful Calibration tool comes into play.

You’ll see how to locate the Calibration tool and move it higher in the panel if you decide to use it frequently. Once you’re there it’s a simple matter to move a few sliders to quickly achieve the specific look you want. Roy walks you through the quick process for transforming dull images into money shots.

For the image at hand he simply adjusts the Red, Green, and Blue Primary Hues, while significantly increasing Saturation in the new tones. He also explains the importance modifying White Balance accordingly so everything falls into place.

The foregoing takes mere seconds and BOOM, you’re done! Roy provides helpful keyboard shortcuts to further accelerate the process. We think you’ll be amazed by the super-fast transformation after viewing Roy’s before/after images.

Roy repeats the process with a few other images, that require different but equally fast adjustments to the sliders. By the time you’re done watching you’ll understand exactly how the hack works, and you’ll likely add this method to your Lightroom bag of tricks.

You can find a variety of other straightforward editing methods on Roy’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted with another pro recently who explains why polarizing filters cause problems with wide-angle lenses and the best way fix photos when this occurs.

Most outdoor photographers understand that mid-day light is one of the worst times to shoot. That’s because at this time of day illumination tends to be harsh—thereby resulting in boring, unimpressive results. And this holds true whether you’re photographing landscapes, wildlife, and even environmental portraits.

It’s for this reason that experienced landscape photographers strive to shoot at Blue Hour as the sun is about to rise, or at Golden Hour when it slides below the horizon. This episode from landscape pro Christian Irmler is all about the former, revealing why waiting patiently for the pink stripe to appear will imbue your images with a very compelling effect.

Careful timing and solid preparation go along way with all sorts of photography, but it’s perhaps most important when capturing landscapes early and late in the day. This means awaking long before dawn is a big part of the equation. The ability to work quicky as the fleeting moment appears is also an important part of the game.

In today’s behind-scenes lesson you’ll watch Irmler on location in the dark preparing to capture the elusive pink glow when Blue Hour begins to unfold. What Irmler calls the pink stripe is a phenomenon Homer immortalized in The Odyssey with the phrase “rosy fingered dawn,” and it is indeed an impressive sight often observed at sunrise.

As Irmler trudges through the landscape in the dark, wearing a headlamp amidst 18° temperatures, he offers a few suggestions for predicting when Blue hour and hopefully the pink stripe will occur so you’re set up and ready to go. Pre-scouting a location during the day really helps because that way you can already have an effective composition in mind at the moment the event occurs.

Irmler shoots a few test exposures at the first hint of impending dawn, so that he’s prepared to quickly refine camera settings at when it’s time to snap the shutter. He also discusses the lenses he relies upon to get the job done, and several technical matters that will improve your odds of success.

You can look at a complete list of Irmler’s preferred equipment using a link beneath the video, where you’ll find another link to the weather maps mentioned in the video. So take a close look, pull out a headlamp and your cold-weather apparel, set the timer on your coffee pot and the alarm on your clock, and awake early enough to capture your best Blue Hour photos ever.

You can find more inspiring landscape photography lessons on Irmler’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to do that after you return home and warm up.

We also suggest watching a tutorial we posted previously in which another accomplished pro reveals five plugins for Lightroom and Photoshop that he “can’t live without” and how to use them.

The first camera bearing the OM System badge, the new OM-1 Mark II delivers category-leading 8.5EV stops of Image Stabilization performance, new LiveGND (Graduated Neutral Density filter), improved subject detection AF and other enhancements throughout. Simultaneously, OM System announced two new zoom lenses, a 9-18mm wideangle zoom and a 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 superzoom (300-1200mm equivalent) that’s ideal for wildlife, sports action and more.

Proudly bearing the OM System logo instead if the Olympus label, the new OM-1 Mark II is sure to delight OM system owners and hardcore Micro 4/3rds afficionados everywhere. True to their commitment to the four genres they have identified as most important to OM System users (Bird, Wildlife, Landscape and Macro) the new OM-1 Mark II is optimized for superlative performance for their base.

Visit OM System’s website for more details.

OM System also announced the all new M.Zuiko 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS super telephoto zoom and M.Zuiko 9-18mm F4.0-5.6 II wideangle zoom lens.

Pricing & Availability
The OM-1 Mark II (body only) is expected to be available beginning in late February 2024 with a suggested retail price of $2,399.99. The OM-1 Mark II kit, which includes the M. Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm F2.8 PRO II lens, should be available for $2,999.99.

The OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm F4.0-5.6 II zoom lens should begin shipping beginning in late February at a suggested retail price of $699.99, and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS super telephoto lens is expected in late February at an MSRP of $2,699.99.

—Jon Sienkiewicz

OM System just announced the OM-1 Mark II together with the OM System 150-600 f/5.0-6.3 lens, strengthening the position of Micro Four Thirds for wildlife photography. The OM-1 Mark II gives you some small but meaningful upgrades to the original OM-1. Meanwhile, the 150-600mm lens gives a native 600mm lens to Micro Four Thirds for the first time.