All photographers who shoot in the field understand why atmospheric conditions like drizzle or mist enables them to capture compelling images full drama and emotion. But what those times when Mother Nature fails to cooperate and you’re greeted by clear skies?

The answer is simple: Use Lightroom to create some artificial atmosphere of your own. And that’s the topic of today’s tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel that walks you through a realistic fog effect that transforms a ho-hum landscape scene into a truly-special image.

German photographer Christian Mohrle is a familiar face on these pages because our readers appreciate his great imagery and post-processing tutorials. As always, you can download his sample Raw file with a link beneath the video and follow along as he walks you through the straightforward steps.

You can fast-forward to the 6:55-minute mark of the video if all you care about is the fog effect, but we strongly urge to watch from the beginning. That’s because Mohrle starts by demonstrating a variety of global adjustments that make the image as good as possible before turning to the masking magic and introducing the fog.

Mohrle’s photo was shot at a high ISO setting and need quite a bit of work. His preliminary adjustments begin in Lightroom’s Details tab where he clicks on Denoise. You’ll see how he turns down the strength to avoid a muddy look. He then moves to the Basic panel and changes the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe landscape which immediately boosts base saturation.

Other modifications include a refinement to white balance, a gentle increase in exposure, and adjustments to shadows that revel more details in the darkest portions of the frame. Mohrle then boosts Texture and Clarity, while bringing down Dehaze to simplify what follows.

It’s finally time for the fun part of this lesson; namely, using selective masking to add some moody fog that greatly enhances the shot. The video concludes with some thoughtful color grading and very careful sharpening. Check out the before/after images and you’ll be impressed.

There are many more shooting and editing videos on Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel, so pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to use the Color Mixer Tool in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to create outdoor photographs with perfectly balanced tones.

Your camera’s Spot Metering mode is one of the most powerful options at your disposal, yet this transformative setting is often ignored because photographers don’t understand how it works. And that’s too bad because, when used properly, it’s almost impossible to end up with disappointing images that are either too bright or too dark.

We’re going to get you up to speed with the following tutorial from Ejaz Khan, a widely published wildlife photographer who started his professional career shooting fashion assignments for renowned publications like Vogue. Khan summarizes today’s revealing episode like this: “With spot metering you gain full control over your subject’s brightness, ensuring that every detail is captured just the way you envision it.”

Khan illustrates everything you need to know while taking us along on his excursion to a breathtaking snowy location in Canada, where conventional camera modes will likely provide an inaccurate combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO because of the predominantly bright tones throughout the frame.

Everything you learn can also be applied when shooting in opposite conditions, i.e. when a scene is unnaturally dark. By the time this lesson concludes you’ll be confident about using spot metering to make subjects stand out—whether you’re dealing with white snow, a bight sandy beach, or the deep shadows of a forest.

After watching Khan walk you through the simple steps, be sure to visit his instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find more simple solutions to perplexing photography challenges.

We recently shared another camera primer that we’re sure you won’t want to miss. It’s a comprehensive beginners guide to choosing the correct autofocus mode in different situations and using it to capture sharp photos with maximum detail.

One of the most fun steps in photography is post-processing. But if your computer monitor isn’t displaying accurate colors, then all of your edits may be wrong – and one of the least fun steps in photography is re-doing a bunch of work you already did! That’s why proper color calibration for your monitor is so essential. In this article, I’ve reviewed the Calibrite DisplayPro HL, a device you can use to test and calibrate your monitor to make sure it’s decent enough to edit a photo.