How Much Photo Editing is Too Much (Or Not Enough)? (VIDEO)
We all face a difficult compromise when processing our photos: When edits are insufficient, photos will appear flat and uninspiring, while a heavy-handed approach results in overcooked results that have no relationship to reality.
This eye-opening tutorial from one of our favorite instructors explains how to arrive at a perfect compromise and create natural-looking images that pop off the page. Serge Ramelli is a Paris-born pro who travels the world in search of spectacular landscape, seascape, travel and cityscape imagery.
Ramelli recently returned from teaching a workshop at the amazing Narrows in Utah’s Zion National Park—a destination he calls one of the nicest places on the planet. He says that “a lot of my students were either over-retouching their photos or under-retouching them. So I want to show exactly what most photographers get wrong and how to fix it.”
Most importantly, Ramelli provides his secrets for getting things correct from the get-go. In barely six minutes he demonstrates how to use local adjustments, gradients, and careful color balance techniques to create “stunning, natural-looking edits.”
Along the way he walks you through processing a long-exposure shot—demonstrating the best way to balance cool water tones with warm, red rocks in the frame. Ramelli says he shot the sample image with a two-second exposure to impart a soft sense of motion to the water flowing in his direction.
He first illustrates what he considers under-retouching by limiting his adjustments to “opening the shadows, bringing down highlights, and modifying the blacks and whites.” As you might expect, this lazy approach delivers disappointing results.
Then Ramelli applies the enhancements he recommends for making this image “look incredible.” It’s not a laborious task—just one that’s thoughtful, restrained, and complete. Compare his before/examples and you’ll be duly impressed.
The video doesn’t end there however, because Ramelli concludes with an ugly (but common) example of happens happens when photographers crank up their enhancements far beyond acceptable limits. Don’t be that guy.
Be sure to visit Ramelli’s popular YouTube channel and explore all the how-to videos on a wide-range of outdoor photography topics.
You may also appreciate the tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing specialist who reveals 10 exciting enhancements to Photoshop that will significantly improve your everyday workflow.
