Let’s assume you captured a difficult-to-edit landscape photo with super bright highlights in the sky and very deep shadows in the foreground, and you simply can’t balance these divergent tones with one shot in the camera.

In other words, an image like the example in today’s tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel that you can download with a link in the description beneath today’s how-to video. The remedy is easier than you might assume and it involves taking advantage of Lightroom’s oft-ignored Adobe Neutral profile.

Christian Mohrle is a superb German landscape photographer and post processing instructor, and he begins by showing you how to find this overlooked profile and then making several basic global adjustments to prepare his image for the masking magic, color grading, and sharpening enhancements that follow.

As you’ll see, the Neutral profile creates a flatter image with less contrast that provides more control over all your modifications. The next step is recovering more details in the shadows and Mohrle’s preliminary enhancements include raising exposure, dropping highlights, and adjusting the shadows and blacks with simple sliders.

Now all the image-killing clipping is gone and there is far more detail in every area within the frame. On the downside, however, the aforementioned process takes an obvious toll on contrast, but Mohrle quickly remedies this problem in Lightroom’s Presence tab by using sliders to increase texture, clarity and dehaze.

He also significantly bumps up saturation and vibrance, modifies color balance for a cooler look to accentuate the waterfalls on the far right of the scene. With his base image looking as good as possible, Mohrle turns to simple masks that selectively enhance various portions of the scene in different ways. All that’s left to conclude the impressive transformation is a bit of thoughtful color grading, judicious sharpening, and a simple cleanup in Photoshop. A quick glance at the before/after examples will convince you that this approach really works.

There’s much more to learn on the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel about shooting in the field and editing your images for maximum impact .

We also suggest watching an earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who reveals a tiny easy-to-miss Lightroom icon that can be a huge timesaver when editing multiple photographs and keeping them organized so they’re easy to find.

We’ve all had the misfortune of nailing composition only to get a photo that’s too bright or way to dark. Despite what you may have been told, it’s not necessary to rotate your camera’s mode dial to M in order to avoid these exposure problems.

In the next six minutes you’ll learn how to use in-camera Exposure (EV) Compensation—a technique that one of our favorite instructors insists is the easiest way to take control of highlights and shadows in any scene.

Instructor Anthony Crothers is a British pro who regularly shares his shooting secrets, camera- settings advice, and artistic vision for creative imagery. He kicks off today’s episode like this: “Whether you shoot in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or even Auto, EV Compensation lets you adjust exposure with precision without guessing or digging into complex settings.”

Crothers provides a quick overview of the concept, explains when you should use it, and demonstrates the simple steps required. He also reveals a quick-and-easy EV Compensation test that you can use before capturing a shot.  

Here’s the root of the problem and the first thing Crothers wants you to understand: A camera’s meter is calibrated to deliver photos with an average value of 18% gray—whether you’re shooting a snow-covered landscape or a portrait of your black dog. But many scenes are far from “average.”

So here’s the deal: EV Compensation is the solution for capturing images with white whites, black blacks, and everything in between. This simple setting is useful for nailing exposure in trickly conditions, like snow, sunsets, backlit portraits, and with subjects that are predominately bright or unusually dark.

The technique can be used with mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, and even compact camera when shooting in Program mode. Once you understand the real reason your camera is getting things wrong, the fix is almost instantaneous.

There’s much more to learn on Crothers’ informative YouTube channel, so take a close look when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured earlier with an accomplished German pro who demonstrates how to master manual focus and capture sharp, professional-looking photographs—even in tricky lighting conditions.

Today’s tutorial from the Flying Parrot Photography YouTube channel reveals six common shooting mistakes that will compromise the images you capture of our feathered friends, whether you’re shooting at a local park, nearby nature reserve, or in the comfort of your backyard.

The seven minute episode is sort of a mea culpa as instructor Sonia admits to being guilty of these errors when first starting out. She now has years of experience as a “bird chaser” and the simple tips she explores are designed to help you find art in nature while boosting confidence and shortening your learning curve.

Her first misconception was thing that “I had to speed things up because birds move fast, But that’s wrong.” As she explains, it’s important not to rush because great images require patience and thoughtful timing. So take time choosing the appropriate camera settings, composing your scene, and anticipating the peak moment of action.

Mistake #2 is capturing a nice shot and immediately moving on to a different spot. The idea is to “wait a bit longer in case there’s another opportunity to capture a shot from the same vantage point that take things to the next level.” This approach is especially true when you have a cooperative subject that doesn’t seem to be bothered by your presence.

Sonia also recommends revisiting familiar spots, instead of always seeking new locations. Here she explains how “returning to the same places and birds may seem a bit repetitive but it brings valuable insights about behavior, light, backgrounds, and the best camera positions at different times of day.” You may even want to keep a log of these important considerations.

Another common misconception is that awaking early and shooting at dawn is the only way to capture spectacular photos. In fact some insects that birds favor for a meal don’t start moving around until the temperature rises later in the day. In short, while it’s preferable to shoot in ideal light, you’re wasting your time if the birds are inactive

At this point you’ve reached the midpoint of this very helpful lesson, and Sonia discusses three more mistakes and their solutions as the video proceeds. Be sure to visit the Flying Parrot Photography YouTube channel where there are many more tips and techniques for improving your photography skills.

And on a related note, check out the related tutorial we featured earlier with another successful wildlife photographer and instructor who explains how to manipulate depth of field to accentuate the key subject in your frame.