Don’t be fooled by the brevity of this tutorial from instructor Steve Arnold because he insists that his handful of editing tips are essential for every landscape photographer to understand. He says he was unaware of all five techniques when first getting started with post processing, and the quality of his work suffered as a result.

Arnold says what you’ll learn below will significantly shorten you image-editing learning curve, and there’s a big promise attached to his straightforward tips: “Each one on its own can make a massive difference, but if you do all of them it will be a total gamechanger for your photography.”

Tip #1 is critically important for everyone who wants to achieve consistent results from on edit to another. As Arnold puts it, “there’s nothing worse than knocking it out of the park one minute and then being very disappointed at how your next photo turns out.” The solution to this common dilemma is to create a sequential “blueprint” that you adhere to whenever opening an image in Lightroom or Photoshop.

As you’ll see, there are two important consideration to keep in mind. The first, is that the most effective workflow is one in which you apply certain tools in a specific order. So when processing a series of images with a similar look you should “make the same editing decisions in the same order every time you’re about to begin.”

Next on the agenda is a process for rehabilitating images of colorful scenes that turn out flat and uninspiring. One solution before getting  too far along with adjustments is to compare how a shot appears in both color and b&w—even if you intend to display the final result in color. Arnold explains what to look for when making this comparison, but it boils down to this: “If the Light doesn’t look good in black-and-white, then it probably doesn’t look great in color.”

Arnold demonstrates three more powerful post-processing tips as the video proceeds, and you’ll want to add all five to your everyday workflow. Make sure to take advantage of his FREE Editing Workflow Guide using the link in the description beneath the video to download your  copy.

And don’t forget to check out his instructional YouTube channel which has over 53K enthusiastic subscribers.

Speaking of Lightroom techniques for landscape photographers, the tool you’ve been awaiting is finally here. So take a look at the recent tutorial we shared explaining exactly how it works.

Experienced Lightroom users understand why using local adjustments to control white balance can be one of the best ways to enhance colors in an image while maintaining a realistic look. And today’s tutorial from pro Austin James Jackson provides a quick-and-effective method for getting the job done to perfection.

Jackson is a Utah based professional landscape photographer and an exceptional instructor whose weekly editing and in-the-field lessons are guaranteed to help you create more compelling images. Today’s Lightroom tutorial is all about enhancing color for creating natural-looking photos that pop off the screen.

You’ll learn (once again) why we’re strong proponents of selective enhancements rather that limiting your edits to global adjustments that affect the entire image at once. Jackson puts it like this: “While a global white balance adjustment can neutralize colors in an image, you’re often missing out on an opportunity to add drama and mood while creating color separation between the subject and background.”

In other words white balance can be one of the most important settings if done right but doing things wrong can spoil a potentially great shot. Jackson reveals the transformational power of color separation while working on a tight shot of a moose captured at the long end of a 150—600mm telephoto zoom at ISO 800.

The original shot looks pretty good, but Jackson is unhappy with how the color of his subject sort of blends into the background. But watch what happens when he applies his white balance trick that takes less than eight minutes to explain. There’s a bit of snow on the moose’s back which is why Jackson wants to retain the warm look of his subject but cool off the background for a more wintery effect.

Jackson’s goal is difficult or impossible to achieve with a “lazy” global approach to processing the image. The foregoing is a leadup to how adjusting white balance selectively to different areas within the frame is a foolproof solution. He walks you through every step of the way, and you’ll quickly realize how useful this technique can be for balancing colors in other types of photographs.

Jackson’s popular YouTube channel is a great source of shooting and editing how-to videos, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss the related Lightroom tutorial we featured recently with another accomplished pro who demonstrates why and how to set the white and black points during post-processing to create outdoor photographs with accurate tones.

We spend a lot of time discussing why your camera’s Aperture Priority mode is so powerful, and why it’s the choice of many pros. But this tutorial from the Newcastle Photography College takes a contrarian view when it comes to boosting the creativity of your images.

Today’s unnamed instructor is an accomplished Australian outdoor shooter with over 40 years of experience and some great imagery to back it up. He says, “I know what works and what doesn’t, the myths and misconceptions that are spread about photography, and want to pass on my knowledge to you.”

The video begins with a bold and emphatic claim that your shutter speed is the most creative option you have on your camera. He insists that taking this approach “allows you to produce images that just aren’t possible any other way.” In barely eight minutes he walks you through a variety of situations, illustrated with attention-grabbing photos, to convince you to take this advice to heart.

Embracing the possibilities will enable you to use fast shutter speeds to freeze the peak of action and slow speeds to convey a sense of motion. You’ll also even learn how to combine simple flash with a slow shutter to create beautiful images with an unusual eye-catching effect. The good news is that these techniques are appropriate for beginners and more experienced shooters alike.

And there’s another surprise when our instructor explains how much he dislikes the popular Exposure Triangle and why he ignores it for many different reasons. “One is that it tends to give the impression that all of the brightness controls (aperture, ISO, and shutter speed) are of equal value. They’re NOT.”

There’s a brief overview of how shutter speed combines with other key variables to arrive at an accurate exposure, but you’ll see why there’s way more than that to this essential setting, whether you’re shooting environment portraits, wildlife subjects, people on the street, sports photos and more.

“Bottom line: “here are 10 options you can use with your shutter speed to create images that you thought were impossible.” And these inspiring examples are all accessible with whatever gear you own if you choose the appropriate setting for whatever look you have in mind.

Once you’re done watching head over to the Newcastle Photography College YouTube channel where there are many more thought-provoking instructional videos to be found.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured recently with another successful pro who demonstrates how he emphasizes contrast to strengthen highlights and shadows for outdoor photographs with a maximum range of tones from bright whites to deep blacks and everything in between.