It’s a dead giveaway that you’re new to post-processing if the images you edit are oversaturated because you took a heavy-handed approach with one of Lightroom’s most overused tools. By doing so you just spoiled an otherwise great shot because it no longer appears realistic.

This is a common mistake among inexperienced users who fail to understand the key differences between Lightroom’s seemingly similar Vibrance and Saturation tools (which actually differ in significant ways). This tutorial from David’s PNY Adventures will set you straight in less than two minutes so that every image you edit retains a natural look.

Today’s instructor David is an experienced shooter whose tutorials are designed for other outdoor photography enthusiasts who want to elevate their skills. This episode demonstrates the proper way to introduce Saturation in certain situations. Then he explores when, why, and how to take a more subtle approach by turning to Vibrance adjustments instead.

David explains that the Vibrance slider “is perfect for enhancing scenes with muted tones.” Simply put, Saturation increases all colors equally, and this is what can lead to an unnatural overdone look.” In other words, exactly what you want to avoid.

Vibrance enhancements, other the other hand, selectively target the subtle colors within the frame and gives them a much needed boost without effecting more intense tones. Bet yet, this technique is easy enough for beginners, and it works wonders for landscapes, other outdoor scenes, and even environmental portraits captured on dull days.

David explains everything quickly and effectively, so we’ll leave the specific details to him. But here’s  quick summary of what’s to follow. You’ll navigate to the Basic panel within Lightroom’s Develop module. Then locate the Vibrance slider under the Presence section, drag it to the right, and watch the subtle improvements appear right before your eyes.

David explains how to make a few refinements as necessary, but the process is as easy as can be. There are more instructional videos to be found on the David’s PNY Adventures YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And don’t miss the helpful primer we posted from another image-editing expert who demonstrates how easy it is to employ Lightroom’s Powerful Selective Color tools and give outdoor photographs a unique attention-grabbing effect.

If you’ve ever photographed a spectacular rainbow and were disenchanted with the results, well, join the club. This seemingly straightforward task is actually quite challenging because of how White Balance works against you. Fortunately, there’s a straightforward workflow that will quickly transform a ho-hum image into something super special.

This tutorial from the popular f/64 Academy YouTube channel begins with some “nerdy science stuff” that contributes to disappointing rainbows that are too contrasty, have missing colors, or appear dull and desaturated.

Instructor Blake Rudis is an accomplished photographer and Photoshop expert who demonstrates “how to fix those gross-looking rainbows with three simple steps in Photoshop.” He explains the cause of unimpressive rainbows like this: “It’s about the physics of light and the dynamics of how colors work, especially with analogous colors.”

Rudis adds that there’s almost nothing you can do in the camera to make these colors look as beautiful as they did through the viewfinder; hence, the need for some Photoshop heroics. In short, this requires understanding the difference between how your eyes perceive colors as compared to the way a camera sensor “sees” a scene.

If you’d prefer to skip other theoretical considerations and jump straight to the practical implications that Rudis provides, just fast-forward to the 5:24 minute mask of the lesson where a demonstration of the Photoshop process begins.

Part of the problem with Rudis’ rainbow is due to how he adjusted the image to bring out a bit more blue in the sky. As a result, “we can barely make out the red, we can barely make out the orange or the yellow, and indigo and violet tones are almost completely absent.”

The impressive transformation involves the proper use of Photoshop’s powerful White Balance tools with three effective techniques applied in the correct sequence. Just follow the process that Rudis recommends, and you may just find a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow photo you edit.

Then head over to the popular f64 Academy YouTube channel where you’ll find many more instructional videos for expanding your shooting and image-editing skills.

We also suggest taking a look at the tutorial we featured with another Adobe expert who demonstrates six common post-processing mistakes than can easily spoil the impact of your nature and landscape photographs.