Last week brought you a short-and-sweet tutorial from post-processing impresario Julieanne Kost, explaining the simple process of using Photo Merge in Lightroom to create beautiful HDR images that would be impossible to capture in a single shot in the camera. Today she’s back with another five-minute episode, demonstrating how to speed up the editing process by using the Quick Develop panel in Lightroom Classic.

The experts at Adobe describe the versatile tool like this: “The Quick Develop panel in Lightroom’s Library module gives you the convenience of quickly applying color and tone adjustments to one or more photos without leaving the Library module.”

It’s important to remember that any Quick Develop settings you make are recorded in the History panel of the Develop module, and corresponding slider controls adjust accordingly in the Basic panel. The emphasis of today’s episode is all about how editing with the Quick Develop module provides a big boost to your post-process productivity.

Kost double-clicks on her image to provide a larger view, and then she uses the Disclosure Triangles in order to reveal various options in Quick Develop. There are more possibilities that those you see at first glance. That’s because when you use the keyboard shortcuts she provides, Clarity switches to Sharpening, and Vibrance become Saturation.

You can use icons to quickly decrease or increase the values for each of the options. In her example she increases exposure by one stop, while decreasing Highlights and Blacks. It’s also possible to apply presets, modify crop ratio, and change the treatment from color to b&w.

Best yet, if you don’t like what you see, it’s super easy to reset the file and return to the original image because “all of the change we make are nondestructive.” Kost goes back to Lightroom’s Grid view and this time she selects four images instead of just one. Then by enabling Auto Sync, the adjustments you make will be quickly applied to all of the selected files— great way to accelerate the process.

Kost demonstrates several other Quick Develop tricks, like selecting Auto under Tone Control so that Lightroom “will intelligently analyze each one of these images and then make an automatic  correction” on your behalf. Once that happens the images in the film strip at the bottom of the workspace are immediately updated so that you know exactly where you stand.

After watching the remainder of the video and seeing Kost demonstrate other helpful tips, be sure to visit her popular YouTube channel where you’ll find more great advice for elevating your post-processing skills.

And don’t forget to check out the tutorial mentioned above so that you understand the simple process of using Photo Merge in Lightroom to achieve perfectly balanced tones when combinig multiple versions of the same scene.

Conventional wide-angle lenses are usually the weapons of choice when shooting landscape photos and other expansive vistas. The more specialized ultrawide options are less well understood and require a different approach for optimum results.

This tutorial from William Patino demonstrates how to take advantage of your fancy glass to capture spectacular outdoor imagery. Patino is a professional landscape photographer based in beautiful Fiordland, New Zealand and he’s a very passionate instructor. He considers an ultra-wide lens his go-to workhorse when shooting in the field, and he demonstrates why in barely seven minutes.

What we’re talking about here are lenses with a focal length of 12-24mm, 16-35mm, 14-24mm and others that are wider than those in the more common 28mm or 35mm range. As he says, “these lenses are meant to be used in a very specific way, and in this video I’ll provide some tips for using an ultra-wide, how you can get the most out of it, and really give your images a three-dimensional look.”

Patino says that when photographers mount an ultra-wide lens on a camera for the very first time they tend to be “overwhelmed” by the view and can be unsure how to lead a viewer’s eye to their main subject because there’s so many other elements in the frame. He provides several tricks for solving the confusion and dealing with the so-called “pin-cushion” effect that often occurs in the centralized portion of a shot.

You’ll also learn how to leverage the “diminishing perspective” of ultra-wide optics to exaggerate the effect they provide to capture images with an attention-grabbing 3D look. The power of this trick has to do with how large shapes get progressively smaller and roll into the distance the further away they are from the camera position.

In this regard, ultra-wide lenses enable you to get really close to interesting foreground objects and still fit in a compelling midground and background, while “stretching out all those details.” At this point you’re only halfway through the video, and Patino has much more knowledge to impart.

Bottom line: If you’re going to invest in a premium ultra-wide lens, you should put Patino’s advice to work so that you can take advantage of everything these remarkable lenses can do. Patino’s instructional YouTube channel is full of lessons for anyone who shoots in the field, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured recently with another accomplished pro who demonstrates how to create depth and dimension in landscape photographs with four “must-know” shooting and post-processing tips.

Many landscape photographers never leave home without a polarizing filter in their bag. This simple accessory serves a variety of purposes from darkening pale blue skies and enhancing colors, to reducing reflections on foliage and non-metallic surfaces like water.

This helpful tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel explains why all is not lost if your polarizer is damaged (or at home) by demonstrating how to create a natural-looking polarization effect in Lightroom. You can take advantage of this straightforward technique when processing just about any photo that you capture outdoors.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a highly acclaimed German landscape photographer whose shooting and editing tutorials appear regularly on this page. Be sure to download his sample Raw with a link beneath the video so you can follow along and make the adjustments in real time as the steps are explained.

Mohrle always begins with a few basic adjustments to the overall image so it serves as a good starting point for the selective enhancements that follow. The first step is changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Standard which provides more control over Contrast later on in the process. He also modifies White Balance to warm up the shot, slightly increases Exposure, drops the Highlights, boosts Texture, and cuts Dehaze.

Other preliminary adjustments include increasing Vibrance to accentuate all the colors in his scene. With the basic modifications complete, the fun begins as Mohrle turns his attention to creating the powerful polarization effect.

This process targets specific areas with the frame, so Mohrle opens Lightroom’s Masking panel to make these selective enhancements. This image is a perfect candidate for this approach because of the pale blue sky that’s filled with puffy white clouds. As you’ll see, he boosts Contrast in the top half of the frame by employing a Color Range mask.

Mohrle’s sky selection exhibits a fine line around the big trees in the background, but there’s a quick and easy fix. Then he applies a Linear Gradient targeting shadows in the foreground and uses an Object mask to enhance the green groundcover in the middle of the frame.

All that’s left to compete the impressive transformation are some careful color grading, a bit of judicious sharpening, and a very quick cleanup in Photoshop. Compare Mohrle’s before/after images and you’ll appreciate the power of this straightforward technique.

We also suggest watching the tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to use Photo Merge in Lightroom to create beautiful HDR photographs with perfectly balanced tones.

Do you know how many photographs have been captured with each of your cameras? If not you’re setting yourself up for a potential disaster. That because the shutter in all cameras has a limited lifespan, varying from one model to another. And if this critical component fails unexpectedly, you’ll be left holding an expensive brick in your hands.

Shutter count is also a key consideration when buying or selling used cameras so that no unfortunate surprises arise. In this important video from our friends at the Be More, Do More, Have More channel  you’ll learn how shutter count works, see ratings for different camera models, and understand what happens when your camera’s shutter fails.

Some photographers merely estimate shutter activations based upon usage, but the only reliable determination involves checking shutter count yourself. Today’s instructor Shawn explains the simple steps, and we strongly recommend following his advice for the reasons mentioned above. The last thing you want is for your camera to fail when traveling far from home—and buying a dud that’s on its last legs is equally disappointing.

Shawn explains his goal for today’s “crucial” episode like this: “We explain the difference between mechanical and electronic shutters, how different cameras from Sony, Canon and Nikon compare, and what you should consider when buying a used camera.

At some point during Shaw’s thorough discussion of the rationale behind this important task, you’re likely think to think to yourself, “OK, I understand the why, so walk me through the how.” And that’s exactly what you’ll learn to do in the final four minutes of the video.

We bet that once you’re done watching you’ll grab your favorite camera(s) and check the shutter count per Shaw’s directions so you’ll know exactly where you stand and what to expect over time.

The Be More, Do More, Have More YouTube channel features an array of maintenance lessons for cameras, lenses, and important photo accessories, so be sure to take a look.

The prevuous episode we shared demonstrates another essential task; namely how to keep memory cards in top shape and prevent losing your photographs before disaster strikes.