One of the biggest challenges when shooting indoors is dealing with unusual light that imparts ugly color casts to the images you shoot. This can even happen when photographing outdoors in ambient light when nearby or overhead objects may bias tones and make them appear unrealistic.
While we all like to get things right in the camera, and adjustments to White Balance settings sometimes help, the easiest way to correct this problem is with some thoughtful adjustments during post processing—especially when the offending color casts are too extreme to be resolved with a camera’s built-in White Balance options.
Instructor Roy van der Wens has leveraged his experience in fashion photography to become one of the best-known wedding photographers in the Netherlands. He does most of his work indoors, where he has little or no influence on the lighting in a venue. He’s therefore had to develop the straightforward Lightroom technique you’ll learn today for correcting unsightly colors to create flattering and natural looking images of a subject.
Wens uses a few expletives to describe the color problems he’s experienced in the past, and we encourage you to ignore his frustration if you find his terminology offensive because the tips he provides are quite valuable. He uses a color wheel to illustrates how weird light can make capturing nice images difficult to say the least. His first demonstration photo, captured at an indoor venue, is a perfect example.
According to Wens, the Lightroom adjustments you’ll learn are partly based upon color science with a heavy dose of personal experience thrown in as well. Regardless of the terminology he uses, we can all agree that the magenta light is pretty awful—giving unnatural, somewhat ghoulish pink tones to his subjects. At a concert this might be acceptable, but at a wedding reception not so much. The other images he provides suffer from different, but equally problematic colors.
While working quickly to capture impromptu, candid images, it just doesn’t make sense to spend time sorting through potential in-camera solutions.. But the Lightroom techniques he demonstrates can easily resolve most of these problems and make Wens and his subjects proud of the results.
Bottom line, after watching this 14-minute video you’ll understand how to create pleasing photos when weird light is a challenge. Wens’ popular YouTube channel contains other helpful lessons like this one, so be sure to take a look.
And don’t miss the tutorial we posted recently from a respected image editing expert who explains whether you need one or multiple Lightroom catalogs for an organized workflow, and the best way to get the job done.
We’ve all had the misfortune of failing to capture a dynamic fleeting moment when shooting in the field. Sometimes that’s because of poor reflexes, a lack of anticipation, ineffective planning, or incorrect camera settings. Whatever the cause, the tutorial below from one of our favorite instructors will greatly increase your chances of success.
Simon d’Entremont is an experienced Canadian pro, specializing in wildlife, nature, and astrophotography. In this eight-minute episode you’ll see how he always seems to capture a money shot—even when his subjects are in motion. Simon puts it like this: “In this video I’ll teach you my five top tricks to improve the odds that you don’t miss the next golden photo opportunity that happens unexpectedly right in front of you.”
Simon illustrates his methods with beautiful imagery, and he begins by urging you to always have your camera configured with the appropriate “walk-around settings” for the task as hand, before getting to work. You’ll also want to have the lens and any filters you anticipate using mounted to the camera as you begin to explore.
You can always modify these preliminary settings if and when the light and other conditions change. But as Simon says, “you can’t do it the other way around” if you want to be instantly prepared for the subjects and action you expect to confront. His favorite walk-around settings with a long lens are a shutter speed of 1/2000 at f/7.1, and Auto ISO. He also dials in -1/3 EV compensation so as to preserve any bright highlights within the frame.
Of course your walk-around settings may differ from Simon’s depending upon on your favorite style and genre of shooting, the lens you employ, and the prevailing lighting conditions of the day. Simon’s next step is to set up an “emergency button” on the camera if the model you use accommodates this manner of customization. As a wildlife photographer, he configures a custom function for nine focus points, the lens at maximum aperture, the aforementioned shutter speed of 1/2,000, and Auto IS0.
This way he can instantly jump back to his walk-around settings if he had to change them for something unusual. Then it’s almost point-and-shoot when a great opportunity arises, with no need to fumble around resetting the camera and potentially missing a shot.
These are but two of the five technique that Simon reveals. While watching him explain how they work, think about how they pertain to the types of images you shoot most. Then you’ll be well prepared the next time you head out into the field.
If wildlife and nature photography ring your bell, be sure to take a look at Simon’s instructional YouTube channel where there’s much more to learn.
We also suggest watching another of Simon’s tutorials that we posted in the past, explaining several of his tricks for capturing great nature and wildlife photographs in bad light.
Too many photographers make the mistake of restricting their workflow by employing global adjustments to edit their photos. The problem is that these enhancements affect the image as a whole—thereby greatly limiting the results they achieve. That’s because certain areas within the frame often require one approach while others call for totally different enhancements to create photos with balanced exposures and realistic colors.
On example occurs when you cut exposure to deal with an overly bright sky, only to find that the rest of the image becomes darker as well, with crushed shadows devoid of detail. Similarly, if you pump up blue saturation to darken a pale sky, the other areas of the scene become cooler as well—often destroying natural-looking warm tones that add impact to the shot.
This common problem can easily be solved through the use of local adjustments that selectively apply enhancements to exactly where they’re needed while leaving the rest of the image alone. Unfortunately, this is an oft-ignored technique because it requires bit of masking that some photographers consider beyond their skills.
As you’ll see in the simple primer below nothing could be further from the truth. Instructor Austin James Jackson explains everything you need to know in the 17-minute episode that will forever change the way you process your work.
Jackson is a young landscape pro based in Utah whose lessons display a fresh approach to post-processing—specializing in straightforward methods that work wonders for photographers of all skill levels. Today he walks you through a step-by-step masking method that he says is “one of the best techniques that can help you create better-looking photos.”
Jackson demonstrates how simple masks enable you to selectively add contrast, modify exposure up or down, pull detail out of highlights and shadows, and bring specific colors to life. The idea is to so without negatively affecting other portions of an image that look fine as is (or require totally different adjustments).
After following Jackson’s advice you’ll probably have two quick reactions: 1) This is much easier than I thought; and 2) My landscape photos look better than ever and I wish I would have tried this sooner. You can find more helpful pro tips and tricks by paying a visit to Jackson’s instructional YouTube channel, so make a point of doing that when you have tine.
We also suggest watching the tutorial we posted recently from another accomplished pro who really know her stuff, explaining a better to organize your images for quick access using one Lightroom “master catalog” or multiple catalogs depending upon your specific needs.
