Panorama photos are a lot of fun to make and can really grab attention. Some cameras can automate the process by merging successive shots to achieve a pretty good result. Doing it this way may require a tripod for absolutely precise merging, and you’ll still need some post-processing to finish up  the job.

Oftentimes a better approach is to simply shoot multiple images, and then use Photoshop to both stitch the photos into a clean panorama and edit it at the same time. This is what you’ll learn how to do in today’s tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel. Not only will your panorama look perfect, but this process is surprisingly easy to accomplish.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is an accomplished German landscape photographer, and he walks you through the necessary steps in barely 11 minutes. Be sure to download his sample Raw files in the description beneath the video, so you can make the adjustments yourself as they’re explained.

First you have to merge the HDR panorama which involves selecting all the images from your sequence, right-clicking on one of the thumbnails, and choosing Merge to Panorama from a dropdown menu. This process can take a while depending upon your system, so patience may be required.

A preview window appears with the merged image once this step is complete, and there are a few preliminary refinements that can be made—either automatically or manually if you wish. Then Mohrle makes several global adjustments to prepare the photo for the selective enhancements that follow to different portions of the scene.

These basic adjustments begin by changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Landscape to increase overall saturation and make dark areas a little brighter. Mohrle then raises exposure, opens up shadows for more detail, and modifies White balance for more warmth. He also adds Clarity, Texture and Vibrance.

Now it’ time for the essence of the edit, with adjustments that are selective in nature. Here masking is the initial step to adjust exposure and other variables to different areas in the shot. Then Mohrle demonstrates the color grading technique he prefers to achieve the specific look he’s after.

With everything now looking really nice, Mohrle further refines the image with careful sharpening, a bit of dodging, and a quick fix to colors. You’ll also see how to correct any distortion that resulted from the merging process. Now the transformation is complete.

After watching this lesson head over to Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find additional editing techniques for improving your outdoor photographs.

We also recommend watching a tutorial we posted last week, explaining how to install and use Photoshop Actions for a fast and efficient editing workflow.

Most photographers know that Blue Hour and Golden Hour are great times to shoot because of the gorgeous colors at the beginning and end of the day. Last week we explained how to turn a dull landscape shot into a beautiful sunset image in Lightroom, and today you’ll learn a technique for making a boring Blue Hour photo jump off the page.

Instructor Serge Ramelli is an acclaimed French pro living in the U.S. who specializes in landscape and cityscape imagery. He just returned from a three-month trip photographing the streets of Paris, and this episode is all about using Lightroom to capture the light fantastic in the early morning.

Ramelli’s demonstration image was made from a high terrace at a new hotel in the City of Lights and it’s nothing very special, even though he was ready to go in time for Blue Hour. But watch what happens when he applies his “natural drama” technique to transform the photo into a spectacular, sparkling money shot.

The image is really dark so Ramelli zooms in and opens up the shadows to check focus and see exactly what’s going on within the frame. The hotel doesn’t permit tripods, so he had to shoot handheld at ISO 800. He begins the reclamation project with Lightroom’s new Enhance tool that has a powerful Denoise feature that works on the Raw level.

When shooting without a camera support in dim conditions, Ramelli suggests opening the aperture as wide as possible and using your camera’s self-timer to trip the shutter to avoid camera shake while holding the camera as steady as possible. Choosing ISO is the last setting he makes, because that’s determined by the f/stop selected and the slowest shutter speed you’re comfortable with given the effectiveness of your camera’s image-stabilization system.

Turning back to Lightroom, Ramelli opens the shadows and brings down the highlights which temporarily gives the photo a “weird HDR look.” He then crushes the blacks  and opens the whites to enhance contrast. Now things are looking much better. The next step involves careful cropping to improve composition.

Ramelli moves on to other straightforward adjustments, first to deal with the overly bright sky. Next, he adjusts White Balance for better colors, and he explains the various options available in the panel. You’ll see how adding a bit more yellow and magenta makes a significant difference.

Not satisfied with the position of the Eiffel Tower, Ramelli crops the image further with the Rule of Thirds in mind. At this point many of us would be very pleased with the image. Ramelli is a perfectionist, however, so he demonstrates a few more enhancements to complete the impressive transformation.

You can find more powerful editing tips on Ramelli’s popular YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And don’t miss the tutorial mentioned above, explaining how turn a dull landscape photo into a gorgeous Golden Hour shot with a little help from Lightroom.

We all learn a bunch of “essential” photography rules when first starting out, and even more as we continue to expand our skills. One of the most familiar is the Rules of Thirds. Today you’ll learn how to use the less familiar Rule of Odds, that can be even more beneficial when shooting wildlife and nature images.

Instructor Waseh Ahmad is a budding pro, specializing in nature and urban  photography who regularly posts straightforward tutorials as he pursues his craft. In this episode he demonstrates the power of composing scenes with odd-numbered elements in the frame.

Ahmad provides a simple explanation for this oft-ignored guideline, explains how to use it for more compelling photos He also discusses situations in which you should break the rule. In basic terms, the Rule of Odds can improve composition by breaking up the symmetry of a shot, thereby adding interest and eye-catching graphic tension.

He illustrates the concept with four circles in a straight line and divides the graphic down the middle with two circles on either side of center. Ahmad explains that with this type of composition, “there’s no place where the attention will be drawn.” But when you add a fifth circle in the middle the image retains a form of symmetry, but now the eye has a place to go.

Now that you understand why odd-numbered elements can draw attention  to a specific subject, Ahmad has several nuances to impart for using this rule in practical ways when shooting in the field. One key point is that the concept of oddness is has to do with human perception, and you don’t always need an uneven number of objects to make the rule work, depending upon how the objects are grouped

One good example is a group of several people tightly clustered together with other elements elsewhere in the frame. In this case, the tightly packed group is actually perceived as a single element among the others. Ahmad then provides several of his photos to illustrate how this works.

Another way to employ this effective guideline is to use strong variations in brightness or contrasting colors as “elements” within a scene, rather than actual physical physical objects like people, animals, or trees, to create an odd-numbered arrangement that grabs attention.

Waseh has a few other suggestions for employing the Rules of Odds, and when you try this approach you may be surprised how effective it is. You can find more helpful tips and tricks by visiting his interesting YouTube channel.

We also suggest watching the tutorial we posed earlier from another successful outdoor photographer, explaining several ommon landscape photo mistakes and how to avoid them.