There are enumerable methods for processing landscape photos to create just about any effect you can imagine. When intense colors are what you’re after, the tutorial below from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel explains how to get the job using the favorite method of a top German pro.

The topic of today’s editing tutorial is the easy-to-use Split Toning tool, and instructor Christian Mohrle demonstrates how effective it is for boosting the impact of outdoor photos. He also explains why he calls it “Lightroom’s best color grading tool” when eye-popping tones are the goal.

Mohrle’s intent is to give his photo a vibrant sunset effect, and we recommend downloading the file in the description beneath the video so you can follow along and making the changes yourself. Mohrle says, “Before working with Split Toning it’s important to set up the base image” and he begins by dropping highlights and raising the shadows for a more balanced exposure.

Preliminary adjustments also include increasing the whites, bumping up Texture, lowering Clarity, and modifying White Balance for a much warmer look. Mohrle then uses a Linear Gradient to darken the sky while accentuating blue tones. He adds another Linear Gradient to give the foreground more detail and a very subtle vignetting effect.

Now it’s time for Mohrle’s Split Toning method that works in tandem with White Balance enhancements to create the magic. Keep in mind that he goes all in for a very intense look that that may be too strong for your taste. But you’ll see how to moderate the effect if you don’t want such a hefty change.

Mohrle adds  a warm hue to the highlights and pushes saturation to the max. He then adds a warm hue to the mid-tones while significantly cranking up saturation here as well. The next step completes the color grading by applying cold tones to the shadows with a low amount of saturation.

The final step is using Photoshop to clean up the image, add a bit of glow to the top with the Gaussian Blur filter, and lighten the blending mode. The transformation is quite impressive, as you’ll see by comparing the before/after images.

Mohrle’s YouTube channel has a bunch more great tips and tricks for processing landscape and nature photos, so be sure to take a look.

We also recommend that you check out the tutorial we posted earlier from another pro, explaining a timesaving Photoshop trick to batch-edit photos for consistent color.

It’s been a few years since I stood on the summit of one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, the mighty Cotopaxi (5,897 m). It was 2009, and besides the ice axe and crampons, I also had my Nikon D… Or you know what, I’ll give it to you as a riddle. Can you guess with which camera I took this photo? By the way, you’ll soon be able to download it along with many others in an upcoming expansion of Photography Life’s Raw Image Database. But now on to last week’s news.

Edit directly on the image with this exciting and very affordable ($399) creative graphics tablet from industry giant Wacom. Frankly, using it was about the most fun I’ve had since I discovered Photoshop 2.0 in 1991.

If you’re into editing digital images, producing digital art, or any other activity related to graphics, you’ve heard of Wacom. They have been providing imaging professionals with outstanding products for nearly 40 years. If you don’t already know about the Wacom One interactive tablet, read on.

Overview & First Impressions
In the past I’ve used interactive graphics tablets, including a few models from Wacom, that did not offer on-image editing. In other words, you looked at the image on a monitor while moving a stylus across a plain, gray-colored slate. I abandoned them one and all because A) the editing process required a level of eye-shifting and hand-eye coordination that I lacked, B) the only models I could afford had rather small surface areas, and C) the tablets I really wanted were above my budget limits. All of these objections were obliterated by the easy-to-use, medium-large, $399 Wacom One.

Connect the Wacom One graphics tablet to your PC or Mac, confirm the correct settings and permissions on the computer, and then begin creating graphic art and editing digital images in Photoshop or other compatible editor. There are various customization options that you may set now or later. In a short time you embark upon the magical experience of drawing and writing directly on the image with a wireless, pressure sensitive Wacom One pen.

The display area is generously large, measuring 13.3 inches diagonally. The surface of the display is smooth and minimally reflective, and the pen is untethered and does not require a battery. Wacom includes an assortment of software licenses (some are limited term, some are Windows-only). Register your Wacom One and you can download Bamboo Paper Pro & Clip Studio Paint Pro (3-month license), Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Lightroom (2-month license), and Adobe Fresco (6-month license).

With the current tsunami of attention deservedly enjoyed by the Generative Fill and the Delete and Fill Selection functions in Photoshop, having the ability to very precisely select image elements using the Wacom One pen make it worth the price of admission for most serious image editing enthusiasts—in my opinion anyway.

I had a bit of trouble connecting the Wacom One to my latest-model iMac because Wacom One uses a USB Type-A plug on one connecting cable and an HDMI plug on another. Both I/O types are perfectly fine except iMacs provide USB Type-C and Thunderbolt ports only. Read our comprehensive guide to understanding the various USB flavors, “USB-C and USB-A Differences Explained.“

I purchased the appropriate converters (Anker brand, in my case, but there are many others) and everything worked fine, although it was an additional expense that should be noted. Make sure you allow the Wacom One software to access the required areas of your computer—you receive onscreen callouts that simplify finding and setting the proper permissions, etc.

The included Wacom One pen is a marvel unto itself. Cordless and battery-free, it offers 4,096 levels of pressure and a programmable switch that enables shortcuts for a smooth workflow. In operation it feels almost exactly like writing with a normal rollerball pen.

You can use the Wacom One as a second monitor, although if that were the only thing you used it for you’d be missing 99.9% of the fun and utility.

Clearly, neither the tablet nor pen is a device that you’d carry into the field, so durability is less of an issue; nonetheless, both are robust and finely crafted. Build-quality is outstanding. No corners were cut, and my only gripe is the failure to provide USB Type-A to USB Type-C and HDMI to USB Type-C cables or adapters considering the prevalence of Apple computers in the graphic arts world.

Specifications
Measured Size: 8.9 x 14.1 x 0.6 inches (225 x 357 x 14.6 mm)
Display size: 13.3 inches (33.8 cm) measured diagonally
Active area: 11.6 x 6.5 inches (294 x 166 mm)
Resolution: Full HD 1920 x 1080
Contrast ratio: About 1000:1 (typically)
Response rate: about 26 milliseconds (typically)

Compatibility & System Requirements
The Wacom One requires Windows 7 or later, or mac OS X 10.13 or later.
Connection to select Android devices is possible but requires a third-party adapter (not included). Check the Wacom website for Android and other compatibility information.

Other helpful links: Wacom support and Wacom manuals.

What’s Included with a Wacom One
Starting with the 13.3-inch Wacom One drawing tablet, the box contains a Wacom One pen, somewhat large Wacom One X-Shape cable, AC adapter, localized AC plug head, and a concise but nicely done Quick Start guide. Additionally you receive three replacement nibs that easy to change when necessary. The Wacom One is covered by a 1-year Limited Warranty in the US, Canada, and Latin America.

Incidentally, “Wacom” is pronounced WA as in “wand” – COM as in “computer.” The company name is pronounced very similar to what the catcher says to the pitcher when they want to send the batter to first base, i.e., “Let’s walk’um.”

Performance Evaluation
It’s pure unadulterated fun, but don’t mistake the Wacom One for a toy. It’s a serious tool. While it doesn’t have all of the features and functions of the higher-priced Wacom Intuos Pro models which we reviewed here in 2020, it’s advanced enough for even the most sophisticated users. And it has one overwhelming advantage—you edit directly on the image like the Wacom Cintiq models (the least expensive of which will set you back a justifiable but hefty $1599).

Conclusion
Outstanding product at a great price point, the Wacom One drawing tablet is easy enough for beginning artists to master quickly and has features enough to satisfy experienced users. Wrap it all up in a $399 price tag and you have one awesome deal.

Price & Availability
Order your Wacom One tablet directly from Wacom for $399. Alternatively, you can order from the Wacom Store on Amazon where you can review the full assortment of Wacom tablets and accessories and take advantage of any short term promotions. 

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It’s really important to maintain consistent colors when processing your images, especially if you’ve developed a unique, recognizable style. This is also an essential goal when editing a series of photos from the same shoot.

This quick tutorial from the NPB Retouching Tools YouTube channel explains “one of the simplest things you can do in Photoshop to keep your color grading consistent across an entire set.” The oft-ignored trick involve involves a simple drag-and-drop method that anyone can master in in minutes.

Instructor Nino Batista is a photo retouching expert who begins this episode like this: “Let’s say you finish a couple new edits, but  you’ve already done other edits from the same set, or maybe you’ve completed all the color work on the hero shot of the shoot.” Sometimes these edits involve several different layers, and you think to yourself, “now I have to replicate all this work with the remaining images in the series so that they all match.”

This can be a very time-consuming process, depending upon how many images are involved. It also turns out to be an unnecessary task if you follow Batista’s straightforward advice. All you have to do is pull up your edited image, side-by-side with another you haven’t touched. Then it’s a simple matter to drag-and-drop all the completed color work layers on the right side of the screen from the completed image to the other.

BOOM: The second image is now “edited” instantly in a way that’s consistent with the first one. You can obviously do this with as many photos as you want, while saving tons of time whenever you repeat the process. You can always make minor modifications whenever you want if the match isn’t perfect.

This is pretty much it, although Batista explains a few other refinements for making sure you get exactly the look you’re after. He walks you through the simple step-by-step process, explaining everything you need to know.

Batista also navigates to Photoshop’s Preferences panel, to make sure all your settings are appropriate for this fast and effective technique. All you have to do is compare his before/after images to appreciate how well this works.

After watching the video head over to Batista’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find similar lessons on just about any image-editing task you can imagine.

We also recommend watching a related tutorial we posted from another processing expert, with a simple color grading primer for those of you who are new to Photoshop.