Beginning Lightroom and Photoshop users tend to become so enamored with all the transformative tools that they often go overboard with post-processing effects, which is a sure way to ruin an otherwise nice shot. As you’ll see in this tutorial from instructor Johny Spencer, there are six warning signs that your edits are overcooked.

Spencer is a professional nature and landscape photographer working for Australia’s National Park Service, and he readily admits that he took a very heavy-handed approach when first starting out. This is a common beginner mistake, and it’s time you embraced subtlety like he did if you want to enhance photos while retaining a pleasing and realistic look.

This 12-minute episode covers everything from unnatural colors to over-the-top sharpening so you’ll be able to edit like a pro by dialing things back and avoiding garish and unrealistic effects. Spencer begins with a common mistake made when attempting to open up shadows in dark areas of a scene to enhance detail and definition.

This faux pas often occurs when taking an HDR approach that involves shooting multiple frames of a scene, each at a different exposure, and merging them in the hopes of achieving one perfect shot with correctly balanced tones. When doing so you may end up with a very flat result, and a quick glance at the histogram provides the telltale sign of this error.

Spencer demonstrates a quick fix as he does with the other glaring mistakes discussed, and the next one involves the other end of the tonal scale when you mess up the highlights of a shot by attempting to repair the blown-out appearance of a bright, sunny sky. By pulling down the brightness values too far “you’ll get a weird halo around the sun, the ethereal glow is lost, and the image will look really bad.”

Other problems and solutions include clumsy White Balance adjustments, overcooked contrast, amping up saturation beyond reasonable levels, over-sharpening, and introducing too much texture and clarity. You’ll quickly learn how to spot these mistakes, learn how to properly evaluate an image, and edit photos with thoughtfulness and intent.

After watching the video head over to Spencer’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find many more pro tips and techniques for elevating your skills

We also suggest watching an earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to transform boring landscape photographs into spectacular shots with a beautiful, natural-looking, glowing sunset effect.

Are you one of the many photographers who are concerned with the ethical implications of using sophisticated AL tools to create your imagery? Today’s video from a California pro discusses his approach to the ongoing debate, and he raises some interesting considerations you may not have considered.

Photographers trend to fall into one of three camps: There are those who consider themselves “digital creators” and have no qualms about AI because they always identify their photos as benefiting from artificial intelligences. Then there are AI enthusiasts that catch a lot of flak for directly or indirectly passing off their “fakes” as real photos.

The third group is the target of this 11-minute tutorial; namely, those who aspire to an ethical approach to AI for saving time and enhancing images in the same way “legitimate” adjustments are achieved with conventional post-processing tools.

Instructor David Herring is careful to follow what he considers the cultural and ethical guiding principles of our craft, and freely admits that AI is part of his everyday workflow. But Herring employs powerful AI tools within narrow limits that he describes like this: “I don’t use AI to replace things with things that weren’t there. I don’t use it to add or expand a part of an image, and I certainly don’t use AI to introduce new elements that weren’t in the original scene.”

Some of you may think that the foregoing taboos are the only benefits of AI, and Herring explains why you’re wrong and how it’s easier to make a variety of adjustments without crossing his red lines. Bottom line: “My goal is to keep AI ethical for me and help you define the word ethical for you.” Fair enough.

Herring walks you several responsible strategies that rely upon AI solely for efficiency, and his mantra is one you may want to embrace too: “I use AI in the same way I used Photoshop before it was even a thing. I haven’t let AI change how I shoot, it hasn’t changed me as an editor, it hasn’t changed my vision, and I don’t let it affect my creative output.”

After watching this eye-opening lesson there’s a good chance that your opinion of AI will change dramatically in a way you never imagined. And so may your post-processing workflow. Herring’s popular YouTube channel features other thought-provoking discussions like this one, so be sure to take a look.

And don’t miss a tutorial we featured last week with another accomplished pro who provides a very helpful primer for inexperienced Photoshop users who don’t understand how to edit their images with Curves using his three simple tricks.

Do you know what a significant event took place on September 16, 1824? On that day, two important events took place in France: King Louis XVIII of France died, and photography was born. With all due respect to the French king, I consider the second event to be more important over time. It was the talented inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce who we consider the father of our hobby 200 years ago. We’ll probably never know what his first photograph looked like, but if you want to see his first surviving photograph – from 1827, titled View from the Window at Le Gras – you can visit the Gernsheim Collection at the University of Texas at Austin. How far back do your photographic beginnings go?

It’s harvest time throughout most of the country. That means farmers’ markets are ripe with opportunities for photographers to sharpen their camera skills. Here are five tips to help you maximize the experience. This advice applies equally to street fairs, flea markets, fall festivals and other similar events.

More than just a source for fresh, locally grown food, a farmers’ market is a microcosm of our photogenic world. The year-round event near us offers everything from live entertainment, homemade empanadas and limited-batch hot sauce, to knife sharpening, handmade Japanese salad dressings and vegan cheese. And it attracts the most amazing assortment of people, pets and photo possibilities.

Because of the broad variety of objects, colors and textures found at a farmer’s market, they’re great places to experiment with the under-explored features of your camera, particularly the special effects options. And that Lensbaby lens (or fisheye, or graduated filter) you haven’t used since spring? Find it and give it a workout.

Farmers’ markets are likewise fertile ground for reaping a bushel of intriguing image files you can use when exploring Adobe’s Generative Fill, Generative Expand and other Adobe Firefly features.

1. The Gear
Our approach is packing three lenses: a macro, a wideangle and a short zoom. But, hey, it’s up to you and your equipment stable. The logic behind our choice is explained in the points below.

If you’re a smartphone-only user, these tips are still somewhat applicable, but you’ll have to amend them to match your device.

2. Three Tours
While some farmers’ markets sprawl across seemingly endless acreage, most are smallish and can easily be covered in a leisurely 15-minute stroll. To amplify the opportunities we always make at least three complete tours, each with a different lens and different set of objectives.

Our first mission is to canvass the scene and capture the low-hanging fruit. Here’s where the short zoom shows off its versatility. A lens in the 24-70 or 28-75 range is just right in most cases.

3. Get Close
On the second pass we switch to a macro lens and zero in on the details. A 90mm macro is optimal because you can shoot life-size images and still be farther away from the subject than you would be if you used a 50mm macro.

4. Go Wide, Capture the Spirit
The wideangle tour, our third pass, is shot a bit more from the edges with an attempt to capture the essence of the event with one single photo.

5. Meet New People
One of the most important things to us is to capture portraits of sellers and shoppers in this unique environment. Sellers are usually flattered, but ask permission anyway, and offer to email the image. Many appreciate this contribution to their social media efforts.

Summary
Reap the harvest of the season. Winter’s on Her way. Pack three lenses. Make three tours. Buy fresh vegetables and make soup. Freeze some for January when it’s -6°.

Want to Become a Better Photographer?
Begin by taking more pictures. Carry a camera everywhere you go and shoot even when you’re 100% sure the picture won’t turn out. Review all of your images with a critical eye and share them with others – and that includes posting the best on our Gallery. Subscribe to our newsletter (see sign-up form on our homepage) and bookmark Shutterbug as a Favorite on your browser so you can check back often. We’re in this for the same reason as you – we love photography, and we’re learning more about it every day.

 

—Jon Sienkiewicz