If you’re a Shutterbug regular you know that we’re big proponents of fixing unimpressive photos during post processing rather than relegating to the trash. Such is the case with this detailed tutorial from the PHLOG photography YouTube channel.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is an acclaimed German landscape photographer with a portfolio full of spectacular images that owe their impact, at least in part, to his expertise in Photoshop and Lightroom. This tutorial concentrates on the latter, as he transforms an uninteresting seascape scene into a beautiful Golden Hour image with an epic glowing Golden-Hour effect.

The straightforward technique relies upon a combination of masking, color grading, sharpening and time-blending, and the method is easy enough for Lightroom users of all skill levels. As always, Mohrle provides a link to the demonstration shot in the description beneath the video so you can follow along and make the changes yourself as they’re explained.

Mohrle is a firm believer in making his edits in a specific order, beginning with basic adjustments to an overall scene before jumping into selective enhancements that really create the magic. His mountain landscape scene is a very dark long-exposure with a heavy blue color cast that isn’t appealing to the eye.

The preliminary adjustments for rehabilitating the shot begin by cropping it for a refined composition with the iconic Matterhorn peak dead-center in the frame. He then changes the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe landscape which immediately adds more saturation. Next come a few White Balance adjustments that eliminate the ugly blue color cast that’s apparent throughout the photo.

Mohrle then modifies tint to heighten the orange effect, brightens overall exposure, opens up the shadows, reduces contrast, and slightly tones down the sky. He also raises Texture and Clarity, gently reduces Dehaze, and increases Vibrance and Saturation.

At this point the image looks about as good as possible when only global adjustments are used, and Mohrle turns to local enhancements in various areas of the photo that are responsible for his very impressive transformation. We’ll let Mohrle walk you through the necessary masking, color grading, and time-blending steps, rather than providing an incomplete summary here.

Mohrle’s very popular YouTube channel is a great source of shooting and editing tips—especially for landscape photographers, so be sure to check in out.

And don’t miss a recent tutorial we posted with a complete guide to Lightroom’s Point Color tool, with tips for adding an artistic effect to the photographs you capture in the great outdoors.

This quick tutorial is intended for inexperienced Photoshop users who don’t understand how easy it is to employ Curves Adjustment layers and the huge difference they can when editing images in Photoshop. The video comes to use from the Creative Layers YouTube channel, and it demonstrates three “essential” tricks for getting started today.

These straightforward techniques will enable you to handle a trio of common tasks and achieve surprisingly effective results in a hurry, and the whole process take barely three minutes to explain. Then you’ll feel more confident moving on to more advanced photo-manipulation methods using Curves.

Tip #1 demonstrates how to harness the power Photoshop’s Curves Adjustment layers to rehabilitate faded images. Today’s unnamed instructor pulls up a flat and boring environmental portrait with his subject standing the foreground of the frame, with a dingy, dull green tree as the backdrop.

The first attempt relies upon Hue/Saturation sliders to boost vibrance in the shot, but this approach fails for two reasons: First, the colors aren’t significantly improved and, worse yet, the subject’s skin tones take on an ugly and unrealistic reddish orange tint. But watch what happens when a Curves Adjustment Layer is created for quickly transforming the shot from a throwaway to a keeper.

Understanding how to maintain color consistency throughout an image is the second topic of conversation. As our instructor explains, “You may have experienced that when you try to change the light values in an image using Curves, the light changes but so do the colors”—and sometimes not in the way you intend.

All that’s necessary to get things right is setting the Blending mode of the Curves layer to the Luminosity option. As you can see in the example of a blue sky with fluffy clouds, this enables you to modify light values without affecting blue tones in the sky. In essence, this is a two-second fix.

Last on the list is restoring dark areas in an image in a way that doesn’t blow out highlights and degrade other characteristics of the photo. The demonstration image is nice cityscape scene captured with the sun low to the horizon and a pretty sky full of soft blue and orange tones. The problem is that the interesting buildings and roadway in the foreground are far too dark and devoid of sufficient detail.

Once again, the fix is fast and dramatic. All you have to do is to add control points to shadow and highlight areas and use a Curves Adjustment layer to balance out the tones and restore details throughout the shot. There are many more beginner tips on the Creative Layers YouTube channel so be sure to check it out.

We also suggest watching a tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing instructor who demonstrates an easy image-editing technique for enhancing nature and wildlife photographs in Lightroom Classic.

Most photographers admit to being gadget freaks, hence the affliction known as Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.), and it’s often difficult to collect new photo accessories without feeling guilty. The 10 accessories described in the following video are affordable and extremely useful, so you can open up your wallet and grab a few while setting your qualms aside.

Photographer Mike Rogala began his journey shooting film back in the 80’s and he’s now convinced that “digital photography is far less stressful”—in part because all the modern accessories that make our craft more enjoyable and creative. His goal for this episode is to “explore 10 must-have accessories that will elevate your photography game and help you capture stunning images.”

This comprehensive guide is particularly helpful for beginners who want to invest wisely in their hobby without breaking the bank. Rogala’s 10 picks include everything from tripods to bags, and he discusses their importance, functionality, and how they can enhance the shooting experience.

Rogala’s begins with the simple L-Bracket that that can be incredibly handy when mounting your camera atop a tripod. They’re typically equipped with Arca-Swiss compatible plates on the bottom and one side of a lightweight frame. The L-bracket enables you to quickly switch between portrait and landscape orientations without adjusting your tripod setup.

Another way to make these adjustments is with an adjustable lens collar, and these are often included when you purchase a long telephoto lens. These can also be purchased separately at nominal cost, and they’re lightweight, compact, and very easy to employ. A full camera cage is another option if you want to attach other small accessories like microphones, lights, supplemental battery packs, and more.

Rogala’s other favorites include wired or wireless remote triggers that enable you to capture a shot without ever touching the camera, and a battery grip that doubles power, provides more secure handling, and has conveniently placed shutter release buttons for vertical and horizonal shooting.

Then there’s the ND lens filter that Rogala considers “crucial,” a portable LED light panel with constant/adjustable illumination, versatile quick release plates, and several more guilt-free accessories that you may want to consider. And while Rogala’s list was compiled with beginners in mind, more experienced shooters will also find much to like.

After watching this episode head over to Rogala’s YouTube channel where you’ll find more gear tips, as well as straightforward shooting and editing advice for photographers of all skill levels.

You also may want to watch the tutorial we posted earlier this with several important maintenance procedures for keeping your valuable photography equipment fresh and working like new.

One sure way to ruin a great landscape scene is to miss focus entirely or focus on the wrong area within the frame. We’ll solve that dilemma in the next seven minutes with a tutorial from Landscape Photography University— a curriculum designed “to inspire you with helpful tips that leave confusion and burnout behind.”

Instructor David Johnston puts it like this: “There’s no worse feeling in landscape photography than thinking you got the photo in focus and then learning that you didn’t.” His goal for this episode to help you achieve proper focus every time under a variety of outdoor situations so you can concentrate on other elements that contribute to successful images.

One critical consideration is the concept of depth of field. And this involves understanding how to expand or contract the zone of sharpness as pertains to the foreground, background, and midrange of a shot. Johnston demonstrates how this works, and why the f/stop you choose is a key contributor to getting things right.

You’ll also learn why your camera’s orientation—namely level to the ground, pointed up, or aimed down—factors into the effect you create. For example, “if you’re shooting vertically and tilting the camera forward you’re creating a larger foreground and pulling more of the subject into the bottom of a photo with more elements closer to the camera.” And this has serious implications for where focus falls.

In this situation it may be impossible to achieve sufficient depth of field, even when shooting at f/16 or f/22. The solution that Johnston provides is to capture two images of the same scene, one focused on the foreground and another with the focus point set further back. Then it’s  simple matter to merge the two shots during post processing by following Johnston’s straightforward instructions.

This is a popular technique known as “focus stacking,” and Johnston walks you through the step-by-step procedure. You see why enabling the Auto Align Layers option works wonders to register the two images—just in case you moved the camera slightly from one shot to the next. This approach also corrects another potential misalignment problem known as “focus breathing.”

There are a few more valuable tips in the remainder of the video, and by the time you’re done watching there’s a very good chance that you won’t have to suffer the disappointment of missing focus and spoiling an otherwise great shot. The Landscape Photography University YouTube channel is a great resource for everyone who shoots outdoors, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

We also recommend watching our recent tutorial with several powerful autumn landscape photography ideas and techniques from a successful Romanian pro.