The individual condors in Northern Arizona/Southern Utah are not given names – they get numbers. This is supposed to help the biologists not get too attached to individual birds, lest one of their favorites dies. It doesn’t work. I’m a photographer, not a biologist, but condors are my favorite subject. Whenever I hear one dies, I get choked up. That’s an understatement, I damn right bawl. I know most of these birds.

Experienced landscape photographers know that accurate colors, the right amount of contrast, and the proper use of light greatly contribute to the success of an image. Unfortunately, conditions in the field sometimes make it impossible to attain these goals in the camera. That’s when it’s time for a bit of Photoshop magic.

The video below from German pro Christian Mohrle demonstrates a straightforward method for making a truly remarkable transformation. As with all of his tutorials we strongly recommend using the link beneath the video to download his demonstration photo so you can make the necessary adjustments yourself as they’re explained.

As you’ll see, Mohrle’s sample photo is dark and devoid of contrast and vibrance throughout the entire scene. His goal is to “make the photo POP” through the judicious use of Photoshop’s versatile Color Luminance tools. We’re sure you’ll be impressed with this simple edit—especially after viewing the before/after images.

Mohrle begins with several basic global adjustments to make the photos look as good as possible for the selective enhancements that follow. He first changes the profile from Adobe Standard to Adobe Landscape, which provides more base saturation. He then opens Photoshop’s Basic panel for further adjustments.

Simple modifications to White Balance make colors look a bit more natural. Then Mohrle raises overall exposure, drops highlights slightly for more details in the clouds, and increases Texture and Clarity. After upping the Vibrance, it’s now time for the final transformation to begin.

Mohrle’s makes the selective enhancements with a Luminance Masking technique, designed to improve contrast. He does this by targeting specific colors within the scene, making some brighter and others darker until he achieves the look he wants.

With that out of the way Mohrle further adjusts color with HSL tools and makes use of Photoshop’s Color’s Mixer to refine what he’s done. Now all that’s left for the final transformation is a bit of sharpening and cleanup. Impressed?

There’s much more to learn by visiting Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit and subscribe.

And don’t miss our recent post explaining how to grab a bunch of Adobe Creative Cloud freebies, including tools for creative effects, streamlining your workflow, and much more.*

Congratulations to the finalists of our Nature’s Colors 2022 photo contest! These 24 images include landscape and wildlife photographs that exemplify technical skill and creativity in composition. We’re excited to share with you the official finalist slideshow below. Winners will be announced soon.

If you missed your chance to enter, The American Landscape contest is now accepting submissions, but hurry—the entry deadline is coming up on April 25, 2023. Or, become an Outdoor Photographer Plus or VIP member today and receive a complimentary contest entry.

The post Nature’s Colors 2022 Photo Contest Finalists appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.

When you say “wildlife photography,” most people will surely think of a camouflaged photographer lurking in a shelter for hours with a fast telephoto lens. But none of that is actually necessary, as you’ll see today in my interview with professional wildlife photographer Igor Mikula. He’ll reveal some of his secrets of wide-angle wildlife photography today.