Adobe updates their software frequently, with powerful new headline-grabbing features and tools. That’s a good thing for all of us, with one exception: sometimes we get so excited about all the new stuff that we forget about tools we used with great success in the past.

The tutorial below discusses one such “forgotten” tool, reminds how to use it, and encourages you to reinstate it in your current Lightroom workflow. This powerful tool is so easy to use that it only takes three minutes to explain.

According to instructor Anthony Morganti, an expert on all things Adobe, “This tool has been available in Lightroom for as long as I can remember, but if you’re like me you probably no longer use it.” As you’ll see, it’s time for you and Morganti to reconsider, because what you’ll learn comes in very handy for removing ugly sensor spots from photos.

To illustrate how this trick works Morganti pulls up a great-looking seaside shot; that is, until you zoom in on the image. Once you do that you’ll notice a bunch of unwanted artifacts, some of which are more obvious than others. As Morganti says, once you print the image all of the sensor spots jump off the page.

So what is the magic tool that helps you find and remove all of these sensor spots, whether they’re obvious or not? Simply open Lightroom’s Healing Tools panel and click on any of the options (it doesn’t matter which one). Then look at the thin toolbar that appears just beneath your image. If it’s not there, simply hit the “T” key on your keyboard that toggles it on or off.

Now it’s time to get to work by clicking on the “Visualize Spots” checkbox in the Toolbar. Once you do that, your color photo temporarily turns into a very graphic b&w image. Now you’ll notice that this makes it significantly easier to see all of the sensors spots that need to be removed. There’s even a slider for adjusting sensitivity, and Morganti recommends setting a high value.

Of course locating these distracting elements is only half the battle, and Morganti demonstrates how to use the Content Aware Remove tool to banish the spots in seconds. Once you’re finished, just uncheck the Visualize Spots box and move on.

Morganti’s instructional YouTube channel is full of easy tips and tricks like this, so be sure to pay a visit.

We also suggest you watch the earlier tutorial we posted from another image-editing expert, demonstrating a simple Lightroom hack that delivers super-fast and precise masks.

Achieving accurate results during the editing process is sort of like rolling the dice if not you’re not working with a correctly calibrated display. In fact, you’re probably better off with a cheap monitor that’s properly calibrated than with a high-end display that’s not.

In the quick tutorial below with professional photographer Matt Granger you’ll learn the importance of this “crucial” task.” You’ll also see to get the job done on the cheap or even for free. Granger notes that, “by calibrating the monitor you’re making sure that what the screen is showing you is actually what’s in the file.”

Granger says the first thing to do, before jumping into calibration, is to make sure you understand a histogram and how it works. As he explains, “The histogram is a graphical representation of what’s in a photo. So if the histogram on your camera looks perfect, but the image appears too bright (or dark) on the computer, that’s a sure sign the monitor needs calibration.

With the aforementioned in mind, it’s obvious that if you make adjustments to a perfectly exposed photo because it looks too bright on an uncalibrated screen, the image in reality will end up too dark. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but here’s the bottom line: you just ruined a photo and wasted your time.

As Granger explains, calibrating the white point, black point, and contrast is just the beginning, as color calibration is “a whole other kettle of fish.” Some high-end monitor’s auto-calibrate according to whatever schedule you set, and there are several full-featured (and rather costly) calibration devices that provide great results.

But as promised above, the emphasis of this episode is inexpensive and free methods for getting the job done, so what you see on the monitor is a reliable representation of the contrast, brightness, color tones, and other variables in your images. And if, like many photographers, you work on a Mac, this process is particularly important for reasons Granger explains.

After watching this very helpful lesson, choose the method that work’s best for you and calibrate your monitor today. Then you’ll be able to process your images with confidence.

There’s a wide variety of helpful photography advice on Granger’s popular YouTube channel, to be sure to take a look and subscribe.

And when is comes to perfect colors, check out the Photoshop tutorial we posted explaining how to easily enhance photos with dull colors.

We’re already a few months into the new year and we thought now would be a good time to check in on what everyone is shooting with these days. A few weeks ago, we shared Outdoor Photographer‘s picks for the 10 best cameras and lenses of 2022 and now photographer and educator Serge Ramelli has revealed what’s in his camera bag for landscape photography in 2023 in the below video.

“In this video, I take a look at what’s in my camera bag for landscape photography in 2023,” Ramelli says.

“From a wide-angle lens to a telephoto lens, I cover everything I need to capture beautiful landscapes and cityscapes. If you’re looking to start photographing landscapes and cityscapes in the future, this video is a great place to start. By following along with my camera gear, you’ll get a good idea of what gear to invest in and what gear to avoid. After watching this video, you’ll be ready to start taking pictures of beautiful landscapes and cityscapes!”

In the clip, Ramelli shares his favorite camera, favorite lens, favorite filters, favorite tripod, favorite camera bag, favorite drone and many other pieces of gear for shooting landscapes in 2023.

We don’t want to play spoiler and reveal too much—watch the video to see all his picks—but we will say Ramelli favors Sony gear after switching over to an A7R IV when his Fujifilm GFX 100S got stolen. “I love the GFX,” he says. “It’s really a better camera than Sony but it’s very heavy. It’s very expensive. Every lens costs a lot of money. The Sony A7R IV is just easier for me.”

Check the video out and then let us know in the comments what gear is in your camera bag for landscape photography in 2023 and why.

The post What’s In Your Camera Bag For Landscape Photography In 2023? appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.

There are times when photos of a beautiful outdoor scene appear flat and dull, and that could be due to bad light, incorrect camera settings, or a myriad of other problems. You can always return on a better day, with your camera configured properly, but why do that if you can transform an unimpressive image into something really special with a few quick adjustments in Photoshop?

This tutorial from The Phlog Photography instructional YouTube channel demonstrates a simple color grading process that you’ll find yourself using regularly to make disappointing images really POP. It’s a very effective technique that does wonders for all sorts of outdoor photos.

German landscape pro Christian Mohrle walks you through the method he uses for such occasions in barely 13 minutes. Before clicking the “play” button we encourage you to download the sample image in the description beneath the video so you can make the adjustments yourself as he explains how it’s done.

Mohrle’s goal in the episode is to turn a flat seaside photo into a vibrant sunset image with a minimum of fuss. If you’ve watched Mohrle’s videos in the past, you know that he always starts with a few basic adjustments to make the image look as good as possible for the key enhancements that follow.

For this shot he begins in the Camera Raw editor to get the simple stuff out of the way. The image is a bit skewed, and he quickly aligns crooked verticals using tools found in the Geometry tab. He then changes the profile to Adobe Landscape which immediately provides nice base saturation.

Next come a few adjustments in Photoshop’s Basic tab. He increases White Balance temperature to warm up the tones, eliminates a magenta colorcast, and adjusts exposure for more details in the shadows.

After a few other basic adjustments Mohrle turns to the meat of the tutorial which involves straightforward masking to selectively enhance color in various portions of the scene. After a bit of sharpening, and a final tweak to the colors, the impressive transformation is complete.

You can find more shooting and editing tips on Mohrle’s popular YouTube channel—all designed to improve your outdoor photography.

And be sure to check out the recent tutorial we posted from another landscape photography expert, explaining why UV filters hurt more than they help when shooting outdoors.