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What I Am Working On: Editing the Landscape

I do a lot of photo editing and it is easy to get into the habit of using the same filters every time.  In order to encourage myself to try different things, I watch a lot of tutorial videos on Youtube. I feel free to adopt some suggestions and leave others, but I think it is important to understand that most photo editing software has lots of options and so knowing what is even available is important.  One of the files I was working on the week was this photo, taken at Mt. Snowdon in Wales in 2016:

ISO 800 f/13 1/800sec 50mm

It was a fabulous view, even if this particular file doesn’t really seem to suggest that. I was also watching this tutorial on Youtube. It’s specific to editing a landscape in Luminar which is the software I am using, but I would say that the suggestions made can be applied in other editing software as well. One of the first suggestions was to use the dehaze slider. Now that happens to be a slider I almost never use but for this file, it seemed like a really good starting place. For this edit below, I then went on to use the sky filter, the foliage enhancer, the HSL panel for luminance, and the small details slider for sharpening. The final edit was this one:

ISO 800 f/13 1/800sec 50mm

I think this edit is a pretty close representation of what I saw that day. From there I decided to do a more creative edit. This particular edit has two additional layers, the first was the Luminar look, Overlook, added with modifications and the second layer is an AI filter and vignette. Here is that version:

ISO 800 f/13 1/800sec 50mm

I like it also but will readily admit it is not what I saw. The Picfair version of it is here.

So which version is better? which do you prefer? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Cheers!

Added to Tuesday Photo Challenge, Back Catalog.

 

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20 thoughts on “What I Am Working On: Editing the Landscape”

  1. It’s really interesting that you share your edits and the process you do. Always wanna learn and improve your skills and that’s just great. It’s tempting, indeed, to post process more and more (for necessary if you shoot in RAW), but WE have to be careful to not lose the essence and purity. For us, photography is more art, and less ‘memory’ then the most mobile/selfieguru’s that are on the first row to criticize passionate photographers when they use even lightroom without knowing what it is. You shoot excellent landscapes, really, and now and then…. I think… hey common…. is it necessary to edit like hell: hey it’s just fine (to my opinion). Gain skills in post editing is not unimportant, rather important. Why I write this: the second picture is awesome, even close to reality. Really love it… . The third picture…. it reminds me to my early beginnings with photography and editing: way too much. Yesterday I rode an online article about settings etc: check your settings before you shoot, or if you have an idea and wanna experience with settings… write it down. It saves time at home, really. You are doing a fantastic job, hopefully you take it easy:). Your photographs are excellent with a minimum of post processing. Cheers Stef

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    • Hi Stef, Thanks very much for your thoughtful critique. I agree it is best to shoot the photo you want in the camera, and that minimal editing is usually best. I would say that that is especially true of landscapes, but that is just my personal taste. That second edit was an experiment that was fun and I liked the result, I suspect because I just like those tones, but agree that it is a bit over the top in terms of an edit.

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  2. JoAnn says:

    Photography can be so fascinating… its amazing all you can do with it these days. I like the second one. I tend to like more color to show through.

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  6. I’ve never touched dehaze! Prob because I seldom photograph in conditions which produce it, I think my ‘processing weakness’ is a bit of clarity; I seem to do it a lot 😺. I did some photos a while back for which I used a preset I bought…something I never do normally but it made a change and I quite liked the look, prob do it again for a similar shoot.

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    • Yes, dehaze is an almost never slider for me. It had been a few years since I’d used it and it seems like it has matured a bit, as most sliders have, into something that is a bit more natural-looking. In my opinion older versions of it tended to yield funky looking results.

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  7. I enjoy seeing your process and the edits you come up with. My personal preference is the first edit – that looks closest to what you remember. I see advanced editing as adding final artistic touches, as if on a painting. It can also be the most fun part. And why not? Going online to look at YouTube videos is a great resource. Have you posted any yourself? 🙂

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  9. Pingback: Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 182 – Dutch goes the Photo!

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