Nature Photography How To

We're all looking for a creative edge when editing outdoor photos captured in difficult light. One goal is to create images with maximum impact, and the other is to accomplish that task in way that makes our imagery stand out from the crowd.

Last week we featured a tutorial explaining a foolproof way to install, organize, and manage image-editing plugins so they work most efficiently for your specific needs. We're following that up today with what one pro says are "the five best plugins for Lightroom and Photoshop."

Today you'll learn how to elevate your landscape photography game by using an oft-ignored Lightroom tool to process images that need a bit of help. The method known as "midtone contrast" is both easy and effective, and it's guaranteed to add impact to just about every image you edit.

We've all heard the blather from so-called "purists" who insist that images should be presented straight out of the camera without any post processing at all. Not only are we told to avoid adjusting exposure, color, sharpness and the like, but creative cropping is verboten as well.

Experienced landscape photographers know that some intense colors are difficult to deal with during the editing process, especially when processing images captured just as the sun drops below the horizon. In this tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel you'll learn how to render these vibrant tones in Lightroom while achieving a realistic effect.

Are you struggling with post-processing because the approach you take is too complicated and time consuming? Or perhaps, despite all your hard work, the results aren't as refined as you expect. In either case, the straightforward tutorial below will solve these and other common problems and really up your game.

If you're thinking about trying you hand at wildlife photography but don't quite know where to start, the beginners guide below is just what you need. You'll pick up some great advice from an accomplished pro that will enable you to get going this weekend.