Photoshop How To

Creating soft, blurry backgrounds is a popular technique for making subjects stand out from their surroundings. It’s also useful for eliminating clutter, and directing a viewer’s eye to the most important element of a scene.

If you’re like most folks, photographers and “civilians” alike, you probably have a bunch of old family photos lurking in shoeboxes and tattered albums just waiting for some TLC. And because you’re a photographer, relatives will likely solicit your help to restore their often-damaged mementos.

The past month has been special for Shutterbug readers thanks to the weekly installments we’ve posted of an amazing free Lightroom masterclass from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel. Part 1 covered the basics. #2 dealt with masking, and last week’s episode explained the finer points of using Lightroom’s Tone Curve.

Photography is all about maximizing light, and landscape photographers are always at the mercy of prevailing conditions. The quick tutorial below demonstrates how to make necessary adjustments in Lightroom when Mother Nature fails to cooperate.

We all hear about so-call “hidden” editing tools that deliver great results. But while many of these methods are effective, some are quite familiar to photographers of all skill levels.

Landscape photographers know that the sky in a scene can make or break a photo. Soft billowing clouds make for compelling imagery, as do dark, threatening skies that evoke a dramatic sense of doom.

Last week we brought you the premiere episode of a free online photo editing masterclass from our friends at the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel. That one demonstrated Lightroom’s most basic tools.