Photoshop How To

We spend a lot of time here at Shutterbug explaining techniques for shooting great images and improving them further during the editing process. What we may not do often enough is discuss best practices for output.

There are numerous methods for upscaling images using Photoshop, Lightroom, or third-party plugins and apps. Unfortunately, the results you achieve may barely be acceptable or less, depending on the technique employed.

Improperly exposed photos are the bane of all kinds of photographers, especially those who shoot outdoors where a wide range of tones may exceed the density range of your camera. We posted a tutorial earlier today explaining a simple method to remedy this problem by using Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to make dark areas lighter and light areas dark to arrive at a balanced result.

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.

Some photographers shy away from employing presets when editing their work because of a misconception that they’re difficult to use. Nothing could be further from the truth, and as you’ll see in the quick tutorial below, you can even create your own custom presets with ease.

Most photographers are always on the lookout for effective editing tips that shorten the time they spend sitting behind the computer. The goal, of course, is to finish post-processing as quickly as possible and get back out in the field doing what we all love most.

As one of our favorite landscape photographers insists, “contrast is a crucial aspect of photo editing.” That’s because this key variable helps define the relationship between different tones and colors in an image.