Ron Leach

There are few things worse than dull and flat monochrome images. After all, striking contrast and drama are two of the reasons many photographers forego color in favor of b&w. Fortunately, you can transform a photo from boring to dramatic with a few simple steps in Lightroom, Photoshop, or whatever editing application you use.

Everyone seems to have a preferred method of editing their images, and that’s to be expected because there’s no one “right way” to get the job done. However, as you’ll see in this tutorial, some editing techniques are just plain wrong.

Here at Shutterbug we’re constantly on the lookout for tutorials that will help you master camera settings, composition, exposure, and other shooting skills. But there’s one important consideration that has nothing do with technicalities, and it’s particularly important for nature, travel and landscape photographers.

Careful preparation is essential for all forms of outdoor photography, whether you shoot travel scenes, landscapes, or adventure images—especially when you’ll be in the backcountry far from home. To that end, one of our favorite instructors put together the checklist below, to help you avoid the unexpected.