Outdoor Photography How To

The image-editing needs of less-experienced photographers often enable them to side-step complicated tools and techniques. Other times there are seemly seemingly advanced tools than can make a big difference in an edit, and these can be greatly simplified for Photoshop novices so that everyone on can get in on the action.

Most of us have experienced the frustration of returning from a shoot, uploading our images to the computer, and discovering that some of them are darker than we’d like. There are several ways to recover shadow details in an image, and the method you’ll learn today is one of the easiest and most effective.

A common problem when shooting outdoor scenes full of bright highlights and deep shadows is arriving at a proper exposure. The quick tutorial below from the PHLOG Photography instructional YouTube channel explains a Photoshop HDR editing technique that's easy enough for users of all skill levels.

One challenge with outdoor photography is that landscape scenes tend to be complicated, often confusing viewers and directing their gaze away from your main subject. One of the best methods for simplifying a busy photo is to blur the background, thereby emphasizing what you consider the key point of the shot.

If you’re ever tried to manually mask out a sky in Photoshop, you know that achieving a precise selection can be difficult—especially when your shot includes complex objects in the foreground. There are many methods for tackling this challenge, and today you’ll learn one of the easiest and most effective.

The practice of dodging and burning to manipulate exposure in different areas of an image dates back to the early days of film photography and the wet darkroom. Today we do the same thing in the digital darkroom to add drama and depth to our photos.

Layer Blend Modes are straightforward tools that deliver superior results when working with layers. Unfortunately, they are frequently ignored—either because some photographers don't know they exist, or because of a misconception that they're difficult to employ.