Photoshop 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."

A thorough understanding of the ins and outs of White Balance is essential if you want to create photos with accurate colors, regardless of the type of images you shoot. And according to professional photographer Chris Parker, "there are three things pros know about White Balance that are rarely taught."

Lightroom plugins are valuable software add-ons that expand creativity during the editing process with easy to use features for a variety of effects. They're readily available, some for free and other at a nominal cost, and they can add impact to images while speeding up your workflow.

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.

One big challenge for photographers who shoot landscapes, wildlife, and other outdoor imagery is achieving impressive results when the light just isn't right. And doing so often means using Lightroom or Photoshop to carefully enhance images in a natural looking way. The following video from a noted pro explains his strategy for getting the job done.

Today we're going to demystify the concept of complementary colors to create dynamic and visually captivating photos. This fundamental principle of color theory may sound  overly technical, but it's actually quite easy to understand and employ.