The Photographer's Notebook

My post-processing workflow for every image I capture begins in Lightroom. I love Lightroom's cataloging and organizing system in addition to the straight forward and intuitive editing features within the program.  

I always learn something from watching other photographers edit. This week I want to share this clean and straightforward edit in Lightroom. In a matter of minutes, watch this featured image change from underexposed to bright and airy with a few simple tweaks. 

Watch me edit this image in the featured video from straight out of the camera... 

^{SOOC- ISO 200, 150mm, f3.5, 1/1250 SS}

...to the final Lightroom edit.

^{SOOC- ISO 200, 150mm, f3.5, 1/1250 SS}

If there is one single question that I've repeatedly heard throughout my photography journey, it is this one, "How do I find my style?" Finding your style as a photographer, specifically your editing style, is not something that's going to happen overnight. I think that style is ever-evolving throughout the entirety of your photography journey. There are, however, a few indicators that are going to help you solidify who you are as an artist as you go about editing your images in post-processing. The suggestions below can help you find your editing style.

1. Never compare or copy

The photography community is full of jaw-dropping talent. It's easy to feel less than the incredible photographer that you are when you are constantly comparing your images to someone else. Copying the work of other photographers is even more detrimental to finding your style because when you are copying, you are not infusing yourself into the creation of your photographs. 

As an aside here, I...

Adobe Photoshop is an incredibly powerful post-processing program, and I am certainly no expert when it comes to using this program to its full potential. I am always learning new techniques within Photoshop that make my workflow faster and more efficient with just the right amount of creativity. I do, however, have some favourite post-processing techniques that I readily use within Photoshop. Here are a few of my favourite Photoshop techniques when post-processing my images.  

1. Spot Healing Brush tool 

The toolbar in Photoshop holds many valuable tools. When using the Essentials (Default) workspace in Photoshop, the toolbar automatically shows. If you ever accidentally hide this bar, you can reinstate it under the main menu > Windows > Tools. A checkmark should appear next to the word "Tools."

The spot healing brush tool works like magic! When I require small image touch-ups like removing unsightly spots or marks in my images, this is my go-to tool....

There are so many things to love about Adobe's Lightroom. It's a fantastic post-processing program that can infuse just the right finishing touches into your images. I use both Lightroom and Photoshop in the post-processing of my photos, but I always begin my workflow in Lightroom. Here are a few of my favourite tips and tricks that are specific to my Lightroom post-processing workflow.

1. White Balance

You should always aim for accurate white balance in-camera by using a preset or by manually setting a custom white balance for the type of light you are photographing. However, very often, the white balance in an image needs a touch of tweaking in post-processing. Lightroom makes white balance adjustments simple. Located at the very top of the Lightroom control panels is the Basic panel. There you will find the WB adjustment sliders. It's easy to tweak the temperature cooler towards blue or warmer towards yellow by pulling the slider in either direction. The same goes for tint. A...

Photography has some steep learning curves. As a new photographer, typically, the first thing you do is dive into the technical skills needed to operate your camera. Later, you realize that there's also a whole other side to photography. Learning post-processing techniques is not an easy process. But, don't feel defeated by the amount a photographer must learn! Photography is one big gigantic journey filled with uphill trails and meandering paths. That's one of the things I love about being a photographer. There's the neverending opportunity to learn and develop both technical and artistic skills. I think photography is a fun and exciting journey of self-development. Learning and exploring something new often comes with lots of mistakes. In this article, I want to share with you some of the common pitfalls I often see in post-processing. I hope that you'll be able to avoid these errors as you develop and fine-tune your post-processing skills!

1. Too much saturation 

Do you...