Post-production


There
are a number of software packages that can bring out the hidden
qualities of your landscape images. Despite your best efforts out on the
field, even images taken in ideal conditions can sometimes appear
strangely flat and unsaturated. Tom’s favoured software is Adobe
Photoshop Lightroom, a program designed to assist Adobe Photoshop in
managing large numbers of digital files and handle post-processing
duties on images that need adjusting.


‘There are some features
in Lightroom that are, in my opinion, a little more user-friendly than
in Photoshop,’ he says. ‘But equally there are some features in
Photoshop that I find easier to work with, such as the Clone and Healing
tools. It’s all about personal preference.’


Photo by Adrian Ward


Tom
takes the users through a handful of key features of Lightroom. ‘You’ll
be working on the raw files that you’ve shot on location, but it’s
important to remember that the processing you’re doing in the software
doesn’t affect the actual raw file,’ says Tom. ‘You don’t ever affect
the original file. So if you end up making some major changes that you
dislike, there’s no need to panic.


‘Generally, there is a set
process of things I look at,’ continues Tom. ‘I often start by checking
the exposure and taking that up or down depending on requirements. You
have the option of moving the exposure slider up and down, which will
adjust the overall exposure of your image so the whole picture either
goes lighter or darker. But you also have the option of adjusting the
blacks, fill light (midtones) and, with the Recovery tool, you can
recover details in your highlights that were lost during the exposure.’


Next,
Tom looks at the saturation and vibrancy of his image. ‘People often
confuse the saturation and vibrancy settings,’ says Tom. ‘Vibrancy acts
on unsaturated pixels, whereas saturation works on the whole image.
Going too far on either setting can give your image a very unrealistic
feel. I generally limit myself to 30 or 40% on both settings.’


The
Crop tool, under the Develop menu and the third icon along underneath
your image preview screen, is particularly important, as it can help fix
crooked horizons – a flaw that can spoil an otherwise good image.


‘In
Photoshop, the Free Transform and Rotate tools can leave you with a lot
of blank canvas, meaning that you have to crop out portions of your
image,’ says Tom. ‘This doesn’t happen in Lightroom. If you move the
slider on the Angle control, it will straighten your image. There won’t
be any annoying black canvas to crop out.’


Fig 1


Fig 2




Lastly,
Tom takes the AP readers through Lightroom’s in-built Gradient tool.
Using this tool can help the photographer achieve similar effects to
those gained using a ND graduated filter on their camera lens.

‘The
Graduated Filter tool is something that you can spend an age playing
with,’ says Tom. ‘It can help you to darken skies, and give your image a
dramatic and moody veneer. But it can also help to bring out details by
brightening certain areas of your image.’

To apply a gradient
filter, select the Graduated Filter tool (Figure 1) in the Adjustment
Brushes panel. ‘Click on the edge of the image closest to the region you
want to make the adjustment,’ explains Tom (see Figure 2). ‘In the case
of our images, it’s likely to be the top of the image where the sky is.
Then, drag the gradient marker towards the centre of the image,
stopping where you want the adjustment to fade out. You can use the
buttons and sliders in the Mask panel (just below the brush selector) to
adjust the selected portion. It’s as simple as that.’

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