landscape

landscapecolor separationpanoramalight paintingprint preparationweb preparationtime blendingenhancing colorremoving water spotswarpingexposure blendingmidtone contrastcolor harmonydodging and burningenhance atmospherephotoshoppaid

Essential post processing techniques that cover multiple basic and advanced concepts.

Essential Theory - Refining Composition 1

landscapecompositionphotoshoppaid

This video focuses on the fundamental compositional principles that go into making a compelling photograph. Instead of technical aspects of photography, I explain more about the art of photography–telling a story through images and creating thought provoking photographs that move others. It consists of 7 chapters, breaking down what can specifically be done in order to create a composition that is concise and powerful. You will see detailed explanations of each principle, personal stories from the field, and many image examples where these concepts are demonstrated through both my successes and failures, so you can know how to implement them into your own photography as well as what you can avoid. You will learn how to better organize both wide and intimate scenes, understand and compose abstract scenes, create visual flow, draw attention and focus to your subjects, know what to include or exclude, pre-visualize images, and influence the viewer's eye to look exactly where you want them to.

This is where it all begins, with taking a great photo in the field. These are the most important things I have learned over the last decade as a landscape photographer.

Essential Theory - Refining Composition 2

landscapecompositionphotoshoppaid

Once you are able to see light the way I do, you will realize there is no such thing as bad light, and be able to create scenes all throughout the day–no longer limited by weather conditions and factors that are out of your control. The second installment of this series focuses on the many different qualities of both direct and indirect light that you can encounter in the field, how to anticipate them, and creative and effective ways you can utilize them in order to create compelling images with strong visual flow. It consists of 7 Chapters in order to cover my entire approach to photographing natural light from sun up until sun down. You will gain a clear understanding of the nuances of light, the role that light and shadow play in composition by accentuating certain elements and hiding others, and how to pair subject matter with the kind of lighting that will best complement it in order to create a cohesive scene with a strong sense of subject, depth, balance, visual flow, and mood. I also show several different ways you can photograph ordinary light in order to make it appear more spectacular.

Capturing natural light is not only my favorite part of photography, it is the most fundamental principle of photography. Until you learn how to work with the light, it will work against you.

"Luminance" - Enhancing Soft Light

landscapecompositiondodge and burncolor separationdepthphotoshoppaid

This tutorial shows the different tools and techniques I use to enhance soft light in a bold yet natural looking way. Since soft light is the most commonly occurring kind of lighting, understanding more ways that it can be used effectively will help you to be more creative and unlock more possibilities. I show my approach to handling three different kinds of soft light: shade, overcast, and twilight. Through the four different image examples, you will see my entire workflow and how it differs in each image according to the quality of the light, subject matter, and overall feeling. You will also notice that I use some of the same techniques in all of them. 

You will see how I subtly build contrast through a combination of different adjustments. The main techniques demonstrated are: using luminosity masks to target specific areas and increase midtone contrast, color separation, luminance, depth, and definition in the scene in a non-destructive way. I also show ways to improve color harmony, eliminate color casts, manage saturation, increase tonality, dodge and burn, mitigate distractions, and resize and sharpen for the web. Most importantly, my concise and deliberate workflow is easy to follow and implement in your own images.

"Dark Brilliance" - Low Key Processing

landscapemidtone contrastcolor separationtime blendingphotoshoppaid

This tutorial video shows how I process high contrast scenes with intense lighting and deep shadows. I also review all the other exposures I took in the field of these scenes while the lighting was changing and articulate my process of trying different compositions and how I ended up selecting the exposures that I edited.

The main techniques demonstrated are: using luminosity masks to target specific areas and add midtone contrast, color separation, depth, and definition to the scene in a non-destructive way. I also show ways to simplify the color palette, enhance light, improve tonality, add drama, time blend, minimize and clone out distractions, improve visual flow, precisely correct lens distortion, and resize and sharpen for the web. Most importantly, my concise and deliberate workflow is very easy to follow and implement in your own scenes.

"High Key Processing" - Start to Finish Video

landscapemidtone contrastcolor separationtime blendingluminosity masksmicrocontrastphotoshoppaid

This tutorial video contains 4 chapters, where I first cover the theory behind High Key Processing, and then show the full workflow and techniques I used in order to process these 3 images from start to finish. I use high key processing in some of my images in order to give them a surreal, pure, and bright feeling. The main techniques covered are, but not limited to: RAW Processing, Color Management, Adding Midtone Contrast, Creating Micro Contrast, Using Luminosity Masks, Raising Exposure While Preserving Highlights, Enhancing Atmosphere, and Cloning Out Distractions. Most importantly, you will learn what kind of lighting, composition, and subject matter lend themselves best to the unique look of high key processing, so that you know when to apply it to your own images. This video is intended for photographers that have already seen some of my other videos, where I spend more time explaining basic techniques; here, I mainly spend time explaining the techniques that are not shown in my other videos.

The Josh Cripps 3-step system to transform your photography

by Joshua Cripps

Learn the most common mistakes photographers make that kill their progress, what’s required to actually achieve the results you want, and my personal, 3-step system to shoot world-class photos

landscapecompositiontheoryfree

Understanding Exposure: Master Your Camera Settings

by Joshua Cripps

This course is designed to help brand new photographers understand their cameras. There are three settings you MUST understand in order to take great photos: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. This course teaches you the ins and outs of those settings and how they interact to create exposure. 

The course doesn’t stop there. It also teaches you why you should use certain settings, what the technical and artistic effects are, and what’s best to use in each situation, so you can shoot like an artist.

landscapecamera settingstheorypaid

Daydream Start to Finish

by Marco Grassi

In this in depth tutorial, you’ll learn my complete workflow on editing this image, starting in Lightroom and ending in Photoshop. I will explain you different post-processing techniques and you’ll be able to understand how to add tridimensionality to your pictures and enhance them. Scroll below to see the before and after and read more details.

landscapelens flare removalcolorscreate depthphotoshoplightroompaid

Zelda Start to Finish

by Marco Grassi

Learn how to get something out of nothing and turn an unusable file into a great image with this in depth tutorial. Scroll below to see the before and after and read more details.

landscapedodging and burningpolarizer effectluminosity masksphotoshoplightroompaid

Pledge Start to Finish

by Marco Grassi

Learn how to change the mood of your image and turn a flat file, shot during the harsh daylight, into a dramatic and unique scene with this in depth tutorial. Scroll below to see the before and after and read more details

landscapedramatic lookphotoshoplightroompaid

Photo Editing for Panorama Photos

by Michael Breitung

In this photo editing tutorial, I show my complete workflow for creating high-quality panoramic images. I use the tricky panorama I took at Cape Woolamai as an example image. The light that evening was spectacular but also fleeting, so I had to work fast. Because my wide-angle lens wasn’t sufficient to capture the whole cove, I opted for a panorama combined with bracketing.

With the direct sunlight, the rolling waves, and the fact that I wasn’t using a nodal rail or special panorama equipment, putting the photo together to create a high-quality result involved a set of unique techniques.

landscapepanoramaexposure blendingdodging and burningphotoshoplightroomnik collectionpaid

Photo Editing Basics

by Michael Breitung

On this site you find a set of basic photo editing tutorials, which provide the foundation for the more advanced post processing techniques I show in my other tutorials. Watching the videos below you learn how to use Photoshop for basic and also more advanced photo editing.

landscapeluminosity masksdodging and burningexposure blendingfocus stackingphotoshoplightroomnik collectionlumenziafree

Start To Finish Photography Editing Tutorial: Creating Dark and Dramatic Moods

by Michael Shainblum

Landscape Photography processing tutorial: This video shows my entire start-to-finish process for my Dolomites image. In this video I discuss the reasons for taking the image the way that I did. The gear and tools used to create the photo. Then we go through my process of creating dark/dramatic moods in Adobe Lightroom and syncing multiple files. We then take the images into Adobe Photoshop to mask them together and add final touches to make the photo really shine. The video also covers dodging/burning, color correction and basic web sharpening. Runtime 1 hour and 14 minutes. This file size is almost 4GB so please be patient with the download and make sure you have a good connection.

landscapecolor correctiondodging and burningphotoshoplightroompaid

Essential Photoshop for Landscape Photography

landscapefocus stackingluminosity masksdual processingphotoshoppaid

Covered in this course
Setting up photoshop
Round tripping between Lightroom and Photoshop
Setting up and saving a workspace
Utilizing Smart objects
Using Adjustment Layers
Using Layer Masks
Using Pixel Layers
Using Luminosity Masks
Using Luminosity Selections
Cleaning up images
Exposure Blending
Focus Stacking
Dual Processing
and much much more.

Advanced Concepts Volume 1

landscapefocus stackingshutter speed blendorton glowphotoshoppaid

In this course Nick covers some of the more difficult blending techniques.

Covered in this course

Exposure blending and Focus stacking in the same image
Problem solving failed focus stacks
Shutter speed and Exposure blending in the same image
Shutter speed and Focus stacking in the same image
Utilizing Feathered masks and selections
Creating atmosphere
Creating depth
Creating visual path in messy scenes


This course includes 5 video chapters, with a combined runtime of over 2 hours.

Balancing Warm and Cold Tones

landscapecolor balancephotoshopfree

In this video we do an edit walkthrough of an image that is all about the color relationship between the Warm and the Cold tones in the image.

Dramatic Black and White

landscapeblack and whitephotoshoppaid

In this 4 video course you will learn different ways to create visual flow and maximize depth and visual flow in your Black and White Images

Included are 4 practice files, 4 lessons with a combined run time of about 2 hours

Covered in this course

Utilizing Smart Objects in a Black and White conversion
Utilizing Guided Dodging and Burning in B&W images
The importance of Contrast and Visual Flow
Controlling Tones through Color
Utilizing Dual Processing and Luminosity masks in a Black and White workflow

Mastering Luminosity Masks II

landscapeexposure blendingdual processingdodging and burningluminosity masksphotoshoppaid

Creation tools and methods
Altering Luminosity masks
Exposure blending using Luminosity masks
Exposure blending difficult scenes using Luminosity masks
Dodging and Burning using Luminosity masks
Adding selective contrast using Luminosity masks
Creating Depth using Luminosity masks
Managing messy scenes using Luminosity masks
Dual Processing using Luminosity masks


The total runtime of this course is just over 2 hours over 10 videos.

Mastering Dodging and Burning

landscapedodging and burningphotoshoppaid

Covered in this course:

Why Dodging and burning is such a crucial part of the editing process
Freehand dodging and burning
Guided Dodging and burning
Dodging and Burning using smart objects
Dodging and Burning using contrast adjustments
Creating Depth and atmosphere
Creating visual path
Creating Color separation
 

This is a 11 video set, with a Combined runtime of around 1.75 hours

Light Contouring

landscapedramatic landscapesphotoshoppaid

Figuring out how to make light appear three dimensional in my images is one of the most game-changing things I've done for my post processing skill set. In this tutorial we utilize simple techniques, that you may already know, but apply them in a way you may never have thought to try. Take full control of the light in your photos and use it to make images that truly shine with deep dimensionality. 

This video shows you what I love to do most in Photoshop; controlling, enhancing, and even creating light. These are some of the most powerful techniques any digital photographer could add to their bag of tricks and will take their photos to the next level.

Something From Nothing - El Capitan

landscapedramatic landscapesthree dimensional texturesblendingphotoshopacrpaid

This in-depth tutorial is a laid back journey into seeing what can be created when timing and field technique is not working in our favor. Join in as we attempt to make something from nothing by blending different atmospherics from two separate RAW files taken several minutes apart… after already moving the camera. More than just trying to blend a couple images, the processing of this image requires fixing/creating reflections, removing distractions elements, using atmosphere to solve a compositional flaw, building three dimensional textures, the many ways ACR local adjustments can be used, and a lot more. If you’re more of a conservative type image editor then this tutorial might cause you anxiety.

Something from Nothing 2

landscapedramatic landscapesphotoshopacrpaid

Have you ever taken a photo you were excited about, just to get home and realize that it didn't represent the scene you experienced in the field? Unfortunately, this is a common issue most photographers I know have experienced. However, with modern software and a little creative vision you can make something from nothing. 
 

This video starts with one of the more bland photos I have ever taken that didn't do the actual scene any justice. Watch along as I bring as much color and light out of the RAW files as possible, clean up the foreground, create a light source to light the mountain, building and enhancing cloud structure, and more. Almost two hours of knowledge with no filler!

Start to Finish - A Creative Puzzle

landscapedramatic landscapesfocus stackingluminosity masksrange maskscreative warpingliquifyingatmosphere enhancementperspective blendphotoshopacrpaid

Creative vision in the field is what can lead to creative vision in post-processing. In this tutorial we go from taking the photos for our creative puzzle in the field, to piecing them together on the computer. Starting with a multi-layered perspective blend and sky relocation, we go on to perform an entire workflow consisting of RAW processing, range masks, focus stacking, luminosity masks, light creation, warping, liquifying, pinching, atmosphere enhancements, texture adjustments and much more. 

This tutorial covers the modern techniques many of the most creative photographers are using today, yet very rarely reveal.

Working with Winter

landscapedramatic landscapesphotoshoppaid

These are Santa's favorite type of images to process... winter landscapes! This tutorial covers all the techniques I use to make crisp, clean, and fresh looking winter images. From creating blowing snow, falling snowflakes, highlight glints, composing with contrast, rim-light, a fix for mediocre snow, and a lot more. As always, I cut out any parts of the video that are not useful information. All learning, no filler. I'm excited to share these processing ideas with you!

Let's Change the Weather - Mt. Whitney