color separation
Tools of the Trade
by Eric Bennet
Essential post processing techniques that cover multiple basic and advanced concepts.
"Luminance" - Enhancing Soft Light
by Eric Bennet
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
by Eric Bennet
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
by Eric Bennet
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.