Landscape photography often presents many challenges, especially when dealing with complex lighting situations. These challenges can range from managing exposure differences between the sky and foreground to dealing with unwanted movement caused by wind or water. Learning to overcome these obstacles, even during the editing process, can make a big difference in the quality of your images.
Coming to you from Gary Gough, this helpful video tutorial tackles the problem of post-processing a particularly difficult image. Gough walks you through his entire workflow, demonstrating how to turn a seemingly unusable photo into a work of art. He emphasized the importance of understanding that post-processing is not a rigid process but a journey with the destination being the final image.
The video focuses on one image that combines two separate shots – a long exposure and a “speeded up” shot. This technique was used because long exposures resulted in slight blurring due to tidal movements. Gough demonstrates how to seamlessly combine the sharp elements of a snapshot with the desired long exposure effect using Photoshop. He uses a variety of tools like layer masks, patch tools, and general coloring to achieve perfect results.
This tutorial goes beyond basic adjustments and gets into advanced techniques like creating luminosity masks to selectively adjust specific areas of an image. Gough also demonstrates how to further enhance an image by converting it to black and white and adding subtle lighting effects. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a natural look while enhancing the overall mood and atmosphere of the photo. Watch the video above for Gough’s full rundown.
