How i edit photos

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This week I go through an entire Lightroom edit of a landscape photo I took in Tuscany a few weeks back. I cover luminance range, radial gradients, linear radiants, tone curves, colour grading and most other tools too.
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[@AK-hk2pd]

Thanks James

[@woflgangdurst6752]

Great job editing! Always reminds me of all the features in Lightroom I often tend to neglect. Love your subtle sense of humour.

[@raulsuhett]

Love this kind of videos! And I’m a huge fan of your style. Thank you for the tutorial!

[@nidibouphotography]

Probably the most-not-bored-to-watch photographer/KZbinr. Great work as always James. 👍🏼

[@lucakinch7863]

Love these types of videos! Would be interesting to see how you edit some of the street photography pictures for instance from the manchester video which are a bit more out of your comfort zone

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

I feel your allergy pain. I sniffle my way through every shoot. In spring and summer, it's allergies. In autumn and winter, it's cold air. I can't win. 😭

[@doueven]

Literally one of the best Photogs on KZbin Love the way you explain the shot, composition and then justifying what/how you've done the edit and why. With a dash of British sarcasm occasionally Entertaining stuff

[@danielsmith6114]

I love the relaxed feel of your videos while still giving helpful and honest information! I would really like to see a video using the a7IV for stills around dawn/dusk and seeing how it stacks up against the a7RIV with low light and dynamic range for your style. Keep up the excellent work!

[@andyb_23]

Thanks James. It’s great to see you work through an image in your own unique way.

[@Realletsplaygrey]

Really good stuff as usual. It's always a good time watching your favorite photographers edit their own images 🤙

[@Thetravelphotocoach]

Your explanation of tones curves is the simplest I’ve heard and gave me an understanding of the impact of using them, thanks

[@klax1984]

First time I hear someone properly explain those tone curves, thank you very much, great tutorial!

[@JackBeasleyMedia]

Like you said about portrait photo editing, as a sports and event photographer, I have no clue how to do landscape photo editing. Bravo for introducing me to some editing concepts and procedures I hadn't thought about before.

[@ddki9094]

The tone curve explanation was fantastic and I've never seen someone demonstrate how they use it before. Thank you!

[@darrenjennings]

Simple explanations make for easy understanding. Thank you James.

[@fzrewagfzaerfer]

Wow, that's more than you could expect. You're really amazingly good at it. Thank you for sharing your secrets with everyone.

[@billwinward9324]

I love the 'pastel' look you get on your pictures and now I know how you work toward that great look. Thank you.

[@NakedInSeattle]

Perfectly shown and perfectly explained! Thanks.

[@alexgraefe.photoYT]

I really love this video! It makes me want to revisit my photos and try to retouch them all over again! Thank you James for your content. I'm looking forward to your video every week (:

[@VictorWyatt]

Thanks for all the insights, especially concerning shadows and blacks. Your video is very helpful.

[@jacobharrison2945]

Thank you for creating this extraordinary content that each of your videos have. You are an amazing KZbinr and photographer!

[@EoghanBell]

Great video man. The way you explained how your work with Black and Shadows really cleared up some confusion I had!!

[@Alex.wellock]

Thanks James! It is nice to see how you think about edits.

[@jamesamoh7340]

Amazingly done. 🙏

[@robturpin]

Another great video James. Super helpful.

[@UltimateYugo71]

Probably the only edit tutorial that amazed me and learned something new. (photographer for 3 years now)

[@michellegrant5928]

I admire your dedication to the shot. I would have turned around when I saw the parking lot! I have been dragging my feet about buying Lightroom, but I'll bookmark this video for when I inevitably take the plunge.

[@brentvernon2787]

Thanks James, great video, would like to see more of your street edtits too

[@colinjones8656]

Enjoyed the video and editing techniques but, the final version looks nothing like the tutorial 🤔. Thumbs up but I was left confused.

[@wahjudi]

I think that's just because he was doing everything to a greater level in the video so you can see his changes.

[@midlifeadventuretravels]

He explains this at 14.30 or thereabouts.

[@ewanshki]

Beautiful

[@tjsinva]

Nice breakdown. 👍🥂

[@claralizethriveras.22]

Thank you saved me a lot of time trying to browse videos for an actual working one

[@paulcollingridge8387]

Great video... Luminance masking is A-MA-ZING

[@YoSpiff]

Your experience at this location is why I like to find photo ops that aren't well known places on the beaten path. (Though I do have some of the stereotypical images.) Traveling a lot for work, I have gone to a few places you wouldn't normally think of, where I have been surprised by the great shots I have found. One of my favorite places was a civil war fort in Pensacola, Florida. Fantastic light coming in from slit windows to a fortress that was partially underground and very few other people about to have to wait on.

[@nohandle-01]

Like others, this helped me really venture below the usual basic adjustments so thanks for sharing. Really helpful

[@SkyZippr]

I gotta confess, when you intersected that gradient mask, my brain exploded. 4 years of Lightroom, and I had absolutely no idea that it could do that.

[@zmerc1969]

Lovely photo

[@hukumongdu]

amazing tips ❤❤❤

[@ekevanderzee9538]

How did you know where to go? It is obviously a famous spot. How did you research the area you were going to be? How do I not miss these opportunities when going on holiday myself?

[@eskomies]

I actually like you did visible edits. This way its more clear to viewer what was done. Not everyone has professionally color calibrated 80 inch mobile phone at hand to see what was done 😁

[@JamesBillingsPhotography]

I've not tried that intersect thingy in the masks, will have to give it a go!

[@peteg330]

Cheers James, the Tone Curve part was very useful, I've never properly understood it till now. I'll be having a play with it later. I use something called Lufa Complex for my hay-fever, get it from a health food shop, and it's really helped me so worth a try.

[@joshuazabala7557]

Great video! Really appreciate it when an experienced photographer dumbifies stuff for a new photographer like me :P

[@epicci4428]

Interesting edit, but this made me wonder if edits like these are more like painting since you are creating a scene instead of capturing it. IDK if that makes any sense, but it's something that just popped into my head.

[@elainejerauld4044]

Learned a bunch today, thanks! PS It's a huge pollen year here in the Willamette Valley so I totally understand hiding outhe from it.

[@kappios78]

this video is good, buut it's like - hey that's how i edit a photo, and here is the final result which looks nothing like the picture i just edited. I'd rather look through the "boring" stuff and see how you got to the final result than see what you do with the result which not even you liked

[@VangelisMatosMedina]

Yes, the foreground edit is completely different

[@ejwkooi]

Great Video. Not only inspiring fit editing, but also for the location(s). Hoping to be able to buy a decent 70-200 someday.

[@soundscape26]

Yeah, that row of photographers explains why I have seen that photo a million times before. Cool video, always enjoy following your editing process.

[@twotone3070]

I've decided the collective noun for such groups is a 'FILM' of photographers.

[@amateurphotographerassocia5965]

Thanks, will share with our group ;)

[@jeffML3926]

Thanks for this! Love all your regular story-telling and composition related videos, so something more technical like this is valuable and kind of refreshing on occasion! So sad that the basic Lightroom doesn't have masking options like this :( looks like an indispensable tool... used to have it on an older version of classic before Adobe migrated users to the subscriptions. Relying on radial and linear filters + the eraser beyond their means. So much extra editing time around the edges of different layers/features.

[@ethannarrow5209]

I understood about 10% of this but i loved it thank you!

[@nicholasrigg8999]

Really useful, thanks. Not all of these features are available on my editing tools unfortunately

[@Name-ot3xw]

A Home Depot butcher block countertop + some Home Depot table legs was my best desk so far. I'll go with wooden legs next time so I can adjust the height better.

[@seanivrymusic]

can you do a new version of this video with a less "wide open" photo? Perhaps something in the country side, forest, etc.?

[@sincosy]

Thank you James for your videos! You`ve got a new subscriber! Is this an Apple Studio Display?

[@MarcoBlanke]

Interesting to use the masks before the general editing! really digging the look

[@jimmylee3474]

Would be cool to do a video on how you use your presets to edit the photos 👍🏻

[@supertaufiqr]

Thanks for the video. How does the tone curve differ from the sliders?

[@hodeman]

Love to learn and get inspired from your videos. Stupid qurstions: I see in some of your fotos you have them boxed with a white border around them. What is the process of doing that, and how do you choose to do it or not?

[@Brownie63103]

I wish we could download the before picture so we could follow along in Lightroom

[@semmu93]

hey James, have you thought about buying some MIDI controller for Lightroom? Loupedeck, Behringer X-Touch Mini (with MIDI2LR) or something similar. I found that they can really help with raw development as you don't need to click on tiny sliders to adjust the image and they provide some cool tactile feel.

[@patrick.771]

I don’t understand how you use presets on such a photo. It’s quite unique with the colors and haze. And you still have to do all the masks - which is the biggest part. Does this make sense in such a case?

[@christianoliverkozmaholm1413]

would be cool see you incorporate the editing part in some your on location photo video.

[@humanelements2]

I enjoyed this video as browsing your portfolio did make me wonder how you achieved your style. I know you no longer use Panasonic M43 but I was still wondering if you used to do anything special to achieve good detail with M43? I like the system but I find distant foliage and other details tend to become watercolor-mush even without pixel peeping. Not sure what sharpening techniques are required to get decent detail - my Fujis never have this problem (in Capture One).

[@JennyDarukat]

I can't believe I never thought of the radial gradient thing ...

[@chrisodonovan1613]

Hi, Just getting into photography on a budget in 2023. What is the oldest/cheapest laptop/MacBook that will run a decent editing program. With de-noise included. Currently using om-d em1 and om-1 camera. Thanks for any help.

[@jasonwines]

Hi James this was interesting. Have you found forgotten photos while editing?

[@DjimmyTrovy]

How do you like the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and are you going to switch to the new 24-70GM II?

[@SteelOnVR]

This guys a total legend

[@Professor_Internet_PhD]

An over-the-top edit, aka an Instagram edit.😏

[@1958zed]

It seems to me that the Tone Curve, HSL, and Color Gradient tools are three different ways of doing the same thing. What am I missing?

[@GlennsTech]

How do you find places where everyone else is photographing 😂 Just the best entertaining videos One day when I can afford it, I will join one of your workshops

[@malynicz_pl]

great vid! please emphasize on sharpening for Instagram and printing. What is the rule of thumb here? roughly..

[@pellier08]

Photography is very subjective because I prefer the original one

[@largefamilyruralliving7434]

I ❤️ editing, but sometimes i find myself lost in the photo and need to start over because it's gone bad.

[@pea20011]

👍

[@diamondgsm8981]

but there is a benefit in it))

[@tallpaulify]

Someone else who knows the true struggle. Hayfever 😭

[@toms3485]

It's not a good idea to leave the Masking slider at 0 if you're leaving the Sharpening slider at the default, 40, because then Lightroom will sharpen all the noise in the image, making it easier to see.

[@J4NOObs]

Hi

[@IslamicTalksPodcast]

Next year have local honey like a month before for hay fever

[@Rabe1907]

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@MSmith-Photography]

Before...after...before...after. Who do you think you are?! Mark Denney? 🤣

[@louisjamin7195]

Why do you work on your masks first ? Doing it after the global editing seemed the logical way to do, but maybe I was totally wrong ? Or does it depend on the picture ?

[@genewaddlerandomstuff2122]

It depends on who is doing it and the results they want to achieve. There is no right or wrong. If you get the results you want, it's right.

[@TheDavveponken]

@@genewaddlerandomstuff2122 To be fair there are rights and wrongs in editing - that is if you care about not unnecessarily degrading the (technical) quality of the image. For instance, if I remember correctly, sharpening should be done last and "retrieving" dynamic range first. But whatever floats your boat of course. And rules are, of course, meant to be broken - but first you need to know what they are in order to do so in a meaningful and/or tasteful manner.

[@VangelisMatosMedina]

@@TheDavveponken No, lightroom is non destructive edit, the order does not matter.

[@TheDavveponken]

@@VangelisMatosMedina Had a brief google after your brief answer. Interesting.

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

Your Squarespace web page is broken a lot

[@jameskelson1891]

Dust spots are not a "fact of life". As we know they are due to a dirty sensor. Clean your sensor and the spots go away. In addition to visible spots a dirty sensor reduces resolution and sharpness overall. Again, clean your sensor. I often shoot at f/20 and never have to deal with dust spots.

[@someguy_]

I feel like u messed up that picture lol

[@huetuber1204]

Actually, I like the original photo better.

[@ronalddefina511]

Why not send just one guy to take the photo. Then buy it from him. That'll save you time and money.

[@genewaddlerandomstuff2122]

😂