Landscape Photography - How to process your photographs RIGHT...

[@NickPage]

To relate it to guitar… a person can realize their creative vision more easily, the more chops they have in their tool kit… this is why I push people to learn advanced concepts in Photoshop…. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean every image needs it, but they are nice tricks to have up your sleeve

[@Alister_Benn]

Hey Nick, long time! Playing devil's advocate for a minute. When the Sex Pistols released their first single Anarchy in the UK in 1976, it was right at the height of prog rock, a musical style typified by advanced techniques and incredible musical proficiency. It got to the stage that kids in garage bands just couldn't play the technically demanding music and they rebelled. Technique became taboo, attitude was more important than skill, emotion more valued that theory. Music has many flavours, genres, styles and technical requirements. I believe the biggest issue today is that the majority of photography began to get very technical ical and unless you spend 10000 hours practicing, these techniques require a lot of "how do I do that again" thinking. I have no problem with it, but would say that people should develop as much technique as they need to articulate themselves. If it is all about the how, leaving no room for the why then I believe as educators we are doing them a disservice. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate that. I hope you're doing good too.

[@NickPage]

@@Alister_Benn I appreciate I a good hypothetical debate! I agree that Emotion is more important than skill in most creative endeavors but having said that, I feel that it is the role of the guitar instructor to push students beyond power chords in the hopes that it unlocks new ideas and creativity for the musician. It would be like going to a drum teacher to just to hear ..... "Naw man.. four on the floor is all you need.. just listen to AC/DC and the White Stripes".... I would argue that Sometimes post processing limitations are nothing more than shackles for our creative vision.. and with new techniques comes new ideas... but there certainly comes a point where people become so obsessed with the techniques, that they forget to be creative and to play.... there is always that fine balance we walk as creatives between our technical mind and our creative mind.

[@christophermckeown1995]

Learning from Django has done so much more for my creative expression, than if I had just stopped at learning blink 182 lol. More tricks and techniques definitely never hurt!

[@genegustafson715]

Exploring sliders is key, and no one combination of sliders (presets) is suitable for all images. Each photo determines its “mood”. Don’t let “individual style” determine you, let the photo determine the “individual style”. The photo is the individual.

[@elylildragon4666]

The biggest problem with photography today is that there are very few photographers, but everyone with a camera seems to be called one. There is a a need for acceptance from others and this is the death of photography. A photographer does not care who likes it as long as it is what they pre-visualised. If others like it fine, if not it does not matter. It is a personal journey but today 95% of so called ‘photographers’ are only looking for attention. Great video.

[@SimonPhillipsPhoto]

Good to see another photographer not pushing presets on people but to come up with your own style. I also treat each image differently that I edit and go with what feels right, I will take a walk away from my screen for a break and come back to see if I was on the right path that I was aiming for in the beginning or a better version of it that developed during the process.

[@Alister_Benn]

I appreciate that!

[@azorazul007]

Never thought I would see Mr. Heisenberg teaching Lightroom processes...

[@markusjenni4804]

Very impressive way to show the huge impact these two sliders can have! I have to pay more attention to this when processing my images.

[@grabshotphoto7396]

5:24 One of my favorite things to do is process on my Phone using Snapseed. It's basically like a kid playing with finger paints. You have a lot of the same tools (dodge/burn/contrast/brightness/etc.) but you can apply many of them using your finger. I find it a great way to screw around and play, hit revert and start over.

[@jimmosca7843]

Absolutely agree. Each individual image calls me to "feel" my way through how I want this specific image to look. I usually have a good idea of what I want when I first open it, but it develops as it develops (seriously no pun Intended)

[@Hirsutechin]

All I'll say is your suggestions over the past couple of years have made my processing much more fun and the results much more satisfying. The contrast with the recipe-driven, formulaic approach couldn't be more stark and it's a very big thank you from me. 😇

[@Alister_Benn]

Hey buddy, thanks so much - I really appreciate that.

[@alanevans9246]

Great content ! Creative freedom is something I struggle with as well feeling compelled to compare myself to the “pro’s” on You-Tube…. Great message we all as creatives need to hear and more importantly hear! As always, keep snapping!

[@jeffschreifels8651]

What you said about a person's perspective changing every day hit home. I have a lot of photos that I have edited over a dozen times so I have multiple versions of the same scene. I've always struggled with how I should feel about that. Part of me thinks it indicates I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Another part of me thinks who cares!? I have a lot of fun creating these different versions. In a small way, I am creating a new piece of art each time and I don't have to go all the way back to the location to do it. Plus it's a learning tool for me. I am applying new techniques and perspectives I wasn't aware of previously.

[@Alister_Benn]

It baffles me that people strive for sameness!! I am delighted you are finding joy in your diversity...

[@jeffschreifels8651]

@@Alister_Benn Thank you!

[@garyjames8147]

Spot on, great vid you are so right it's better to explore the sliders ourselves than to blindly follow what others do and then wondering why it doesn't look as good on your own work,purely because we each work differently. Thanks Alister

[@Alister_Benn]

Absolutely

[@nickshepherd8377]

If you process by feel, it automatically becomes very enjoyable and never a chore. Experimentation is key and very much applies to the exposure slider as well as the white balance which you have highlighted. Also sometimes, it is worth desaturating the image and using a posterisation of 3/4 levels to turn images to “areas of luminance”. This is often revealing and may help you in your decision making. I know artists do this if they are painting from a photograph. Thanks as always.

[@manueldinisphotography]

I have immerse myself, to the point my work allows me, into photography in the last 7 months, and I have signed for 2 online schools as well as subscribed to many channels in seek of knowledge, but I have found much of what you refer today, specially in KZbin channels, most of them are about selling/telling you the best way to process or best setting for this, that or the other. In my professional career I've always taught people how to get to the answers, instead of telling them the answers, giving them the knowledge to make their own decisions when I am or not around. In this new path that I am following I want to learn from people like you willing to provide the guidance so people can leverage their own internal creative world. Thank you. Knowledge gives you the power to create what is not there or improve on what exist. Manuel Dinis. 😂🥂

[@alanclark9691]

Some very sound advice Alister. Thanks.

[@ryanlawnphotography]

Loved this Alister.

[@wjgraham63]

I agree with you. One of my challenges in college photography courses. I have my classmates critiques and what my instructors want to see, so creativity can be limited. I have in mind what I want to achieve. Balancing act. But I still push for what I like to see. Thank you for your video. Love it!

[@tonyandsheilaphotography]

Outstanding video. Thanks for allowing your audience to get a brief glimpse into the mind of a creative person such as yourself. I subscribe to several Landscape Photographers channels, but your videos are different, and I mean different in a good way too. I'm tired of producing images that try and emulate the composition and post-processing preferences of many of these other channels I'm following. Frankly, it's getting rather boring too. I've got to take a harder look at your Expressive Photography Forum. Last week's video was also outstanding. I've been repeating this quote from that video, which is now my mantra, "Creativity is not a GPS coordinate." Thank You!

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks Tony and sorry for the slow reply, it's been a very busy week with the upcoming launch of my new Book. I really appreciate your lovely feedback. The forum is amazing, I get so much inspiration from there and the commenting and feedback is amazing too.

[@georgeball2226]

Excellent advice Alister. As a someone who prints photos to hang on my wall, the one thing that you learn is that the way you processed it yesterday might not be what you like in two weeks.You might find that the color is not quite what you want or the contrast doesn't work on the paper (I do process using ICC profiles for the paper), If after a couple of weeks you still like the image on the wall, then it works for you. Since I am slightly red/green color blind others may consider my image a bit warm or off in some way. So for critical work I ask my wife to look at the image and see what see thinks. Whatever the process is you use, it needs to be yours as you said. In the end, if you don't like the image then it isn't you.

[@taehsan]

Perfect. Brilliant work.

[@trishf29]

Thank you Alister, for this video. It certainly makes good sense to start with the blues/yellows to create a mood you enjoy, instead of looking for the Auto button and adjusting from there. I always felt I was over-adjusting, so will now begin with my preference, using the b/y slider first, then the tints. I wondered why it appeared at the top of the list!!!

[@mariobrunettin8338]

Great video Alister

[@alanafinephoto]

Great content!! Thank you for these great videos tutorials!!

[@Highdepthfilms]

Great video Alister, thank you for being you.

[@Alister_Benn]

I appreciate that!

[@keithspangler4814]

Thank you for an outstanding view on processing images. As a rookie in the digital world of photography this taught me a lot. I hope my preferences come from my heart .....

[@Alister_Benn]

Great to hear! I am really delighted you find the content of value...

[@simonmiles1972]

Awesome. More like this please.

[@Alister_Benn]

You got it!

[@derricksansome236]

Excellent demonstration and proof positive that we need to take and process to please ourselves and no one else. Also (I think) proof that we need to take time and “settle” into an image before committing to print too quickly.

[@Alister_Benn]

100% on your last remark - nothing worse than printing something and then seeing a sensor spot!!

[@torstenwennberg4845]

I have to say this is one of the best answers to this question I have seen in a long time! (And why I always hated that kind of question) Photography is art and as such it is 'alive' and can change along with the creator. This is TOTALLY what I have been discovering lately as I try to explore and push my processing techniques. It's crazy to think how a photograph is technically never really 'done'. This is part of the creative process that can blow your mind. Well done!

[@michaelwhalen7154]

Love your philosophy. Thanks for sharing it!

[@Alister_Benn]

My pleasure!

[@tyjew1794]

Thank you again Alister for speaking such truth. Your videos and way of presenting information is such a breath of fresh air. I hope that Ann Kristin isn’t facing any serious side effects and makes a speedy and full recovery. Much love from Canada

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks so much. Ann seems to be on the mend this morning, although still a very nasty cough. Finger's crossed.

[@herbiebrady568]

Thank you for this Alister! This video was exactly what I needed to hear today. I’ve been struggling as of late with my photography. I’ve been thinking too much, feeling too little when I go out to shoot. It’s the same when I attempt to process. I really needed this. Your channel resonates with me more than any others. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@Alister_Benn]

delighted too hear that. I really want to make a difference and all I hear from photographers is frustration, stress, plateau's and slumps... We do this for the love of it, not the war.

[@miloslach6631]

As much as I love Iron Maiden I would never process photo listening to maidens🤣🤣🤣

[@astridpreisz519]

Ha, why not! I have done it - fascinating results...me thinks. 🤣

[@Alister_Benn]

LOL, I listen to some really mad stuff when I'm processing, all it really is is a flow of energy, the genre is less important to me than the key and mode.

[@jensbjorkkvist]

Love it ! I also do photography based on emotions but never really thought about it, this mind set will change the way i think/process from now on !

[@MCCC72-77]

Some very good advice. I haven’t seriously been into the editing process, but for maybe just over a year; and already I’ve realized the need to avoid using “presets”. Each image is so unique, in and of itself, that it deserves being edited from a “fresh start” perspective. So, regardless of the purported time savings, I don’t use anyone else’s presets, and seldom use my own unless the images were taken at, or about the same time and lighting conditions.

[@ephraimwilliams8855]

Great video, as always. A challenge, though, is figuring out which sliders to move and in what sequence. If you move one slider first, then you get a certain result. If you move another slider first, then you get a certain result. Then you have to consider a combination of changes! There is an infinite number of combinations and that can be overwhelming.

[@Alister_Benn]

Agreed, it can either be looked on as overwhelming, or an opportunity to explore in a zero risk environment.

[@alandouglas4612]

Once again great insight, I have over the past few weeks been looking at Raws taken over ten years ago that have sat on my external HD and reprocessing them with the open mind and creative approach and concepts of Expressive Photography and I have found this exercise very eye opening when I compare the old TIFF file of a saved image done at that time wth a reprocessed version done now with the shackles of (: It is amazing that we or I get into a mindset of processing steps without realizing it. Not anymore... Many thanks Alister (:

[@andycook5371]

Great video thanks, it has changed my outlook on photography and editing now👍

[@draughonc]

Very powerful. Thank you,

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks for listening

[@esanford]

Great video and everything was well said...

[@Alister_Benn]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback..

[@davidskinner274]

Good points here, cheers

[@Alister_Benn]

Cool, happy to hear that

[@Snickers_GLNY]

Such an important lesson! Thanks.

[@Alister_Benn]

Glad you think so!

[@Snickers_GLNY]

@@Alister_Benn 😊

[@lisarobertson7011]

thank you Alister :)

[@Alister_Benn]

My pleasure! Always...

[@williamcurwen7428]

I just make it up as I go along for every picture. That may sound flippant, most probably it is, but once you have learnt your theory and - their - rules, it is your right to do how you please. 🤗 OK, I’ve said enough - bye for now! 🤗

[@Alister_Benn]

Love it, me too ❤️

[@AdrianRankin]

I’m so glad I watched this video. I’ve taken an extensive break from photography over last 5 months. I felt I was very much in the zone of creating similar images over and over again. So stepping away as helped and this is really first photography video I’ve watched in full and absorbed in months. Thank you as always.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks for that, I am really pleased the video resonated with you :-)

[@TimberGeek]

I think I've watched too much classic Star Trek, it distorts my view of a 'red top'. ;-7 I think my wife lives in terror of me saying "I'm quitting my job to become a landscape photographer". Oh yeah, I'm insane but I rarely process images the same way twice... On a more serious note I really enjoy your processing videos and always learn something I can apply although not always (or even often) in a direct way. In one of your early luminosity videos I watched you drag the entire exposure down and then bring highlights back with the white slider which lead to me shooting a barred owl in aperture priority 0.7 stops under and bringing him back back to life predominantly with the white slider in LR.

[@kris_tin_photography9922]

Thanks so much for this encouraging video! Of course it is important to feel the own preference and trusting the own intution, but sometimes I ask myself: how did she/he create this certain look? And then it helps quite a lot in understanding the correlation of the sliders to watch those youtube videos were you get told jow to do things. And thats just another part of the creative process to adapt those looks to my own liking. For me I saw that you used the snapshots in lightroom, that is also a big learning output from this video, because I can easely create different versions. So only by watching you using tools in lightroom I came to know of these tools and how they can be used.

[@Alister_Benn]

Many thanks....

[@marcinszarmach3582]

Hi Alister. For someone who's started a photography hobby couple of years ago I found that there are thousands of people on KZbin especially, telling others how should they process their images, do this, don't do that, apply this preset or buy that preset and your images will suddenly become great. I find this very misleading and more profit driven. Although I haven't won any competitions yet, I do feel like my photography is improving. Some of my images do get commentated occasionally, which I think is a great result. For me is more about understanding the scene and the landscape and implementing some minor adjustments to the scene, crop, shadows, highlights, whites and blacks, curves and some image clean up. I found that applying the same preset on a scene is only making my image worst, making it the same as everybody else just to follow a trend. But how can I become a better photographer if the common thing is to apply somebody's rules to a scene that they've not been to at the time I photographed it? Surely light, conditions can't be truly replicated in any preset or can't be adjusted without seeing it? Thank you another great video. Your work is truly amazing. 👍👏

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks very much, it’s great to hear your positive feedback. I agree, doing the same thing as everyone else and expecting to stand out, or feel self-actualised is pretty delusional.

[@Razertw]

The question is, when is the edit final? How to know? This is what I struggle with the most. For me, it never feels final, because I can come back later and create a different feel of the image based on how I feel in that moment. This is why I have problems putting out anything, I'm anxious about it not yet being the “ultimate final version”. What's interesting is that if I'm just doing a quick edit on the same day after a shoot and I still have the feeling of the location, the edit is much more intuitive and I also tend to use the most simple/effective ways to get the desired effect or feeling. No overthinking. It's like I know what needs to be done and the edit just flows. I call it “mood edit”. Usually this edit is 80-90% enough, it really is useable, just not “perfect”. And so I might think something along the lines “ok, this is really good, but obviously it's not the final product yet, will need to get back to this later”. And then I come back later, but I'm too logical, the feeling from the whole experience of the shoot is gone and I overthink how it should actually look and might just start moving sliders around. Or I could come back for the third time after a while, and make an amazing image with a different look. But this could go on and on and it can always look different. So it's hard to know or I guess feel when the edit is final.

[@Alister_Benn]

I think you’ve answered your own question. There is “final” version. I know Marc Adamus never re-edits images. He does it once and walks away. Many more experiences to have, many more images to make. We take it all too seriously and think our images are the single most important reason for being in the landscape. Most of my editing takes 10 minutes, I’m free ❤️

[@IanElson28]

Absolutely agree with this! I once processed a photo every day of the week, and each was different, the Happy enriched feeling, to the why am I doing this again feeling. When I started out processing images the software I used was a little limited, which meant I only really used WB,Tint,Exposure,contrast and the HSL.Which resulted in me going with a feel. So this video really resonates with me. Looking forward to the next video.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks so very much, really happy to read that.

[@martinoberstein8431]

Thank you very much, Alister - good advice, and more than „only“ an advice for photographers. Like you say you make more or less unconscious decisions galore and it´s up to you to make them become a liittle more conscious so that you learn it´s your own responsibility what you like and what you dislike. I think taking this seriously, it doesn‘t make any sense to discuss terms like artifical or natural editing. I think everyone is able to recognize extrems and noone would seriously pretend that „this blue grass“ was realy there. It‘ s totally subjective what you see and perceive and it changes with a lot of things. For me it´s a good way to think of the impression I had of the scene when I was there. But even that is no strict rule… In Germany we say you shouldn‘t be more apostolic than the pope… I appreciate your attitude and I‘m looking forward to read „Luminosity and Contrast“, my first book by you.

[@JonathanAyers]

It was interesting to me that you inadvertently said choosing a photo with a technically correct white balance wasn't a choice in itself, but by not choosing warmer or cooler, I'd be ignoring a potential choice. When really, by choosing the technically correct WB, I made my choice, no? Just a thought. =)

[@Alister_Benn]

Define technically correct white balance? 😀

[@LeeAllen337]

My biggest issue right now is that I have so many photos to edit from RAW that it's so time consuming. I barely get through a handful of images and half the day is gone. Especially when after I edit them I want to upload to a few sites like Instagram and my DeviantArt page plus a few others. It takes so long. I'll never catch up. I think I should stop taking photos for a time so I can catch up. I like going through each image separately as well and not just mass applying presets to a bunch of images at once. I'm getting quicker at it but still, I'm also a perfectionist so...LOL. Good Video anyhow, Thanks.

[@Alister_Benn]

I was the same, still am to a certain extent. I have way more images than I’ll ever process. I would suggest that effective processing doesn’t need to take a long time, getting a good feel let’s us know the once that are worth a bit more.

[@blivieriphoto]

Great advice Alister!! Here's a good topic of conversation, where does creativity end and over manipulation begin? I'm prepping my photos for NLPA and struggle with doing "too much". Personally I like being a bit too much 😆. Just curious on your thoughts. Great video! All my best to Ann Kristin 🤗.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks so much Barb… I really appreciate your kind wishes for Ann. She’s not at her best! ☹️

[@robertplansky9590]

Watching your video brings to mind a poster that one of my former work associates in purchasing had in his office. It read something to the effect "It's time to shoot the engineer (me at the time, the photographer in this instance) and go into production (manufacture the product at the time, printing the photo or adding it to your website here)". It raises the question of how do you know when you're done? If your response to the edits changes each time you view it when do you call it quits?

[@richardsmith533]

My problem is that I find myself trying to force an image to look a certain way. I'm starting to sit back a bit more and try to feel how the image wants to be, and work from that point instead. I haven't tried processing whilst listening to iron maiden but I'll give it a go ... the line up with Paul Dianno tho', not Bruce I'm afraid ....... just saying. Controversial?

[@_0O0O0O0_]

Oh lord.