Editing Architecture Images Should Not Be Complicated

Architecture is one of the most complex subjects to post-process. It involves a lot of planning from shoot to edit. But there are also other ways to edit these images, so let's try to simplify it, shall we?

Typical architecture shots require a good balance between light and shadows, a little bit of dodging and burning, and numerous selections of shapes. The key to make these man-made engineering marvels pop-out of the scene is to create an exaggeration of certain parts of the subject. This can be done in a multitude of ways, and most often times involve a lot of layers with different adjustments. Once you start the process of modifying the image, may it be a simple selection or a simple adjustment, the layers will begin to add up eventually, eating up more time than you had anticipated. It used to take me hours on end, just to finish selections to exaggerate.

Finding an easier way to edit fine art architecture has been one of my goals when I started taking photos of architecture. In an effort to simplify the process, the video above goes through a step-by-step process in creating fine art architecture through a simple long exposure image. Though these types of images are typically done in Photoshop, this method aims to keep it simple with only the use of basic tools and Lightroom.