Recent Post Production Articles
The Secret Sauce to More Effective Photographs
Have you ever experienced being delighted about the outcome of your photographs but ended up getting a different reaction from your audience? Here’s a step that might help you curate your images better.
How to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Photos With Topaz Photo AI
While I'm not fond of using AI to replace the creative process, I think it is incredibly helpful in enhancing image quality. With the right AI tools, you can rescue photos that may have been unusable otherwise. Topaz Photo AI is such a tool, and in this article, we look at its capabilities, limitations, and ways to get the best results.
Should You Shoot JPEG as a Professional Photographer?
Can you shoot exclusively in JPEG as a professional photographer? Check out our interview with award winning wedding and portrait photographer Scott Robert Lim, as he explains why he's been shooting only in JPEG for over 23 years.
5 Reasons You Should Switch From Lightroom To Capture One in 2023
In a lot of my articles, I go on about how incredible Capture One is and how every photographer (with a few exceptions) should switch from Lightroom to Capture One. In this article, we will finally take a deep dive and see for ourselves why it’s worth considering the switch in 2023.
Which Is Best for Fuji Files: Lightroom or Capture One?
There are probably two main software options when it comes to the processing of Fuji raw files that most photographers tend to use, Adobe Lightroom and Capture One. The choice, however, depends on the user's personal preferences, as both have their strengths and weaknesses.
Skin Retouching Made Easy With Infinite Skin
Skin retouching takes time, so any plugin that can help speed up the process is a bonus. Infinite Skin is a Photoshop plugin from the Infinite Tools range and is probably the quickest skin-retouching plugin I've ever used, producing great results in next to no time.
We Review the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus Pen Display Monitor
Is it a graphic tablet, a monitor, or both? Let’s take a look at the implications of what a 22-inch pen display can offer for your editing and retouching workflow.
Auto-Mask Everything at Once: New Tool in Photoshop Is Absolutely Incredible
Have you used this little-known tool in recent versions of Photoshop? Have you even seen it? It makes editing images so much easier. See it in use here.
DxO Adds Some Powerful New Features to PhotoLab 6.3
DxO PhotoLab is well regarded as one of the finest raw editors available for pro and semi-pro photographers. Although certainly not as well known as the Adobe products like Photoshop and Lightroom, it offers very powerful tools that have gotten a lot of attention.
Here's a Brilliant Free App for Astrophotographers
If you shoot a lot of astrophotos, you know all about gradients. They are almost always present in your images, and they have to be removed to smooth out the sky background and make your images look their best.
5 Keys to Getting Brilliant Landscape Images in Horrible Weather
Do you struggle to get high-quality landscape images when the weather is bad and the light's poor? Here, we look at five important things you can do to get amazing landscape photos in horrible weather conditions.
13 Must-Know Lightroom Cheat Codes if You Want to Improve Your Editing
Lightroom is beginning to give Photoshop a run for its money as a standalone editing tool. Here, learn 13 essential Lightroom cheat codes you must know if you want your post-production skills to improve.
5 Secrets for Perfect Edge Selection in Adobe Photoshop
If you've ever had to make complex selections in Adobe Photoshop, you know how frustrating it can be. Well, in this video, learn five tips for ensuring you get it exactly right with the easiest method possible.
How to Change Hair Color Easily and Quickly in Lightroom
You would be surprised how many times you might want to change the color of something in post-production. This video shows you how to do it quickly and easily in Adobe Lightroom.
The Best Way to Use DeNoise AI as a Photoshop Plugin
Topaz Labs' DeNoise AI software does an incredible job of cleaning up images and removing unwanted noise. However, it works differently depending on whether you're using it in Lightroom, Photoshop, or as a standalone platform. Here, we take at look the best way to use it as a Photoshop plugin.
7 Pro Landscape Photographers Edit the Same Raw Image: Which Do You Think Is Best?
For as long as I've owned Photoshop, I've steadfastly held the belief that post-production skills separate most photographers. Here, we see seven pro landscape photographers given a single raw image to work with, and the final results are not only quite amazing, but incredibly different.
Photoshop’s Amazing AI Feature to Rescue and Enhance Poor, Low Quality Images
A new year and another Photoshop AI feature to get excited about. This time, we're going to look at how you can take poor, low quality images with tiny file sizes and plenty of ugly artifacts and turn them into images of such quality you could even consider printing them.
Not Sure How to Add Depth and Wow to Flat, Boring Photos? Here’s How
Do you sometimes look at your images and think there's something missing? Something you can't quite put your finger on, but instinctively know? Very often your images are flat and lack depth. Here's exactly how to fix that issue and add real pop and life to your photos.
How to Retouch a Portrait in Lightroom Without Photoshop
High-end retouching is normally done in Photoshop, so can similar edits be achieved in Lightroom without ever leaving the software? The following tutorial is based upon the tips and techniques provided in lesson 19 of Mastering Adobe Lightroom by Pye Jirsa and is only part of the 49 lessons available in the tutorial.
Make Your Own Post-Processing Presets Instead of Buying Presets
Adding a finishing touch to your photos can be done in many ways. You can do it yourself, or buy presets online and uses the look someone else has made for you and many others. You can also make your own preset from unique post-processing in your favorite editing software.
Breathe New Life Into Pictures Taken With Old or Low-Resolution Cameras
Many professional photographers are certain to have images that were taken on outdated cameras or taken on low-resolution sensors. But what happens if you want to print these images large or bring them up to current camera technology standards? Well, Luminar Neo might just be the answer for you.
5 Common Editing Mistakes Made by New Photographers
Learning all the technique that goes into using a camera to create a compelling, well-composed photo is an undertaking all itself, but then comes the post-processing that is required to create a polished, complete image. Just like using your camera, there are some common mistakes new photographers make when editing their images. This great video tutorial discusses five such mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.
Testing Out Luminar Extensions: Are They Really That Good?
There are quite a few extensions available by Luminar. Deciding which one is right and if it does what it says can take a while. This excellent video takes a look at all of the extensions and explains how each one works and what it does.
DaVinici Resolve for iPad Now Available
Video post-production leader DaVinci Resolve has just released its newest version for iPad.
5 Masking Methods the Pros Use in Photoshop That Most Amateurs Have Never Used
Do you think your editing skills can match the pros? Check out these five masking techniques that the pros use in Photoshop to see if you're as skilled as you think you might be.
Radiant Photo Editor Adds Color Grading
I took a look at Radiant Photo when it first came out in September. I found it a capable editor, aimed mostly using AI to improve your color and the overall look of shadows, highlights, and other image parameters. It uses a pixel-by-pixel approach, which the developers claim gives you more creative control of the final result.
How to Reduce Distractions in Landscape Photos
A question to ask yourself before composing your landscape photos is: what's the subject? Having a clear answer to that will help you create good photographs. But there are situations where no matter how you position your camera, some elements in the frame will distract from the main subject. In this article, I share editing techniques you can use to alleviate that problem.
What Is Going on With Capture One?
The list of monthly subscriptions photographers are pressured to keep up becomes longer every year. From Dropbox to Pixieset, Adobe to Honeybook, and Shootproof to Fundy, photographers' monthly bills multiply annually. Now, Capture One wants a piece of the pie, and its community is not happy about the announcement.
Turning Ideas Into Animations With ChatGPT and After Effects
ChatGPT has been a breakthrough moment for some industries this past week. It can literally turn ideas into reality, but is it good enough to create motion graphics in Adobe’s After Effects?
The Huge AI Problem for Photography That No One Has Mentioned Yet
The advancement of AI in photography and videography spheres has come more rapidly than many people are comfortable with. But there's one issue that hasn't been discussed that could have major repercussions for the industry.
DxO Offers More Than 1,700 New Optics Modules and FOV Enhancements for PhotoLab 6.1
DxO is well known to our readers. They've been leaders in camera and lens optical testing, and they've offered software like the DxO PureRAW pre-processing software and PhotoLab 6, which is a full-featured raw editor.
Which Filters Do You Really Need for Landscape Photography?
Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should. In this world of photography gear and gadgets, sometimes, less is more. When it comes to filters and landscape photography, which do you really need?
How to Make Better Sky Selections in Photoshop
Since Lightroom and Photoshop introduced their automatic sky selections, changes to the sky in landscape and architecture photos have become very easy. But, how good are those automatic selections? If you edit photos for web representation alone, they are mostly good enough. But if you intend to print your photos, you might want to improve them, which is what I show in this article.
If You Want Razor-Sharp Images Every Single Time, You Have to Use This Technique
There are many different techniques for getting consistently sharp images, but I think this one is the best of them all. Take a look to find out why.
How Big Is the Problem With Noise in Digital Photos Really?
I keep on seeing the advertisements about software for reducing noise in digital photos. It gives the idea noise is always a huge problem that needs to be addressed. This is advertising, of course. Or is it indeed an issue that we have to solve with specialized software?.
Enhance Your Product Images with Lightroom and Photoshop
If you have limited resources available to create your product images is there any way you can make them pop in post-production? In this step by step tutorial we walk through the editing process used to finish this image.
How to Get Clean Photos When Shooting at High ISOs
Depending on what you shoot, you might have to take photos at high ISO levels. While modern cameras have made remarkable advancements in their ability to handle high ISOs, you will still have to deal with noise. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to work to reduce that noise and to get clean images.
A More Effective Way to Use Topaz Labs Photo AI and Lightroom
Recently, Topaz Labs released Photo AI, which merges DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI into one program, meant to improve the quality of any image with little to no intervention from the photographer. However, most users probably use it in tandem with another cataloging and editing program like Lightroom. So, what is the best way to go about that? This great video tutorial will show a less common way of using the two in combination that offers some useful benefits.
How to Use Exposure Bracketing for Better Images
Camera sensors have become remarkably capable in recent years, able to capture scenes with wide dynamic range that would have been impossible for older models to handle. Nonetheless, there are still scenarios that exceed the abilities of even the best sensors. So, what do you do in those situations? Exposure bracketing is a powerful technique, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to use it to improve your images.
How Can You Tell if You’re Improving as a Photographer? Do This Simple Test
As weeks, months, and years go by and your experience and skills in photography continue to expand, it's always nice to get some confirmation that you're actually improving. But, how can you get that feedback? Do this simple test, and you'll immediately see how far you've evolved.
Do Landscape Photographers Even Need Photoshop Anymore?
It might have once been an absurd thing to contemplate, but has the day finally come where landscape photographers do not actually need to use Photoshop?
7 Skills Good Photographers Have That Anyone Can Copy
If you want to improve at something, one of the best ways to do so is to find masters of their craft and simply emulate them. But how do you know which things to copy and which to ignore? Here, you'll learn seven skills that good photographers have that you can easily add to your skill-set.
Super Fast Editing With Lightrooms New Masks
If you are a Lightroom user I'm sure by now you have experimented with most of the newly updated features. One feature, in particular, I was very interested in is the AI-powered Person Mask Option and how it actually performed.
Here's a Sneak Peek at Three Upcoming Extensions for Luminar Neo
The folks at Skylum who make Luminar Neo have promised more extensions by the end of the year, and there are three more new ones coming soon.
DeNoise AI or Photo AI: Which Topaz Labs Product Best Removes Noise?
Topaz Labs recently released its all-in-one Photo AI suite that magically removes noise, sharpens, and increases resolution all at the single click of a button. But how does it compare with its own individual products, in this case DeNoise AI?
Luminar Neo Adds a Focus Stacking Extension
The fifth Extension coming to the Luminar Neo editing platform is Focus Stacking, a tool for achieving a deep depth of field in a photo by merging (or stacking) up to 100 source images. Now, creating photos that are in sharp focus from the front to the back of the image becomes much easier, whether you’re shooting macro photography, portraits, or landscapes.
Have You Used This Cool New Feature in Adobe Camera Raw?
Many people think that Adobe Camera Raw is simply Lightroom's Develop Module inside Photoshop. It is, but it also has its own exclusive features. Have a look at this great new update added to Adobe Camera Raw recently that adds a whole different dimension to selections.
DaVinci Resolve Coming Soon to Your iPad
Today, Blackmagic Design announced that its prominent post-production platform, DaVinci Resolve, will now be available on the Apple iPad.
How to Master Mood in Landscape Photography in Under 5 Minutes
Landscape photography isn't just about photographing beautiful landscapes. It's about creating a connection with your viewer, and one of the best ways to do that is through mood. See how you can master mood in your landscape images in less than five minutes.