Sunsets can be deceptively difficult to edit, as most of the time, you will want rich, vibrant colors, but it can be tricky to avoid overdoing it and ending up with a gaudy result, plus, these images frequently have extreme dynamic range that can be tough to work with. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit sunset photos in Lightroom to produce vibrant, eye-catching results.
Coming to you from Signature Edits, this great video tutorial will show you how to edit a sunset image using Lightroom. One thing that makes this an especially good time to update your editing technique is the new and more powerful color-editing tools in the application, which allow you to more precisely dial in the exact edits you want. Another fantastic tool is the radial filter. I use this for adding subtle emphasis in just about every photo I take, whether it is a concert photo, a portrait, or a landscape shot. A slight exposure adjustment with a wide feather is an easy and effective way to emphasize whatever you would like. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
If you would like to continue learning about landscape photography, be sure to check out"Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi."
Quite frankly, I stopped watching after the first image. His approach is unnecessarily pedantic, complex, and with unpredictable effects. Though it seemed structured there was a randomness to his method which led to banding, strange, unrealistic hues, etc. A more effective approach to editing is to envision a final image and make the adjustments to take it there.
I agree. Too many steps that do little to make the final image. I know some don't like his 'bombastic' style, but if you want to create a really dynamic sunset in LR, check Serge Ramelli's techniques. He tends to go overboard, but it doesn't take him 325 steps to get there. ;-)
1Hr video. TLDW.