How to Use Lightroom and Photoshop to Sculpt the Light in a Photo

Flat light in an otherwise interesting photo can be a frustrating thing, but with the dynamic range and post-processing latitude of a lot of modern sensors, you can do quite a lot to reshape an image in post and turn it into a compelling photo. This fantastic video tutorial will tell you how to take a photo that suffers from flat light but that has potential and use Lightroom and Photoshop to turn it into something great.

Coming to you from Matt Kloskowski, this excellent video tutorial will show you how to sculpt the lighting in a photo using Lightroom and Photoshop. I actually love flat light for a lot of images, as it allows you to shape the light to your taste. The pitfall of this is that it is really easy to go a bit overboard, particularly since you might not notice it happening as it builds up gradually. The best thing to do is zoom out quite a bit as you are editing to constantly keep an eye on things, then to step away from your computer for a minute or two when you are done to reset your eyes so you can evaluate your image one more time before you export it. Check out the video above for the rundown from Kloskowski. 

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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Great video from Matt, one of the best Lightroom Photoshop exponents. Always just the right amount of processing with very natural results.