Editing sunrise photos can be tricky, but it’s crucial to bring out those beautiful colors and dynamic range. This helpful video guide will walk you through how to use Lightroom to enhance your raw files, focusing on creating a balanced and vibrant image.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this comprehensive video shows how to maximize the potential of your sunrise images. You start by merging an HDR file, which helps in handling the dynamic range. Select all your images, right-click, go to Photo Merge, and choose HDR. Ensure Auto Align is selected and hit the Merge button. Now, you have an HDR file ready for further adjustments.
The next step involves adjusting the exposure. The histogram gives a good indication, but it’s always beneficial to tweak a few settings in the Basic tab. Raise the shadows to reveal more details in the darker areas. Increase the whites and lower the blacks to add contrast, being mindful of not overexposing critical areas.
Moving to colors, restoring the warm sunrise hues is essential. Adjust the white balance by increasing the temperature to bring out those warm tones. Be careful not to overdo it, as it can turn bright yellow lights into an unpleasant color. Introduce some texture to sharpen details, lower the clarity slightly, and reduce the dehaze to add a soft glow, brightening the image gently.
To address the reflection of the sky in the water, use a linear gradient to bring down the whites, aligning it with the sky’s brightness. Creating another sky selection to lower the highlights further restores the color balance and adds vibrancy to the sky.
For the mountain range, use a color range mask to target and adjust its exposure, contrast, and temperature, removing any unwanted blue cast. This selective adjustment makes the mountains stand out without overpowering the overall scene.
This is only the beginning of all the advice in the video. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
