Here is how you can make your images look sharper and cleaner with a little bit of Lightroom editing.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this practical video covers a range of adjustments you can make in Lightroom to achieve sharper and cleaner images. The video starts with enhancing contrast in the Basics tab. While sharpness might seem complicated, it's really about contrast. By carefully adjusting the exposure, highlights, whites, shadows, and blacks, you can add contrast that enhances the perceived sharpness of your image. This method gives your image a more defined look without overexposing it, which is crucial for maintaining a natural appearance.
The video further explores the use of the Presence settings, particularly the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders. These tools are key to fine-tuning your image’s sharpness. Clarity focuses on the midtones, while Texture sharpens finer details, making these sliders incredibly useful for enhancing the overall sharpness of your photos. However, the video wisely advises caution—overusing these sliders can quickly lead to unnatural results. A slight boost in Vibrance adds a bit of saturation, enhancing the color richness without overwhelming the image.
One of the most valuable tips in the video is the use of local adjustments through the masking tools. For example, enhancing reflections with a linear gradient can add a lot of depth and sharpness to specific areas, such as water in landscape shots. Similarly, using color range masks to target and brighten specific parts of your image helps bring out more detail and adds contrast selectively. These techniques are particularly useful when dealing with challenging lighting conditions or when you want to draw attention to particular elements within your shot.
Finally, the video touches on the importance of sharpening in the Details tab and cleaning up your image by removing distractions. Adjusting the radius and detail sliders can finely control how much sharpening is applied and where it’s needed most. Additionally, using Lightroom’s generative AI tool to remove unwanted objects or sensor spots ensures that nothing detracts from the sharpness and cleanliness of your final image. This last step is often overlooked but is essential for producing a polished, professional-looking photo. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
