How to Edit a Portrait From Start to Finish

When it comes to creating a professional-level portrait, knowing how to light, pose, and photograph your subject is only half the battle. A great portrait also needs a strong edit to be complete. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit a portrait from start to finish and show you some helpful tips along the way. 

Coming to you from Julia Trotti, this great video tutorial will show you how to edit a portrait from start to finish using Luminar Neo. Editing portraits takes a light touch, particularly when you are working with color toning, as Trotti is in this tutorial. Working with color is a powerful way to create compelling final images and to develop a recognizable personal style, but the important thing to remember is that less is generally more. Most modern editing software will let you make major changes to the colors in an image with just a slight movement in the respective sliders or controls, and the majority of the time, that is really all you need, lest you end up with a garish or gaudy final photo. I generally like to finish an edit, then step away from my computer for a few minutes to let me eye reset, then return to evaluate the photo one more time before I export it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Trotti. 

And if you like Trotti's style, be sure to check out her LUT pack, Splashes of Color. Compatible with most photo and video editing apps, Splashes of Color offers 10 different styles ranging from Gdansk, with soft and hazy peach tones, to Paris, a high-contrast black and white option for punchy portraits. The LUTs are designed to work across a wide variety of images and lighting conditions and offer a quick and easy way to level up your photos.