Guiding Your Viewer’s Eye - In Post #534
The reason we post-process our photos is to make them stronger. Photos get stronger when the subject is accentuated, and your processing choices should aim to showcase your subject. Not every photo is a 5-star killer image. Yet every image is an opportunity to practice. On this edition of In Post, I share how a series of adjustments improve the story of my photo and guide my viewer toward the subject of my scene - the majestic Hotel Del Coronado.
Check out this short video to see how you can use masks to visually nudge your viewer through your scenes.
Hotel Del Coronado Reflected
Contact Scott to commission a print or license this image.
Can’t capture at golden hour? Use Lightroom’s Calibration tool or ON1 Photo RAW’s Channel Mixer to boost vibrance in your mid-day landscape images.
Stuck with harsh, unflattering mid day light? There are some steps you can take in post-processing to draw out color and depth.
Even when the preview on your camera or the unprocessed RAW looks terrible, don’t dismiss the image!
Watch over my shoulder as I work on a new image. In my Live Edit videos, I share my entire start-to-finish workflow using a photo that I’ve never worked on before.
I have a little recipe I’ve used for years with Curves to add a twilight color to my sunset and sunrise photos. It’s simple to do and targeting just the sky in a photo has never been easier.
Many of the photos I captured in Bryce Canyon needed color tweaks and corrections. I put Lightroom’s new Color Mixer through its paces to fix color issues.
Sometimes the ocean doesn’t cooperate with photographers. In one shot, the waves on the left look great. In another, it’s the right side that looks great. The solution? Composite! I’ll share my approach.
In my Live Edit videos, I process an image I’ve never worked on from start to finish, sharing my thought process and reasons behind choices along the way.
Scott Davenport is a landscape photographer and photo educator and based in San Diego, California. He leads photo workshops, writes photo books, hosts podcasts, makes tutorial videos, and feels weird referring to himself in the 3rd person.
He also can't help getting his feet wet photographing at the beach.
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