For this lesson I used the photo I took in Hawaii (O’ahu) at sunrise.
As you can see, the straight from the camera photo is dull and lifeless; there are no contrast or colors, and the sky looks washed out.
The fastest and the easiest way to bring this image back to life is to use Preset Based Editing.
With only one click we can completely change the way it looks.
To apply the preset to the selected image all you have to do is click the name of the preset in the PRESETS Panel.
Natural Preset
The Natural Preset is one of my favorites as it gives your landscapes a natural look with rich colors and well-defined skies.
The best way to use Lightroom Preset Based Editing is to go through the rest of the PRESETS and to see which one produces the look that you like the most.
Not every preset will work with every image, so the goal is to find the ONE that works the best.
HDR Blend
End of Summer
Harsh Shadows
Hawaii Sunset
Let’s say that I like the look of the NATURAL preset the most.
I like the result that the preset produces but the image is a bit too dark for my taste and I want to increase the contrast as well.
This is when the TOOLKIT comes into play.
The TOOLKIT is the collection of 40 Adjustments. Each adjustment does not create any specific look or style, but it helps us to fine tune the photo after applying one of the presets.
- To make the image brighter, all I have to do is to apply 01. EXPOSURE + adjustment and the photo looks much nicer.
- I also want to open up the shadows by making only the dark areas of the image brighter.This is a trial and error process. I start by applying the OPEN SHADOWS adjustments from #07 to #10. I can see that 08. Open Shadows ++ is a bit too dark and 10. Open Shadows ++++ is a bit too bright, which means that 09. Open Shadows +++ is the right adjustment for this particular image.
- Next, I am going to increase contrast by applying 12.CONTRAST + and 17. CLARITY ++. (The Clarity is the variation of the Contrast which amplifies the details of the image).
- At this point, I like what I see but I want to try and make the sky area darker.I start applying adjustments 35, 36, 37 with the goal to find the best fit for this photo. 36 Sky Darker ++ adjustment looks just right.
Here are the exact editing steps I used to achieve the final look:
- Natural preset
- 01 Exposure +
- 09 Open Shadows +++
- 12 Contrast +
- 17 Clarity ++
- 6 Sky Darker ++
Here is the Lightroom Preset Editing Formula for this shot where each number inside the brackets represents a specific ADJUSTMENT from the TOOLKIT collection:
Natural (01, 09, 12, 17, 36).