How to Make a Bad Image Look Awesome

How many times have you looked at an image you took and thought it was no good?  By capturing your photos in RAW format, it is possible to recover your photo using Adobe Lightroom and turn it into something awesome. 

At first glance, I figured this file was no good.  I started playing with it just to see what I could get out of it.  It’s not as hard as you might think to bring back images that appear to be no good.  I think the results that came out of this photo are great. 

Remember that your camera can’t always capture what you envision in your mind when you take the photograph.  The post processing you can do to an image plays a big part in the creative process and helps your image to reach the potential you have pictured in your mind. 

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Twilight Sky - Before/After

Have you ever seen the sky have brilliant blues, purples, pinks, oranges and reds?  Many times when we try to photograph these beautiful skies, the camera does not capture the colors as vividly as we see them with our own eyes.  In this tutorial using Adobe Lightroom, I’ll show you how you can bring out the amazing colors that you know were there.  Having your camera set to save images in RAW format instead of JPG will help preserve the colors and detail that you will be able to enhance in Lightroom.

One thing to note here is that these settings are what worked for this image and what I thought looked best.  When I took the photograph I had an idea in my mind what I wanted the final result to be.  The key thing to remember here is that you need to experiment with the sliders and settings to find what you like and what works for your image.  With this in mind, lets get started!

Step 1

The first thing to do with this image is to drop the temperature and raise the tint.  This will help make the blue look more blue and the hint of pink look more pink.

Step 2

Increase the exposure to .75 and the contrast to 75.  I want the trees to be a black silhouette against the gradient in the sky.

Step 3

Basic Panel Settings

Adjust the Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks.  The image to the right shows the settings I used.  These settings will vary based on your image and the effect your going for.

Step 4

Increase Clarity.  I like to use Clarity on landscape shots.  I think it helps bring out details and increase the contrast a bit.  Be sure not to over do it with the clarity, unless of course that is the look you’re going for.   Increase the saturation.  I typically use vibrance when there are people in the image and saturation for landscape images. 

Step 5

Under ToneCurve I changed the curve to a medium contrast.  I want to make sure the trees are black against the sky.

Step 6

In the HSL panel, I used the target adjustment tool to modify the saturation of the purples.  This enhances the pink and purple colors of the sky.

Step 7

Add sharpening.  The sharpening settings I used are Amount: 86, Radius: 1.4, Detail: 52, and Masking: 64.  Adjust the masking as you need.  If you hold down the Opt. or Alt. key while clicking on the masking slider, you will see a preview of the areas that are being sharpened in white. 

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Hold Opt. or Alt. while adjusting the Masking slider to see the areas that will be sharpened in white.

Step 8

Under Lens Corrections, I chose Remove Chromatic Aberrations to take care of some purple fringing around the trees.

Step 9

Add a Post-Crop Vignette.  I used an amount of 38 and changed the feather to 100.

The image is complete!  To see a before/after of your image, make sure you are in the Develop Module in Lightroom and press the ‘\’ key.  This will toggle between before and after images. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn other techniques in Lightroom, please leave a comment below.  Thanks for watching and reading this tutorial!

Before Image (left) and After Image (right).

Before/After - Dandelion in a Bubble

In this tutorial I’ll show you my post processing workflow for this dandelion in a bubble image.   I used Adobe Lightroom and Perfect Effects 8 for the post processing of this image.  In my opinion Perfect Effects is a great tool to use in combination with Lightroom. 

The image was taken with my Canon 60D using the 18-135 f3.5-5.6 IS lens at 120mm.  Camera settings in manual mode were, 1/250 sec at f8.0, ISO 400.  It was a cloudy overcast morning which created a nice diffuse light.

Step 1

Bring the image into Adobe Lightroom.

Step 2

Step 2 - Basic Panel Settings In Lightroom

Make some global adjustments in Lightroom.  Here I adjusted the exposure, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks.  I did not modify the contrast because I knew I wanted to use the dynamic contrast filter in Perfect Effects.  With these adjustments complete, I brought the image over into Perfect Effects by going to File – Plug-in Extras – Perfect Effects 8.

Step 3

Step 3 - Dynamic Contrast settings in Perfect Effects

Once the image is in Perfect Effects I started adding Filter Layers.  First, I added a Dynamic Contrast - Natural layer.  Under the Filter Options and Detail, I adjusted the settings as follows: Small = 30, Medium = 20, Large = 0.

Step 4

Add a new layer to the Filter Stack.  Choose Color Enhancer – Green Enhancer.  Using the mask tool, place a mask on top of the yellow dandelion so the effect is not applied to the flower.  The green is now a little to much, so reduce the layer opacity to 50%.

Step 5

Add a new layer to the Filter Stack.  Choose Sunshine – Glow.  Reduce the layer opacity to 20%.  Copy the layer mask from the previous ‘Color Enhancer’  layer by using Ctrl + click to drag the mask to the current layer. 

Step 6

Add a new layer to the Filter Stack.  Choose Sharpening – Amazing Detail Finder.      Using the masking bush, mask out the background and foreground of the image.  To see where you are masking, press Ctrl + M.  Since these areas are out of focus to begin with, they do not need to be sharpened. 

Step 7

Add a new layer to the Filter Stack.  Choose Vignette – Big Softy.  Reduce the layer opacity to 65%.

Step 8

Click Apply to apply the filters and bring the image back into Lightroom.

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Final Image

Before/After Image Processing - Bleeding Hearts

Before - RAW File Out of Camera, Canon 60D, 50mm f/1.4, 1/500 sec at f/2.0, ISO 200         

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After - Image Processed Using Adobe Lightroom & onOne Perfect Effects 8.                                                                                      

Ever have a chance to photograph a bleeding heart?  These are awesome plants!  The plants are beautiful when in bloom and I couldn't help but photograph this one.  This is a quick before/after tutorial to show you how I arrived at my final image.  After taking a few shots of this plant, I liked this one the best so lets get started!

Camera Setup & Settings

It was an overcast day with full cloud cover, just before a rain storm.  Cloudy days provide great light for photographs because the clouds cause the sky to act like a big soft box giving off nice even and diffuse light.  This image was shot with the Canon 60D using a 50mm f/1.4 lens.  The settings I used to create the image were 1/500 second at f/2.0, and and ISO of 200.  Every image I shoot is in RAW format.  I always recommend using RAW format since this will give you the highest quality and the best ability to modify images down the road if necessary.

Basic Panel Settings

Lightroom 

The first thing I did with this image was to bring the RAW file into Adobe Lightroom 5.  Next, I went into the develop module and applied some general adjustments to the image.  Starting at the top of the Basic panel, I worked my way down.  Exposure was increased by +.20 to help brighten the bleeding hearts a bit.  I reduced the contrast a because I love the dynamic contrast feature in Perfect Effects 8.  I'll use the dynamic contrast filter later on to bring back contrast in the image.  I pulled back on the highlights to insure there was no detail lost in the bottom section of the flowers.  Shadows were increased a bit to help bring out the entire flower.  Whites and blacks were adjusted a bit to help round out the image.  

Quick Tip:

When adjusting  Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks, you can hold the option key on Mac and alt. key on a PC to show you the clipping points for each slider.  It's helpful in determining how much of each slider you use.

Perfect Effects

With these few global adjustments made, I'm now ready to bring the file over into Perfect Effects.  In Lightroom go to File > Plug-in Extras > Perfect Effects 8.

Once the image is opened in Perfect Effects, The first filter layer I'm going to add is Dynamic Contrast - Natural.  There are a few modifications I want to make on the Dynamic Contrast layer.  On the right side of the window, under Filter Options, there is a section called 'Detail'.  Here you have the ability to adjust how the Dynamic Contrast is applied to the image.  'Small' makes contrast adjustments to all of the small or fine details within the image.  I used a setting if 10.  Next, 'Medium' effects the contrast of the medium or mid size-details within the picture.  Most of the areas I want to see more contrast in are within the medium range.  Therefore I used a setting of 25 to get the amount of contrast I liked without over doing it.  'Large' effects the larger areas and textures in your image.  Here I don't want to add much contrast to the background, so I use a setting of 2.  You might be thinking - how do I know what settings to use?  The best thing to do is play with the sliders and see what you like.  Experimentation is the best way to see how things work and are affected by different settings.

Perfect Effects 8 - Bleeding Hearts Image with Dynamic Contrast Applied.

Next, add 2 new filter layers by clicking the '+' in the filter layer stack.  I want to enhance the color of the image, so I'm going go to the Filters on the left side of the window, then find 'Color Enhancer'.  For the first filter layer, lets choose 'Increase Color'.  Reduce the layer opacity to 40% so the effect is not over done.  On the next filter layer, again go to 'Color Enhancer' and choose 'Red Enhancer' to help bring out the magenta in the bleeding hearts.  Reduce the layer opacity to 20%.  I also made some adjustments in the filter options of the 'Red Enhancer' layer.  Under 'Color Range' I increased the saturation of both Magenta and Green just a touch to help it all pop a little more.     

Perfect Effects 8 - Color Enhancer Filters

The next adjustment is to add a 'Sunshine Filter'.  The sunshine filter really helps warm everything up and gives it a slight glow.  It helps convey a warm, happy feeling through the image.

Next we need to apply some sharpening to the image to help tighten everything up.  To do this, add a new layer in the Filter Stack.  Then, look under 'Sharpening' in the Filters list on the left hand side.  Select 'Amazing Detail Finder'.   Reduce the layer opacity to 90%.  Finally I think a vignette will finish off this image nicely.  Again, add a new layer in the Filter Stack.  Choose 'Vignette', then select 'Subtle'.  Now the image is complete.  Click 'Apply' at the bottom right hand side of the window and the filters will be applied and brought back into Lightroom. 

I hope this tutorial helps you to further understand how Adobe Lightroom and onOne's Perfect Effects can be used together to create great images.  If you have any questions, leave a comment below.  Thanks!

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Before/After Image Processing - Old School Gas Pump

Recently I was looking through some old images and I came across the image below.  It is a photograph of an 'old school gas pump' in front of a vintage hardware store.  I liked the photograph, but I thought it looked flat, dull and needed some cleaning up.  The photograph was taken in Lancaster Pennsylvania back in 2008.  

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Canon Powershot A80, 7.8mm, 1/500 sec at F/5.0, ISO 50

Step One

First, some background information on this photograph - it was taken with a Canon Powershot A80.  Yes a point and shoot camera!  Regardless of the kind of camera you use, great images can be made with any camera.  You just have to put your mind to it and be creative.  

Adjustments made in Adobe Lightroom's 'Basic' panel

After finding this image, the first thing I did was to bring it into Adobe Lightroom.  As I've mentioned, I keep all of my images in Lightroom.  The first thing I did with the image was to go into the Develop module and make some global adjustments.  I increased the contrast, reduced the highlights, opened up the shadows, subtly reduced the whites and increased the blacks.  I also added a hint of clarity to help tighten everything up a bit.  Be careful with the clarity sliders.  Drastically increasing the clarity can create an unrealistic looking image.  Of course there are always exceptions - for example if you are trying to go for an HDR look for your image, the clarity slider will help you achieve that look.

Original Image out of camera

Image after being processed in Lightroom

Step 2

After some quick global adjustments in Lightroom, it's time to bring the image over to Adobe Photoshop for some retouching and enhancements.  I brought the image over to Photoshop using the Cmd + E shortcut.  You can also select the image, go to the menu bar and select Photo > Edit In > Edit In Adobe Photoshop CC (or the version you have).  

First I created a new layer above the background layer titled 'Retouching'.  I went through the entire image and removed all of the distractions, wires, pavement markings, imperfections in the gas pump, and shadows I didn't want to see. 

Image with Lightroom adjustments in Photoshop.  Yellow arrows indicate the major areas to be retouched.

Image in Photoshop after retouching is complete.

Step 3

Next, I combine the background image and the retouching layer using Shift + Opt + Cmd + E on the Mac (Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E on a PC).  This shortcut makes a new flattened layer of all the layers below it.  

Step 4

The next thing I'd like to do is make some adjustments to help the overall contrast of the image.  I added a curves adjustment layer and created a slight 'S' curve to help darken the shadows a bit and lighten the highlights a little.  Next I added an additional curves adjustments layer to open the shadows up just a little bit.

Curves 1 Adjustment Layer 

Curves 2 Adjustments Layer

Step 5

After the curves adjustment layers, I added a new layer to do some dodging & burning.  The layer was filled with 50% gray and set to the Soft Light layer blend mode.  By using the Soft Light blend mode, the gray will be invisible.  However, any areas that are dodged and burned will appear.  I then used the dodge and burn tools on that layer to darken and lighten various areas of the photo.  This helps bring back some depth into the image.  After the dodging and burning is complete, I lowered the layer opacity to 55%.

Retouched image after Dodging & Burning

Gradient Map Adjustment layer added in Step 6

Step 6

Once I was finished with dodging and burning, I added a gradient map adjustment layer.  I reduced the gradient map adjustment layer opacity to 10% and changed the blend mode to Soft Light.  I felt that it added a little more contrast/punch to the image and gave it that little extra boost. 

High Pass Filter Settings

Step 7

At this point, I felt the image process and retouching were complete.  The second to last step was to add some sharpening to the image.  To do this, I used the High Pass filter.  First, create a merged layer using Sift + Opt + Cmd + E on a Mac.  Next, go to Filter > Other > High Pass to bring up the High Pass filter window.  I used 1.5 pixels for the radius size, but you can play with different amounts to see what works for your image.  Click OK.  The layer blend mode should be set to either Overlay, Soft Light or Hard Light.  Each blend mode will give you a varying amount of intensity of the High Pass layer.  In this case, I chose Hard Light and reduced the opacity to 50%. 

Post Crop Vignette Settings

Step 8

Finally to complete the image, I added a Post Crop Vignette.  To do this, I again merged all the layers together using Shift + Opt + Cmd + E, then went to Filter > Camera Raw Filter.  I then went to the Effects panel and added the vignette.  With the vignette added, the image is complete.  I simply saved it and closed it to bring it back into Lightroom.  Below is the final image I ended up with.  Overall I am happy with the end result.  

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Final Image - 'After'

Original Image - 'Before'

Before/After Image Processing - Train Car

Post Processing

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Canon 60D:  1/250th @ F5.0, ISO 800                            Out of Camera Raw File

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Image Developed in Adobe Lightroom

Many images can benefit from some general retouching and color enhancing.  When shooting in RAW format, it is always necessary for some level of post processing.  Above is an example of a photograph I shot in the winter of 2012.  The image was shot with my Canon 60D with an 18-135 Kit lens.  On the left you see the original RAW file as it came out of the camera.  To the right, you see the same photograph processed in Adobe Lightroom.  Modifications made in Lightroom include adjusting contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, a touch more vibrance and lens corrections.  

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Image Retouched in Adobe Photoshop

After making some global adjustments in Lightroom, I used Cmd+E on the Mac to take the image over to Adobe Photoshop for some retouching.  In this case, I removed the people, the car and evergreen tree from the photograph.  I also had to reconstruct the train rail where the people were removed.  I wanted the focus of the photograph to be the old rustic train car and I felt the items I removed were distractions to my overall vision for this image.  The tools of choice in Photoshop were the clone tool, healing brush, layer masks and adjustment layers.  With the retouching work in Photoshop complete, I saved and closed the file, which brings it back into Lightroom.  

Now that I essentially had the image I wanted, it is time for some finishing touches.  I have been using onOne Software's Perfect Effects 8 and I have found it to be a great tool.  To bring the image from Lightroom into Perfect Effects, in Lightroom go to File > Plug-in Extras > Perfect Effects 8.  I then added some dynamic contrast, color enhancers, and sharpening.  Once I was happy with the final product, I applied the settings and sent the image back to Lightroom.  Below is the final image after all of the processing is complete.  Many times the image I see in my mind when I press the shutter button is not what comes straight out of the camera.  With the help of some great tools, the image in my mind becomes a reality.

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Final image after being processed through onOne's Perfect Effects 8.