Yes. What I am finding is that with LR subscription desktop (and mobile), I still need LRC for the presets I can create for the brushes. I am doing a series of moon rise (November 2024 Beaver Moon). I make the initial adjustments in LR. Then I use LRC for the masks and the presets associated with masks. Then I use PS to remove the electric wires. The back to LR for final adjustments and storage in the cloud. Every little bit you teach us helps me tremendously. Thanks.
@@MarkDenneyPhoto Absolutely, It just takes me sitting at the PC and doing the work but also learning all the new Adobe apps for this. Thank you Mark (Tracie)
One of the best episodes actually. I've always been avoiding my Lightroom CC for this intimidating stuff but you gave me a new hope to achieve my goals with it
Using a linear gradient to lower exposure of the foreground and then adding a radial gradient to emphasize the sunlight in that area is masterful. Great tip!
@@MarkDenneyPhoto I'm with Greg on this one, that was brilliant. Seems obvious now looking back, but I never would have Thought of that on my own!. Thanks Mark, I love learning, and I have some re-editing to do.
Mark, your final image is certainly more impactful than the first. My brain, however, is having a hard time determining the location of the light source. It seems to be all over the place. The beautiful splash of light in the foreground seems to come from the left of the image. In the hills above, the right side of the hill is more illuminated, suggesting the light is from the right. And the church seems to be lit from over my shoulder (front lighting). Maybe it’s just me, but I find the lack of continuity distracting.
If you were to put both edited images in front of a group of viewers who are not Photographers (which is the majority), I guarantee you they would pick the one with the added light editing. As I have learned over the years, who are you creating the image for, what is the intended market (if any), and how will the image be viewed?
That's what disturbed me a bit too. Mark's general idea is sound but deciding on the place of the light source would help a lot. Just not adding the light on the trees on the right side would reduce the distraction a fair amount IMO.
Agree. I use the same techniques, but try to respect the natural flow of light in scenes and use darker areas (shadow) to compliment and give drama to naturally lighter areas. For me at least, I like a little mystery in the shadows.😂
This video has really touched a nerve because that (blanketing the whole photo) is what I've been doing. I have been trying masks a bit more, but this has really helped. I understand the comment about photography vs. editing, but the reason we took that photo is because of what we saw in front of us. Editing is how we can better show the viewer what it was that compelled us to capture that scene.
This is pretty much what we used to do in the darkroom. Just be careful to not go too far as it's starting to look unnatural (impossible lighting situation).
@@MuhammadRizwan-dz7pv During the printing stage (black and white): dodging, burning, masking, contrast filtration, enlarger selection, and paper selection.
Mark, this is great content. You have done videos in the past using masks which great helped my editing. Recently I have gotten all fancy and started adjusting some of the masks with the curve tool. I so appreciate your calm and simply approach. Your content has greatly help my own editing skills. Thanks!
A key concept of good composition is not only drawing the eye to the subject but also afterwards directing the eye to take in more of the image, with the photographer/editor in control of where the eye goes. Here Mark builds an implied C hook to the left of the church and between the two ridges, to an area I don't even see until he applied his edits. Now that's where my eye can't resist going. Brilliant!
I use a Fujifilm camera specifically to avoid having to edit my pictures, for the same reasons you mentioned. This video, especially the end result comparison and your explanations, really brought me so much closer to editing. Been watching editing tutorials but none made things as clear as you did. Thanks so much for this one, keep it up!
How does your camera avoid editing your photos? I'm an old man who just jumped from film to digital, so I'm learning about these things, the last time I tried digital editing was in Photoshop and the instructor went far too fast for me and others, this is better, he's explaining how and why he does things.
Let me try to clear things up: Digital cameras usually offer the functionality of saving photographs one takes in two file formats: JPEG and RAW. While RAW files contain more information and should be used for editing, JPEG files contain much less information. Fujifilm digital cameras are known to create JPEG files that look like film photographs, so they already look pretty and "retro". This means that I typically ignore the RAW files, therefore also skip editing, and just take the already great looking JPEG files and share them with family and friends, either digitally through social media or by printing them and sharing them physically. What I meant specifically was that I might now take the RAW files to edit those in the future, at least that's more likely with the video. Hope that helps. Welcome to the world of digital photography. :)
I have been leery on choosing an editing program,,, your examples and explanations have lessened my anxiety, you make it look fun!! Lightroom coming to my software!! Thanks Mark!!
Photo editing was hard until I discovered Mark Denney's amazing tutorial videos! Thank you Mark, you have helped me immensely get up to speed with Lightroom in recent months. After years of avoiding the issue I'm getting better results than ever before/that i'm happy with a lot of it thanks to you.
I wouldn't normally watch an editing video but it was interesting to see your take on what we were watching! I see we are both lovers of a good radial gradient ;) Hope you are well from the two random Aussies that were waiting 7 more minutes.
14 дней назад
What I have done for a little while now is putting the picture in B&W before I start tuning. This helps me focus on the exposure only. After this I set the picture back to color.
Mark, Another great Mark Denney tutorial video. Since I've started watching your videos, my editing skills have really improved and how I analyze edits is so much different today. Thanks again.
I recently discovered LAB color and it's a game changer. A color space specifically made for the human eye. Its the true game changer! Especially for skies!
FINALLY this masking thing clicks. I ignored masking for years because I got taught LR and PS too early (i.e. years ago as a beginning photographer who was still trying to learn how to work his camera dials and expose “properly”), and not well. So I avoided this until, ironically, I started shooting RAW on an iPhone and using the Camera+ app to polish those images. But those apps, while good, do *global edits across the entire image. Then I realized I needed to be able to edit sections of an image more granularly relative to the full image. This is how I returned to exploring LR/PS masks again this year. Your explanation of using masks as a way to make granular area edits within an image is just SO clear. And your explanation of using masks to manage viewer eye focus and attention is effing brilliant. Thank you so much.
Super helpful. I can't wait to try this on a few images where I've had issues. I loved how you were able to maintain the dramatic look to the clouds too!
Mark. Your video delivered an "a-ha" epiphany for me as well. I have used masks extensively in my editing but never quite thought of them in such a way as to really emphasize what my vision really is. You outlined a 'process' for visually articulating your final product as you work through the image. Something really clicked for me and I can't wait to try it today. Thanks.
You’re an amazing instructor! I really have been enjoying using Lightroom classic. I think I enjoy it a lot more watching you do the things that you do with radial gradients and I cannot wait to try them on my ownphotographs. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Great tutorial, Mark, demonstrating the power of masked adjustments in making dramatic and compelling images. However, I think you should add the point, made by other commentators below, that the source of light should always be considered when making these adjustments. I don’t think an image must be exactly as nature created it - when are at the scene we have two eyes and all of our other senses to fully appreciate it - but we should recognize that when we make certain changes for photographic impact, we may be altering reality. Case in point: to improve the image, we can brighten the church and saturate the colors a bit to bring out the red trim, but if we do it too much some viewers will be instinctively unsettled because the sun normally wouldn’t reach into the valley. How far we should go with that adjustment is an element of our photographic artistry.
A beautiful scene; these techiques really emphasizes it's beauty. I've been going through my LR catalog and reworking my favorite images with these techniques. I am pleased and impressed by how much they are improved. Thanks!
Very informative, the use of light & shadow can bring out what you've seen when you have taken the photo, I also have been lightening aspects of the photo which improve the overall shot but take away depth. Thanks for your video.
As I watch more of these videos and learn the finer points, and with the advances of photo editing software, I have to wonder how far away we are from not having to worry about light when we capture the image. Imagine shooting at high noon and making it look like it was golden hour.
Thanks very much Mark, your approach very much mirrors the way I’m trying to edit my images these days. I also used to pull down the highlights, boost the shadows and add clarity in just about every image I processed. I think it’s the advent of the new masking tools in Lightroom that has allowed me to change.
Another great video mark. I struggle with editing, your tips are really helpful. Keep up the good work. I need to start practicing to get good at it. Have a lovely weekend.
The best thing about this technique is that it doesn’t just apply in landscape photographs. You can use this exact method for portraits, to even skin out and make it look much more flattering without using the healing brush. Or bring out the eyes by adding contrast. Or give hair much more volume and drama by giving highlights more glow. The possibilities are endless. However I don’t quite like how the masking panel is layered out in Lightroom. Far too much clicks to add a new mask in my opinion. But it works wonders!
Hi Mark, thank you for another really excellent video. I have learnt so much about processing my landscape photos from your videos, especially using masks. Keep up the great work.
Areas that are brighter vs darker. Areas that are more saturated vs. less saturated. Areas that are in focus vs out of focus. 3 ways to draw attention where you want. Tools for de-emphasis are as important as the tools for emphasis! Cropping is of course the most aggressive way to de-emphasize, haha.
@MarkDenneyPhoto , this was a great video! Straight forward and simple to understand. I'm going to revisit some of my photos to see what differences are made when using your techniques. Would you consider doing videos where you review and offer suggestions to viewer images? Thanks again!
Editing i think is all about lightning the parts that you want to light to grab the "attention" of the human eye that looks at it... Nice one Mark, as always great content!
Very nice editing result! Is that what they used to call "dodge and burn"? Thank you for all your clearly demonstrated videos and please keep up your great work!
Contrast attracts the eye and the challenge in any landscape is preventing the lighter contrast of the sky from pulling the eye to it too quickly. That’s the strategy underlying what became a conventional wisdom best practice - aka rule - to balance and temper that natural perceptual response but limiting the amount of of sky with 1/2 seeming too much, 1/4 seeming too little and 1/3 seeming ‘just right’ for balance on an AVERAGE tone foreground, i.e. foliage lit by sunny cross light. When the foreground is shaded it skews the contrast balance equation. One solution is lower the % of sky filling the frame or darkening it by burning and dodging and lightening the foreground, or; take and blend two exposures because the root cause of the problem is a camera sensor which cant’ record the high EV range of the scene like the B&W film / print reproduction system St. Ansel taught me to used back in 1971. When Adams switched to Panchromatic film in the 1930 he realized he could ‘editorialize’ on what Mother Nature put in front of his lens by slapping a RED filter on it to darken skies while making red rocks seem brighter, or GREEN and ORANGE to give summer and fall foliage a surreal sense of lightness, in the process elevating what had been tradecraft to artistic expression. Adams also realized the human eye adapted to ‘expose to the right - see detail in the highlights - at the expense of losing perception of it in the shadows but that could be overcome - technically not artistically - by adjusting negative develop time based on scene EV range he measured with a primitive spot meter and I did with a Honeywell-Pentax 1° which cost as much as the Nikon F camera I was using but worth every penny because it allow me to easily match any range scene to print like Adams did. I started shooting digitally and posting the photos on the Internet on web pages in 1994 with an Apple Quicktake 100 and a web sever I ran. When Photoshop added layers and masking I started doing DIY HDR: 1) Expose to the right for Highlights, 2) slow shutter three stops to expose to left for Shadows. In Photoshop open both files then copy / paste exposure 2 on top of exposure 1 adding a black filled mask. I then SELECTIVELY opened mask on the shadow layer, more around the intended focal point than edges to create a tone / detail vignette which creates on the ‘small canvas’ what our brain to with any broad canvas - get ‘tunnel vision’ on what we think is most important, with the eyes still seeing it but the brain filtering it. Our brains do that because green sensing ROD cells cover the periphery of the retina with nearly all the higher RGB cones in the center 2° of the FOV - twice the width of thumb held at arms length 👍. The RODS are 3000x (30 EV ) more sensitive to light than the CONES. Things in our peripheral vision ‘catch’ the eye causing the brain to shift center of eyes and CONES there then the brain ignores what the RODS are detecting. That’s why when composing scene I learned to crop from the focal point outwards to realize when contrasting distractions enter the frame, eliminating the need to tone them down or clone them out in post processing because I didn’t notice them when shooting and getting ‘tunnel vision’ on the face or other focal point. That’s the underlying perceptual cause and effect for why what is demonstrated in this video works as it does to pull attention to where it is desired in the frame.
Great video, but the problem is that sometimes I have too many photos and I don't have time and focus to sit down and manually adjust all of them like this by applying multiple masks, so I fall back to "Good Enough" approach of editing, similar to your first edit with overall exposure increase. A good video on culling and editing large chunks of photos will be a lot of help, which is what I thought this video was going to be based on the title.
Excellent tutorial. Just a couple of note for another take on this. You say to not overdo the masks but I would recommend to actually overdo them in order to see the exaggerated versions of what we're trying to achieve and then use the amount slider to pull the mask back to the the more proper, balanced intensity. Also a quick do over of the basic settings after applying all the masks goes a long way to make the image "pop".
As usual, great video Mark... I was thinking the last correction you were going to make was to the mountain's in the background, which you did mention. Am I mistaken, and did you do more editing to them? I really enjoyed the step by step walk-through. Thanks so much!
Thanks Mark. Can you also go over how you would edit that background mountain in conjunction with the sky as well? I find it quite challenging to mask and edit distant large mountain backgrounds. Thanks in advance.
I actually think one could draw that a little bit further because the human eye does not only react on brightness values but also on difference in sharpness (Sharpness, Structure and Clarity sliders) and Contrast values. So I actually do the same thing you do in your photos but eventually also play around with sharpness and contrast values in some of those (radial) gradients. I think the aspect of leading the viewers eye can be enhanced even more with all three of these aspects being worked on.
🔥QUICK QUESTION: Did you find this episode helpful?
Yes. What I am finding is that with LR subscription desktop (and mobile), I still need LRC for the presets I can create for the brushes. I am doing a series of moon rise (November 2024 Beaver Moon). I make the initial adjustments in LR. Then I use LRC for the masks and the presets associated with masks. Then I use PS to remove the electric wires. The back to LR for final adjustments and storage in the cloud. Every little bit you teach us helps me tremendously. Thanks.
@@MarkDenneyPhoto Absolutely, It just takes me sitting at the PC and doing the work but also learning all the new Adobe apps for this. Thank you Mark (Tracie)
One of the best episodes actually. I've always been avoiding my Lightroom CC for this intimidating stuff but you gave me a new hope to achieve my goals with it
Yep, sure did! Got a few recents to look at again now!
Heck yeah. Trying to get out of the lazy global adjustments habit. I need to start seeing the image as a composite rather than a single flat scene.
Using a linear gradient to lower exposure of the foreground and then adding a radial gradient to emphasize the sunlight in that area is masterful. Great tip!
Thanks Greg!
@@MarkDenneyPhoto I'm with Greg on this one, that was brilliant. Seems obvious now looking back, but I never would have Thought of that on my own!. Thanks Mark, I love learning, and I have some re-editing to do.
Mark, your final image is certainly more impactful than the first. My brain, however, is having a hard time determining the location of the light source. It seems to be all over the place. The beautiful splash of light in the foreground seems to come from the left of the image. In the hills above, the right side of the hill is more illuminated, suggesting the light is from the right. And the church seems to be lit from over my shoulder (front lighting). Maybe it’s just me, but I find the lack of continuity distracting.
Splotchy. Discombobulated.
If you were to put both edited images in front of a group of viewers who are not Photographers (which is the majority), I guarantee you they would pick the one with the added light editing. As I have learned over the years, who are you creating the image for, what is the intended market (if any), and how will the image be viewed?
That's what disturbed me a bit too. Mark's general idea is sound but deciding on the place of the light source would help a lot. Just not adding the light on the trees on the right side would reduce the distraction a fair amount IMO.
Very true.
Agree. I use the same techniques, but try to respect the natural flow of light in scenes and use darker areas (shadow) to compliment and give drama to naturally lighter areas. For me at least, I like a little mystery in the shadows.😂
This video has really touched a nerve because that (blanketing the whole photo) is what I've been doing. I have been trying masks a bit more, but this has really helped.
I understand the comment about photography vs. editing, but the reason we took that photo is because of what we saw in front of us. Editing is how we can better show the viewer what it was that compelled us to capture that scene.
Great to hear it was helpful!
Mark demonstrates very convincingly what a great difference a little light in the right places can make.
Thanks Simon!
This is pretty much what we used to do in the darkroom. Just be careful to not go too far as it's starting to look unnatural (impossible lighting situation).
I want to know how you people did it in dark room with film camera
@@MuhammadRizwan-dz7pv During the printing stage (black and white): dodging, burning, masking, contrast filtration, enlarger selection, and paper selection.
@sandb1867 looks interesting
Mark, this is great content. You have done videos in the past using masks which great helped my editing. Recently I have gotten all fancy and started adjusting some of the masks with the curve tool. I so appreciate your calm and simply approach. Your content has greatly help my own editing skills. Thanks!
I was just looking at some desert pictures that i took and was feeling unhappy about how flat they look. This video helps. Thank you.
Thanks Mark! It’s interesting that the process starts out with a little “reverse photo processing” and then an item rebuild, rather fascinating.
A key concept of good composition is not only drawing the eye to the subject but also afterwards directing the eye to take in more of the image, with the photographer/editor in control of where the eye goes. Here Mark builds an implied C hook to the left of the church and between the two ridges, to an area I don't even see until he applied his edits. Now that's where my eye can't resist going. Brilliant!
Thank you!
I use a Fujifilm camera specifically to avoid having to edit my pictures, for the same reasons you mentioned. This video, especially the end result comparison and your explanations, really brought me so much closer to editing. Been watching editing tutorials but none made things as clear as you did. Thanks so much for this one, keep it up!
How does your camera avoid editing your photos? I'm an old man who just jumped from film to digital, so I'm learning about these things, the last time I tried digital editing was in Photoshop and the instructor went far too fast for me and others, this is better, he's explaining how and why he does things.
Let me try to clear things up: Digital cameras usually offer the functionality of saving photographs one takes in two file formats: JPEG and RAW. While RAW files contain more information and should be used for editing, JPEG files contain much less information. Fujifilm digital cameras are known to create JPEG files that look like film photographs, so they already look pretty and "retro". This means that I typically ignore the RAW files, therefore also skip editing, and just take the already great looking JPEG files and share them with family and friends, either digitally through social media or by printing them and sharing them physically.
What I meant specifically was that I might now take the RAW files to edit those in the future, at least that's more likely with the video.
Hope that helps. Welcome to the world of digital photography. :)
@bastienv551 yes, thank you!
I found the mountains in the first image better than the edited image ... I think they needed a bit of boost.
Very helpful. I've been on the fence about using Lightroom but I must now learn.
I have been leery on choosing an editing program,,, your examples and explanations have lessened my anxiety, you make it look fun!! Lightroom coming to my software!! Thanks Mark!!
Thanks Mark, great tutorial! It is just like painting, I remember from art school. Every photographer should study paintings
Glad it was helpful!
Photo editing was hard until I discovered Mark Denney's amazing tutorial videos! Thank you Mark, you have helped me immensely get up to speed with Lightroom in recent months. After years of avoiding the issue I'm getting better results than ever before/that i'm happy with a lot of it thanks to you.
what a great walkthrough! This is really helpful, especially the details on not just raising exposure but using whites and lights and dehaze.
Awesome! Just brilliant!! Been retouching photos for decades and never knew this technique. Can’t thank you enough!
I wouldn't normally watch an editing video but it was interesting to see your take on what we were watching! I see we are both lovers of a good radial gradient ;) Hope you are well from the two random Aussies that were waiting 7 more minutes.
What I have done for a little while now is putting the picture in B&W before I start tuning. This helps me focus on the exposure only. After this I set the picture back to color.
Mark, Another great Mark Denney tutorial video. Since I've started watching your videos, my editing skills have really improved and how I analyze edits is so much different today.
Thanks again.
Thank you! That was really helpful!
One of the best/inspiring video editing I've watch in a while, thank you thank you thank you!
Excellent tutorial, Mark. Understanding why you’ve used the masks you did showcased your creative process. 💯
You are my go to for my photo editing, I'm learning after every one of your videos 🫡
I recently discovered LAB color and it's a game changer. A color space specifically made for the human eye. Its the true game changer! Especially for skies!
FINALLY this masking thing clicks.
I ignored masking for years because I got taught LR and PS too early (i.e. years ago as a beginning photographer who was still trying to learn how to work his camera dials and expose “properly”), and not well. So I avoided this until, ironically, I started shooting RAW on an iPhone and using the Camera+ app to polish those images.
But those apps, while good, do *global edits across the entire image. Then I realized I needed to be able to edit sections of an image more granularly relative to the full image. This is how I returned to exploring LR/PS masks again this year.
Your explanation of using masks as a way to make granular area edits within an image is just SO clear. And your explanation of using masks to manage viewer eye focus and attention is effing brilliant. Thank you so much.
Yes very helpful. Your editing videos have taught me more than anyone on the internet. Please keep up the good work, I am a big fan
Super helpful. I can't wait to try this on a few images where I've had issues. I loved how you were able to maintain the dramatic look to the clouds too!
Mark. Your video delivered an "a-ha" epiphany for me as well. I have used masks extensively in my editing but never quite thought of them in such a way as to really emphasize what my vision really is. You outlined a 'process' for visually articulating your final product as you work through the image. Something really clicked for me and I can't wait to try it today. Thanks.
You’re an amazing instructor!
I really have been enjoying using Lightroom classic. I think I enjoy it a lot more watching you do the things that you do with radial gradients and I cannot wait to try them on my ownphotographs.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
THanks so much!
Great tutorial, Mark, demonstrating the power of masked adjustments in making dramatic and compelling images. However, I think you should add the point, made by other commentators below, that the source of light should always be considered when making these adjustments. I don’t think an image must be exactly as nature created it - when are at the scene we have two eyes and all of our other senses to fully appreciate it - but we should recognize that when we make certain changes for photographic impact, we may be altering reality.
Case in point: to improve the image, we can brighten the church and saturate the colors a bit to bring out the red trim, but if we do it too much some viewers will be instinctively unsettled because the sun normally wouldn’t reach into the valley. How far we should go with that adjustment is an element of our photographic artistry.
What a revelation. Thanks Mark
Another great video, I already understood and applied some of these principles in my post editing but it’s always great to view you’re workflow
A beautiful scene; these techiques really emphasizes it's beauty. I've been going through my LR catalog and reworking my favorite images with these techniques. I am pleased and impressed by how much they are improved. Thanks!
hello sir! i don't have questions but I just want to say thank you for so simple and straightforward tutorial 👍🏼
Very informative, the use of light & shadow can bring out what you've seen when you have taken the photo, I also have been lightening aspects of the photo which improve the overall shot but take away depth. Thanks for your video.
In combination with your colour management video - what a difference. Thank you
As I watch more of these videos and learn the finer points, and with the advances of photo editing software, I have to wonder how far away we are from not having to worry about light when we capture the image. Imagine shooting at high noon and making it look like it was golden hour.
Thanks for the vid. Very helpful. I noticed you did not increase contrast in brighter areas. I tend to do that.
Absolutely- I really enjoy watching your tutorials. You are an excellent presenter.
Thanks so much!
Great technique. I photograph in high contrast situations and this is a big help.
I've been getting into photography and this is a top 3 video I've watched
Thanks very much Mark, your approach very much mirrors the way I’m trying to edit my images these days. I also used to pull down the highlights, boost the shadows and add clarity in just about every image I processed. I think it’s the advent of the new masking tools in Lightroom that has allowed me to change.
Another great video mark. I struggle with editing, your tips are really helpful. Keep up the good work. I need to start practicing to get good at it. Have a lovely weekend.
Me too , I have been putting it on the backend burner.
Fantastic! Thanks for these helpful tips, Mark. One of the more helpful tutorials I've seen lately!
Tremendous editing tutorial!! Thank you Mark!
The best thing about this technique is that it doesn’t just apply in landscape photographs. You can use this exact method for portraits, to even skin out and make it look much more flattering without using the healing brush. Or bring out the eyes by adding contrast. Or give hair much more volume and drama by giving highlights more glow. The possibilities are endless. However I don’t quite like how the masking panel is layered out in Lightroom. Far too much clicks to add a new mask in my opinion. But it works wonders!
This helps me a lot Mark! And also like the good explanation, basically what I'm used to
Very nicely done and hugely helpful. Thank you Mark!!
Hi Mark, thank you for another really excellent video. I have learnt so much about processing my landscape photos from your videos, especially using masks. Keep up the great work.
I was wondering why you like the radial mask so much and you explained that. Thanks.
Awesome! Exactly what I’ve been needing to do.
Areas that are brighter vs darker. Areas that are more saturated vs. less saturated. Areas that are in focus vs out of focus. 3 ways to draw attention where you want. Tools for de-emphasis are as important as the tools for emphasis! Cropping is of course the most aggressive way to de-emphasize, haha.
I love all your videos. All so helpful
This was a great video. You explained it really well actually. Thank you!
Superb Mark. One of your very best.👏
Beginner photographer here
Just got a Canon 5d ii
Looking forward to learning the skills so I can decorate my walls
Thanks for sharing
New sub
Thanks a million!
Great tutorial Mark. I learn a great deal from these start to finish edit videos. Yes, very helpful. Thanks.
Thanks for checking it out!
Excellent and will sign off now to try this method on my own dull images. Thanks Mark.
Yes Mark, definitely helpful. Thanks for this video. 👍
I love your videos they are always helpful !
Wow Mark ! Just the whole scene is heavenly.
@MarkDenneyPhoto , this was a great video! Straight forward and simple to understand. I'm going to revisit some of my photos to see what differences are made when using your techniques. Would you consider doing videos where you review and offer suggestions to viewer images? Thanks again!
hugely impactful 15 minutes of learning
👍
This masking technique made my pictures classy. Thank you
love this- thank you!
Very hard to go back to editing the way I was after watching this 😂. Excellent video as always Mark!
Some great tips here a wonderful tutorial thank you for sharing.
perfect demonstration 👍
Great lightbulb moment for me. Thanks Mark
Glad to hear it!
Great. Thanks, I learned from your methods.
I enjoyed this video very much. Keep up the good work.
Yet another great video Mark. Cheers
Editing i think is all about lightning the parts that you want to light to grab the "attention" of the human eye that looks at it...
Nice one Mark, as always great content!
Very helpful reminder of the power of selective masking to emphasis a two dimensional photo into a three dimensional final photo ... Thanks!
Great video, makes a big difference to the final results
Thank ya!
Another great tutorial Mark
Nice treatment of a classic location. Carry on. 👍🥂
Thank ya!
Very nice editing result! Is that what they used to call "dodge and burn"? Thank you for all your clearly demonstrated videos and please keep up your great work!
Contrast attracts the eye and the challenge in any landscape is preventing the lighter contrast of the sky from pulling the eye to it too quickly. That’s the strategy underlying what became a conventional wisdom best practice - aka rule - to balance and temper that natural perceptual response but limiting the amount of of sky with 1/2 seeming too much, 1/4 seeming too little and 1/3 seeming ‘just right’ for balance on an AVERAGE tone foreground, i.e. foliage lit by sunny cross light.
When the foreground is shaded it skews the contrast balance equation. One solution is lower the % of sky filling the frame or darkening it by burning and dodging and lightening the foreground, or; take and blend two exposures because the root cause of the problem is a camera sensor which cant’ record the high EV range of the scene like the B&W film / print reproduction system St. Ansel taught me to used back in 1971.
When Adams switched to Panchromatic film in the 1930 he realized he could ‘editorialize’ on what Mother Nature put in front of his lens by slapping a RED filter on it to darken skies while making red rocks seem brighter, or GREEN and ORANGE to give summer and fall foliage a surreal sense of lightness, in the process elevating what had been tradecraft to artistic expression.
Adams also realized the human eye adapted to ‘expose to the right - see detail in the highlights - at the expense of losing perception of it in the shadows but that could be overcome - technically not artistically - by adjusting negative develop time based on scene EV range he measured with a primitive spot meter and I did with a Honeywell-Pentax 1° which cost as much as the Nikon F camera I was using but worth every penny because it allow me to easily match any range scene to print like Adams did.
I started shooting digitally and posting the photos on the Internet on web pages in 1994 with an Apple Quicktake 100 and a web sever I ran. When Photoshop added layers and masking I started doing DIY HDR:
1) Expose to the right for Highlights, 2) slow shutter three stops to expose to left for Shadows. In Photoshop open both files then copy / paste exposure 2 on top of exposure 1 adding a black filled mask.
I then SELECTIVELY opened mask on the shadow layer, more around the intended focal point than edges to create a tone / detail vignette which creates on the ‘small canvas’ what our brain to with any broad canvas - get ‘tunnel vision’ on what we think is most important, with the eyes still seeing it but the brain filtering it.
Our brains do that because green sensing ROD cells cover the periphery of the retina with nearly all the higher RGB cones in the center 2° of the FOV - twice the width of thumb held at arms length 👍. The RODS are 3000x (30 EV ) more sensitive to light than the CONES.
Things in our peripheral vision ‘catch’ the eye causing the brain to shift center of eyes and CONES there then the brain ignores what the RODS are detecting.
That’s why when composing scene I learned to crop from the focal point outwards to realize when contrasting distractions enter the frame, eliminating the need to tone them down or clone them out in post processing because I didn’t notice them when shooting and getting ‘tunnel vision’ on the face or other focal point.
That’s the underlying perceptual cause and effect for why what is demonstrated in this video works as it does to pull attention to where it is desired in the frame.
Thanks. This is a very helpful and a very educational tutorial. Thanks!
Thank you!
Very helpful, thanks Mark!
Great video Mark. I've been learning masks lately. More specifically, I've been playing with luminosity masks. Amazing stuff.
Thanks!
Great video, but the problem is that sometimes I have too many photos and I don't have time and focus to sit down and manually adjust all of them like this by applying multiple masks, so I fall back to "Good Enough" approach of editing, similar to your first edit with overall exposure increase. A good video on culling and editing large chunks of photos will be a lot of help, which is what I thought this video was going to be based on the title.
Excellent tutorial. Just a couple of note for another take on this. You say to not overdo the masks but I would recommend to actually overdo them in order to see the exaggerated versions of what we're trying to achieve and then use the amount slider to pull the mask back to the the more proper, balanced intensity. Also a quick do over of the basic settings after applying all the masks goes a long way to make the image "pop".
Really nice landscape, well done.
Thanks John!
Looks simple information but that's what turns an image into a beautiful photograph. Thank you.🙏
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkDenneyPhoto Best wishes, God bless you.
As usual, great video Mark... I was thinking the last correction you were going to make was to the mountain's in the background, which you did mention. Am I mistaken, and did you do more editing to them? I really enjoyed the step by step walk-through. Thanks so much!
Brilliant example. Thanks; inspired.
Genius! The dehazing 👍
Glad ya enjoyed it!
Great tutorial. You demonstrate good points. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Mark
Glad to do it!
Thanks Mark. Can you also go over how you would edit that background mountain in conjunction with the sky as well? I find it quite challenging to mask and edit distant large mountain backgrounds. Thanks in advance.
💡🙏 Nice short video to the point 👍
VERT HELPFUL. Keep up the good work.
Excellent tutorial
Great video. I think you coined a new phrase "complexify the light".
I actually think one could draw that a little bit further because the human eye does not only react on brightness values but also on difference in sharpness (Sharpness, Structure and Clarity sliders) and Contrast values. So I actually do the same thing you do in your photos but eventually also play around with sharpness and contrast values in some of those (radial) gradients. I think the aspect of leading the viewers eye can be enhanced even more with all three of these aspects being worked on.