Today’s eye-opening post-processing lesson differs from many others we post and reveals what instructor Andy Hutchinson insists is a game-changing approach to photo editing that completely transformed his photography. As he says, “While most tutorials show you WHAT buttons to press, very few explain WHY you should make certain adjustments.”

Hutchinson is an Australian pro specializing in creative visual storytelling. He also a popular instructor and the videos he posts are all about sharing his knowledge and inspiration. The secret to this episode is that “your photos are already telling you exactly how they should be edited—you just need to learn how to listen.”

In the next 13 minutes you’ll learn why it’s crucial to understand the mood you’re after before touching any sliders, when it’s advisable to decrease (not increase) saturation, contrast and detail, and why the “obvious” edit isn’t always the right one. In short, Hutchinson’s approach involves a different mindset and perspective.

Hutchinson also explains the psychological foundations behind effective post-processing decisions, like the psychological impact color temperature has on a viewer. The bottom line is this: “if you’ve ever wondered why your edits don’t match the vision you had when taking the photo, or why following editing tutorials never quite works for your images, this video might just change your approach.”

He begins by explaining a “disconnect” that occurs between the technical purpose behind various adjustments and the reasons we make the changes we do. Or as he says, “the real skill comes from knowing the why behind each adjustment.” And he drives the point hone with several illustrative photos.

Hutchinson says that in practical terms color temperature is the most important adjustment you can make, “beyond the shadow of a doubt.” That’s because this enhancement enables you to successfully create a variety of moods. He then explains the ramifications of saturation and contrast in ways you may not have heard before.

Other topics of discussion include tonal range and light, texture and detail, and dealing with grain and noise. The video concludes with Hutchinson’s take on “how to read a good photograph” so you’ll understand the viewer’s response. There are many more inspirational videos on his instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit.

We also recommend watching a video we featured with another image-editing expert recently who demonstrates an easy and effective Photoshop technique for selecting and cutting out objects in your photographs.

Photo instructor Maike Born insists that “The magical Tone Curve is Lightroom’s most powerful tool for unlocking the full potential of your edits.” We bet that if you’re not already taking advantage of this transformative technique, you definitely will be after watching the five minute tutorial below.

Born is a successful 29-year-old photographer based in Dusseldorf, Germany, who’s been passionate about our craft since she bought her first camera at the ripe age of 15. She’s also a very adept educator whose YouTube channel documents her photo journeys and ever-evolving skills.

She describes today’s quick episode like this: “I’ll guide you through everything you need to know—from understanding how the Tone Curve works to using Lightroom’s RGB color channels and the Picker tool for precise, cinematic results.”  Bottom line: whether you’re just starting out or want to take edits to the next level, this is the lesson that will finally make you add the Tone Curve to your Lightroom bag of tricks.

According to Born, the straightforward Tone Curve tool is super important because “it gives you full control over the light and contrast in an image and can completely change your edit.” She starts with the basics, illustrating that the Tone Curve is an easy-to-decipher graph. “On the horizonal axis from left to right you’re moving through the brightness range of an image, i.e. from shadows and midtones to highlights.”

The vertical axis, on the other hand, “illustrates how bright or dark those parts of the photo will become with the bottom being dark and the top being bright.” The key element in practical terms is a straight diagonal line the runs from the bottom left to the top right of the graph before any tonal adjustments are made.

This bright line represents your original photo as is appears and Born demonstrates how to manipulate this guideline to achieve the exact effect you’re after. Thus, if you pull down the line in the manner she suggests, the dark areas get event darker. Conversely, pulling the line upwards makes the highlights even brighter, “and this is a really easy way to enhance contrast.”

You’ll also learn why an “S-Curve” is a great place to start, depending upon specific characteristic of the image at hand. Hence, “you’ve just increased contrast in a very controlled, precise, and clean way without using Lightroom’s Contrast slider which often affects the entire image.”

Born delves into the foregoing with further details, and she provides a few other important aspects of this approach. She also explains why Lightroom’s Picker tool factors into the equation, and how the Tone Curve enables you to modify the mood of a photo with both natural and stylistic effects.

There are many more how-to videos on her instructional YouTube channel for photographers of all skill levels. And don’t miss the tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates five “game-changing” editing tricks that all Photoshop users should understand.

One common reason for unimpressive photos is a lack of attention-grabbing contrast with weak highlights and shadows, along with an insufficient difference between these two crucial elements. Today’s Lightroom tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel explains how to deal with high-contrast images and achieve a wide range of tones from bright whites to deep blacks, and everything in between.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a highly acclaimed German landscape photographer and one of our favorite post-processing experts. This 12-minute episode will help give your images more punch so that you’re not temped to punch a wall in frustration when photos are boring and flat. The trick is understanding the benefits of mid-tone contrast.

Mohrle  presents his workflow in the context of landscape photography, but everything you’ll learn will work wonders for all sorts of disappointing outdoor images. His sample shot was captured in a forest against the light, and we suggest downloading the Raw file with the link beneath the video so you can follow along and make the adjustments yourself as they’re explained.

The magic occurs at the at the 8:33-minute mark of the video, so if you’re just concerned with mid-tone contrast techniques you can jump straight there. But Mohrle kicks off the edit with some important basic adjustments, masking, and color grading to make his original shot as good as possible before proceeding. Thus, we suggest watching from beginning to end.

Mohrle begins by merging a sequence of multiple photos by selecting all five shots in the film strip, right-clicking, and choosing Photo Merge and then HDR from the dropdown menus that appear. The final result appears in the filmstrip, and Mohrle uses this merged file to apply his initial adjustments which start off by changing the Profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Landscape for reasons he explains.

Next Mohrle walks you through several quick global adjustments to the image as a whole, before turning to local enhancements that target specific areas in the frame with different tools. Then you’ll see how he improves the photo further with thoughtful color grading—just where’s it’s needed to balance out the tones.

With all the preliminaries out of the way, it’s finally time for the meat of the tutorial, namely, understanding the concept of midtone contrast and following Mohrle’s straightforward advice for putting this method to work. The PHLOG Photography YouTube channel is a great source of how-to viseoa, especially for landscape photographers, so be sure and take a look.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we featured with a 35-year pro who discusses three “huge” exposure mistakes and how to fix them fast to achieve photographs with perfectly balanced light every time.

Experienced photographers sympathize with the plight of those of you who are just getting started because all recall the early days when none of our images seemed to meet expectations. Today we’re enlisting the aid of long-time Australian pro Lachlan Garutti to shortcut your learning curve in a big way.

Garutti specializes in travel and adventure photography while driving through Europe in the van he calls home. Subscribers to his YouTube channel know him as “Lockie G” and appreciate his no-nonsense gear recommendations and no-fluff shooting tutorials. This eight-minute primer for beginners reveals what Garutti says are “six practical tips I wish I had learned sooner.” And you can start using them to boost your confidence today.

Don’t worry too much about digesting a bunch of technical stuff, because this lesson is more about mindset, process, and habits that will set you on the path toward success. Or as Garutti says, “just honest advice that will make you a better photographer

Garutti begins by listing a bunch of excuses you may have uttered yourself in frustration: How about, “there’s nothing around me to photograph,” or perhaps “I don’t live anywhere exciting.” And there are many, many more. If any of the excuses sound familiar it’s time to put them away for good.

Instead of searching for a non-existent quick fix, we suggest you follow Garutti’s six tips that all involve training your eye to see a good photo, “the number one skill that all new photographers need to improve.” His number one tip is simply to find more time for photography. Depending upon circumstances, this could mean getting up early and shooting before work, a willingness to get out there in less-than-ideal conditions, joining a camera club, or shooting sparkling cityscapes late at night.

Another solid bit of advice is to focus less on the technicalities of equipment whether you shoot with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or even a sophisticated smartphone. At the onset there are other more pressing considerations in terms of refining how you view the world around you and the many opportunities it provides for capturing striking imagery with simple gear.

There are six tips on the docket, and by the time you’re done watching you’ll be well on the way to developing the “art of seeing.” And those three words mean better photographs are coming soon. Be sure to visit Garutti’s unique YouTube channel that focuses on inspirational how-to videos for elevating your skills with whatever gear you own.

We recently featured a beginners guide from another popular instructor who explains why you shouldn’t believe everything you’ve heard about controlling depth of field when shooting photographs in the field.

Inexperienced Photoshop users take note: There’s actually a simple process for selecting and cutting out objects in a photo, and it’s perfect for achieving impressive edits and making attention-grabbing composites. This simple workflow from Sandra D Imagery can become yours in the next five minutes.

Sandra is an experienced photographer, digital artist, and Adobe Community Expert who leverages her skills to create easy-to-follow lessons like this one. Her sample image is a creation of a young munchkin sitting atop a stone wall, and we suggest downloading the file with the link beneath the video so you can follow along and mimic her moves in real time.

As with most Photoshop tasks there are various ways to cut this little boy out of the background and today’s fuss-free method delivers very effective results. Sandra begins by unlocking the first layer with the quick click of a button. Once you do that a contextual toolbar appears at the top left of the workspace, and Sandra says, “these are my go-to tools.”

Sandra describes how Photoshop’s Selection tools have evolved significantly throughout the years. She gets going by clicking on the Remove Background option to let Photoshop do the initial groundwork.

The resulting selection is surprisingly good, although Sandra says, “If I was looking for something that looked a little more detailed, I’d spend time masking to get the edges perfect.” But this is cutout is intended to small within within a composite so it’s fine as is.

Sandra zooms in on the cutout to illustrate the nice detail that already exists and admits there are a few things she could do if she wanted to go beyond the basics—one of which is using a Gray Layer to fine-tune masking. And she provides a link beneath the video if you want to take a deeper dive into this technique.

The next step is extracting her cutout of the boy and saving it as a PSD file or TIFF at your preference. Sandra explains that, “I do this because it has the mask attached. So if I put this on a background I can do a bit of simple tweaking.”

The remainder of the lesson walks you through a step-by-step process for getting the job done to create another eye-catching composite. There’s much more to learn on the Sandra D Imagery YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

And on a related note, don’t miss a tutorial we featured recently from another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to use the new AI-powered Remove Reflections tool in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Are you struggling with overexposed or underexposed photos? If so you’ve come to the right place today, as instructor Anthony Crothers identifies three common errors made by beginners and then demonstrates how to fix them fast.

Crothers is a British pro with 35 years of experience and two decades of teaching others what he’s learned along the way. His straightforward how-to tutorials are designed to help inexperienced shooters build confidence and improve their skills in a fun and engaging way.

Today’s eight-minute episode is all getting the light right every time, and it begins with this promise: “Whether you’re stuck in Auto mode, confused by the Exposure Triangle or ignoring your histogram, this beginners guide will help you take control of the camera and start capturing the images you imagined.”

Be sure to stick around until the end for a confidence-boosting bonus tip on exposure bracketing before switching to full Manual mode. You can also download Crothers’ free photography e-book with a link in the description beneath the video.

Shooting in Auto mode is at the top of the list and Crothers says, “it may seem like the safest option, but here’s the problem: Your camera doesn’t actually know what you’re trying to capture. It sees only light and color—not the mood, subject, or your creative vision.” In other words, this may be fine for simple snapshots, but not for challenging scenes like snowy landscapes, Golden Hour portraits, and other scenes where Auto mode can easily get things wrong.

Crothers moves on to the Exposure Triangle that describes an interplay between aperture, speed, and ISO for creating  balanced exposures. The problem here, according to Crothers, is that many photographers only pay attention to one of these settings while ignoring the others. He explains how all three of these essential elements combines to enhance photos in different ways.

Ignoring the histogram is also a recipe for cooking up images that don’t meet their potential, and Crothers demonstrates how you can easily use this important tool to advantage. By following his straightforward advice you’ll be able to nail exposure every time.

The video concludes with tips for using Exposure Bracketing to increase your odds of success. Be sure to download the free e-book mentioned above, and then visit Crothers’ instructional YouTube channel for more helpful tips and tricks.

Be sure to watch another quick primer we featured recently with a popular instructor who demonstrates how easy it can be to greatly improve photographs by following her practical advice for using on-camera flash.

Whether they be cherry blossoms in Tokyo, sunflowers in Indianapolis or saguaro cactus florets in Tucson, flowers have fascinated photographers since forever. We all photograph them—it’s a rite of spring where I live. Here are 10 tips that will guide you to better flower photos.

What Makes A Flower Photograph Good?
We call a flower photo “good” when the subject displays appropriate reproduction of color, intriguing shape and unique details. In other words, a good flower photo presents the same characteristics that attracted you to the living blossom in the first place.

But what makes a flower photograph magnificent? You do.

You apply your personal compositional style plus the technical skills that express the colors best, along with the most pleasing combination of sharpness and blur.

1. Gear Matters
Subject distance drives gear choices. The size of the minimum field-of-view is the critical factor here. If you can get close enough that your camera can capture an area about the size of a single sheet of copy paper (8.5 x 11) and nothing else, you can get close enough to get satisfying results. If you can cover a smaller field, say, a 3 x 5 index card, then you’re really on to something. When photographing flowers it’s important to isolate the flowers and exclude the distracting background, and you can’t often do that from three feet away.

Some high-end smartphones are capable of capturing reasonable close-ups, so they’re okay for flower snaps. That said, you’ll nearly always get better results with a close-focusing compact camera, mirrorless or DSLR.

Macro lenses, like the Tamron 90mm Macro we recently reviewed, allow you to focus within a few centimeters—in fact, with a 1:1 macro, the subject is recorded at life size on the sensor.

Smartphone users, if you want to get closer to the subject, consider a Tiffen Smartphone Filter Mount and a screw-in closeup filter. It’s compatible with iPhone models 13 through 16 and costs $29 without filter.

Tripods are indispensable for all close-up photography, flowers included. If you shoot with a smartphone you need an adapter to attach it to a tripod. The best I’ve found, hands down, is called Phil and is manufactured by 3 Legged Thing. Plan to shoot video? You need both of these accessories.

2. Shade & Cloudy Skies Are Good
You’ll get better results on cloudy days or by working in the shade (i.e., without harsh shadows and/or exaggerated contrasty lighting). Use a reflector to fill in darker areas and enhance available lighting overall. They’re affordable and easy to pack, deploy and use. If possible, have a second person hold the reflector in the right position. Alternatively, prop it against a second tripod, lawn chair or other stable object and secure it with removable painter’s tape.

3. Breeze is Bad
Even a breeze so slight that you can barely feel it can move a leaf or flower enough to blur the image. Fortunately, objects close to the ground are often shielded from the full effect, but be cautious anyway. If you’re really serious about shooting flowers on windy days, cut the top, bottom and one side from a large cardboard box and use the remaining U-shaped structure as a windbreak. Paint the inside walls white if you want to get fancy.

During close-up photography, exposure times (shutter speed) can be very long. This is especially true if you’re using a macro lens and small aperture for greater depth-of-field. Therefore, taming the breeze is critical.

You can make pleasant blurry images of flowers gently moving in the airstream too, but frankly, looking at those shots gets old fast and you probably won’t want to collect too many of them.

4. Out-of-Focus Can Be Cool
Because flowers are naturally very colorful, you can make appealing abstract images by intentionally shoot out-of-focus shots. Arguably, the best results come from a lens like Lensbaby which focuses manually and is purposefully full of rich unsharpness, aberrations and blur. Read our review of the Lensbaby system here.

If you like the blur effect, you can imitate it when you edit the image or you can use a soft-focus/diffusion filter, or other special effects filter like the Cokin Dreams Filter or Tiffen Glimmer Glass.

5. Play With Depth Of Field
DoF is defined as the zones of sharpness in front of and behind the sharpest point of focus in an image. The unsharp areas are referred to as bokeh. The sad truth is DoF diminishes as a) focal length increases, b) distance from camera to subject decreases, and c) diameter of the aperture (the f/stop) gets larger. So yeah, physics works against flower photographers like crazy.

The easiest way to control DoF is to first focus the lens and then adjust the distance between the camera and the subject until you discover the best shot. In fact, this is the easiest way to achieve sharp focus, too.

3 Spring Photos Ideas: Settings, Shooting Tips & More (VIDEO)

How to Use Flowers as a Prop for Boudoir Photography (VIDEO)

How To Get Closer with Your Lenses

The Best Spring Photography Tips for ALL Photographers

REVIEW: Tamron’s Amazing 90mm f/2.8 Di III Macro

REVIEW: Fujinon XF30mm f/2.8 Macro

6. Be Aware Of The Unseen
Spider webs, tiny insects, even just plain dirt and other things you didn’t notice can mysteriously appear on the flowers when you open them in Lightroom. Spider webs are a pain because they’re difficult to edit. And because spiders are such beneficial arachnids, their webs should not be disturbed. BTW, unless you have an allergy or melissophobia, don’t worry about the bees—they’re not interested in you one bit. Other unseen things, like gnomes, goblins and pixies, on the other hand, can be problematic.

7. Do Dew
Rain is good; water droplets add a dimension all their own. Don’t stand out in the rain—keep your equipment dry at all costs. But welcome rain and the raindrops that sparkle in your images. In the absence of a cloudburst, you can get similar drippy results using a spray bottle.

8. Better In Black & White?
Yes, sometimes. Flowers present seemingly endless arrays of repeating patterns. Often you can create a stronger image in black & white. The subtext here is that bright, colorful flowers can be presented in monochromatic tones and reflect a different kind of magic.

Photograph the subject in color and convert it to black & white during postprocessing—this procedure gives you much more control over how the hues are rendered.

9. Look Up
Flowering trees offer a multitude of angles and options. Dogwood flowers, for instance, are great subjects. A close-focusing zoom is more suitable than a straight macro for flowers at eyelevel and above your head.

10. Practice Mindful Post Processing
Don’t be tempted to over-sharpen or over-saturate! And go easy on the Creative Presets.

No image editor? Check out Zoner Photo Studio X. It’s powerful but affordable ($5.99 per month or $59 for a full year) or Adobe Photoshop Elements (around $99). Photoshop for the iPhone is a FREE app. Read about it here. And Snapseed is considered by many to the best FREE mobile editing app around.

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Visit our Gallery section and spend five minutes or less uploading your best shots once a week. You might even become a Shutterbug Photo of the Day photographer!

In the Galleries, you’ll see the incredible work of thousands of photographers from around the world. Please add your own images to our ever-growing collection. It’s an excellent platform to connect with other photographers and share your knowledge and passion for photography.

(If you’re worried that submitting images to the Photo of the Day gallery might be complicated, it’s not. Check out these short 1-2-3 directions.)

—Jon Sienkiewicz

Find more articles written by Jon Sienkiewicz.