Adobe recently celebrated Photoshop’s 35^th birthday, and the software has become more and more powerful with every update. That’s why is so surprising that that after three-and-a-half decades Photoshop still lacks a simple, straightforward tool for eliminating those ugly color casts that will spoil image quality in a hurry.

Therefore, it’s up to us to resolve these unsightly problems with various methods, some of which are easier to accomplish and more effective than others. Today’s tutorial from instructor Todd Dominey demonstrates four techniques for fixing this common issue—three of which are fast and super simple, while the fourth is slightly more time-consuming but delivers solid, predictable results.

Dominey is a professional landscape photographer who is very generous about sharing his favorite shooting and post-processing techniques and you can view a list of his preferred gear in the description beneath the video. In the next 11 minutes you’ll learn what he considers the best ways to precisely adjust color temperature and rehabilitate images with a color palette that’s less than ideal.

The first simple technique on Dominey’s list takes less than three minutes to explain and it’s even faster to put into practice. His sample photo is a nicely composed lakeside scene that’s far too warm to appear pleasing and realistic. This approach may be familiar if you’re accustomed to editing Raw files, and it takes place within Photoshop’s Layers panel.

All you have to do is make a duplicate background layer, navigate to Photoshop’s Filters panel, choose the Camera Raw option from the dropdown, and follow Dominey’s quick instructions. Interestingly, the image isn’t technically a Raw file but Dominey explains that we can still use Camera Raw to adjust contrast, add clarity and dehaze, enhance colors, and modify other key attributes.

Another method for resolving an unwanted color cast calls upon a Curves layer to make the fix. By using a simple keyboard shortcut and clicking on the Auto button you can quickly adjust contrast, both the white point and black point, and there are multiple options from which to choose.

The lesson concludes by demonstrating two more foolproof techniques for getting the job done, and Dominey explains the best options to choose based upon the characteristics of the image at hand. So choose your weapon wisely and banish those ugly colors once and for all. Then head over to Dominey’s popular YouTube channel where you’ll find many more instructional videos on common post-processing topics.

Be sure not to miss the tutorial we featured with another image-editing expert who demonstrates how easy it is to enhance dynamic range for vivid photographs with maximum detail and tonal balance.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all you had to do to nail focus is push a magic button? Unfortunately, sharp photos take a lot more than that. Today’s tutorial with instructor Jan Wegener reveals several oft-ignored tweaks and techniques that enable him to consistently achieve superior results. You can do the same by following his straightforward advice.

Wegener is a notable Australian pro whose been an accomplished bird photographer for more than two decades. He says, “I love helping others in their quest to capture and edit stunning nature photos and choose the best gear for the job.” The techniques he reveals today transcend photographing our feather friends and work wonders for other popular genres—especially when a subject is in motion.

Our job as photographers, according to Wegener, “is to help the camera’s autofocus system as much as possible. If we do, we’re rewarded with great results.” In other words, you won’t need a magic button if you dial in the appropriate camera settings and employ the shooting techniques he explains in the next 14 minutes.

Wegener provides this quick teaser at the onset: “Did you know that tilting your camera on an angle can actually help you acquire focus in many situations?” If not, stay tuned. He imparts a variety of other simple-and-effective methods with which you may be unfamiliar.

A second technique that can be used in any scenario is to go from wide to tight. There are actually two important steps involved in this practice, and Wegener describes the concept like this: “The less our camera ‘s AF system has to search for a subject, the better our results will be.” This trick involves pre-focusing on an area at a similar distance to where you expect a moving subject to appear.

Another important consideration, especially with shooting with long lenses, is that it can be difficult to locate a fast-moving subject within the viewfinder. These is where a zoom lens can be very helpful if you first pull back to a wide view to acquire your subject before zooming in tight to capture the shot at high magnification.

Wegener describes how to overcome other frustrating struggles by setting AF speed properly, and choosing the best focusing mode for the specific situation at hand. In this regard you’ll learn why, when, and how Spot, Zone, or Wide mode will enable you to nail focus with precision.

Wegener’s popular YouTube channel contains many more how-to videos like this one, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

We also recommend watching our earlier tutorial featuring another expert outdoor shooter who demonstrates four methods for controlling “depth perception” to create landscape, wildlife, and nature photographs with maximum impact.

The whole point of post-processing is to enhance images with a realistic look. Take the right approach and you have a successful image but doing things wrong can be worse than no editing at all. This quick Lightroom tutorial from the Aftershoot YouTube channel guides you through seven common Lightroom errors that not only slow down your workflow but can easily spoil a an otherwise nice shot.

Instructor Emma hosts the popular channel with the goal of “equipping photographers with the knowledge and tools needed to enhance photography skills while streamlining the process.”  Today’s seven-minute episode demonstrates the best way to use straightforward tools to keep you on track.

Emma breaks down her advice in into four categories: Over-editing colors, mastering keyboard shortcuts, achieving perfect white balance, and using star ratings and flags to keep all your images organized so you can find them with ease. It all happens in the next 10 minutes. She kicks off the lesson by saying, “I know it can be difficult to hear what you’ve been doing wrong, but this awareness makes us better photographers.”

At the top of her list is a heavy-handed approach to color adjustments, and this holds true for conventional enhancements as well as when exercising your creative freedom to create a unique or out-of-the box effect. She puts it like this: “Make sure you’re not messing with the Hue sliders so much that the tones no longer resemble the original colors.”

Another familiar faux pax is not taking advantage of the many keyboard shortcuts that can help get the job done quickly and efficiently. She explains some of her favorites, especially for certain regularly used actions like rotating a photo, so that it’s not necessary to dig into the menu or scroll down through various options in the panel on your screen.

Tip #3 is a big one because it’s all about achieving accurate white balance, and this is one technique that requires slowing your roll if you want accurate results. There are many methods for refining colors and Emma describes how they work, one of which is using pure white for comparison.

At this point you’re only midway through the lesson, with four more essential tips for avoiding common errors, so watch until the end and then modify your everyday Lightroom workflow accordingly. Then check out the instructional Aftershoot YouTube channel where there are many more post-processing tip and techniques to be found.

And speaking of unfortunate mistakes, don’t miss the recent tutorial we featured with another adept pro who reveals several common errors that photographers make when shooting with a 50mm prime lens.

Dynamic range is a crucial concept in photography that describes the range of tones from the brightest highlights to the darkest shadows in an image. This comprehensive guide from the Hamed Photography YouTube channel explains how to enhance these attributes in the camera and during post processing.

It’s important to understand that the human eye can perceive a much broader range of light intensities that even the most sophisticated cameras. When looking at a bright landscape, for example, we can see details in both the sky and shadow areas, but a camera struggles to do the same. That’s because most modern cameras have a limited dynamic range of between 12-15 stops.

Therefore, when a scene encompasses a greater range of tones, either the highlights get blown out or the shadows are overly dark and devoid of detail.  Hamed explains that, “to overcome these limitations it’s necessary to employ HDR settings, Auto Exposure Bracketing (AED), or Active D-Lighting (ADL) to capture a greater amount of light and shadow.

These techniques are useful for landscapes, low-light and night photography, and shooting indoors in dimly-lit environments. Conversely, these methods are less effective when photographing moving subjects. And HDR may not even be necessary when a single exposure captures sufficient detail for a reasonably balanced shot.

Hamed runs you through everything you need to know to use various methods for creating images that look realistic. He explains that HDR works by capturing at least three images of the scene, each at a slightly different exposure—one at the camera’s metered level, another at one or more stops under, and a third that’s slightly overexposed. These shots are then combined to create one final image.

AEB is a camera feature that’s ideal for high-contrast landscapes, backlit portraits, and other challenging situations. ADL is another important tool found on Nikon cameras, and it’s similar to what Canon calls Auto Lighting Optimizer. Regardless of the nomenclature, this mode enhances shadow and highlight detail in real time—improving dynamic range without requiring multiple exposures.

Hamed’s best practices for HDR Photography include using a tripod and shooting in Raw and being very careful to avoid overprocessing. Spend 14 minutes learning the finer points of these straightforward methods and you’ll have no trouble nailing exposure every time.

We suggest visiting the Hamed Photography YouTube channel often to discover additional powerful tips and techniques.

And don’t miss a tutorial we shared earlier from another accomplished pro who demonstrates how to unlock dramatic backlighting effects and capture spectacular nature, wildlife, and landscape photographs.

Last week we featured an interesting tutorial demonstrating why every landscape shooter should experiment with telephoto lenses, and the camera settings and techniques that deliver uncommon images in the field. We’re following up on that today with five unconventional methods for capturing unique wide-angle photographs in ways you may not have tried in the past.

Utah based instructor Austin James Jackson belongs to new generation of landscape photographers with a unique vision and a willingness to explore a variety of new techniques. As he says, “The wide-angle lens is one of the most popular and enjoyable tools for landscape photography but creating jaw-dropping images with it isn’t as easy as you think.”

In this eight-minute episode Jackson demonstrates five straightforward techniques for shooting compelling wide-angle photos in the field. Jackson is specifically referring to ultra-wide lenses that he defines as anything wider than 20mm. However, most of what you’ll learn translates equally to less extreme wide-angle focal lengths.

Jackson illustrates these techniques with a variety of beautiful photos, most of which were captured at focal lengths between 14mm and 18mm. He kicks off the episode with an oft-ignored method that’s one of his favorites; namely, using wide-angle distortion to your advantage rather than trying to avoid it.

He explains the concept like this: “Anything in the center of an image will appear fatter and a lot more rounded, while things on the edges of the frame with appear stretched.” Hence, architectural photographers often prefer tilt-shift lenses because they enable them to adjust perspective and keep lines straight. Jackson demonstrates how to use this distortion to advantage with whatever wide-angle lens you own.

Another simple trick for eye-catching imagery involves what Jackson refers to as “not forcing a foreground when there isn’t anything interesting close to the camera.” In other words, including an overly busy foreground can actually make an image worse by diverting attention from the most compelling elements in the frame.

As the video proceeds, you’ll learn other conventional wisdom to avoid, why thin lens filters are a must, and how attention to detail factors into the equation. Bottom line: It takes a bit of finesse to produce portfolio-quality landscape photos with your trusty wide-angle lens.

Jackson’s instructional YouTube channel is a great resourse for landscape shooters who want to elevate their skills, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

And don’t forget to watch the tutorial mentioned above so you’ll understand how to switch things up by experimenting with a telephoto lens for landscape photographs that break the mold.

Most beginning photographers are taught to shoot will the sun at their back and avoid composing scenes with the sun behind their subject. While that technique is super easy, it often results in photos that could best be described as snapshots.

Today we’ll encourage you to be more inventive and creative by switching up your vantage point and experimenting with backlighting for a far more artistic look. Here’s how instructor Shelley Pearson summarizes today’s six-minute tutorial: “In this video I dive into the magic of backlighting in bird and wildlife photography, sharing essential techniques for creating stunning, dramatic effects.”

The value of everything you’ll learn is equally valuable for other genres as well, whether you’re shooting a landscape with an important inanimate object in the frame, making dynamic environmental portraits, or even shooting on the street. Pearson is a longtime Australian pro whose goal is “to share my love of photography, wildlife, and the natural world—with tips, techniques, and insights for photographers of all skill levels.”

Pearson covers a lot of ground in less than six minutes, so we suggest being prepared to jot down a few notes for future reference. Thoughtful composition is a big part of the process, and she describes how to identify perfect backlight for breathtaking images. Her tips include how to modify your vantage point and employ unusual camera angles to accentuate these backlit effects.

She explains how to “play with exposure; namely, when to go lighter or darker depending upon the specific scene at hand. Another important topic is understanding the best methods for creating captivating bokeh and rim light around a subject for images with a very unique appearance.

You’ll want to configure the camera in a way that differs from when conventional photography is the name of the game, and Pearson walks you through all the important settings. She also describes the best times of day for getting the job done to perfection, and how to use your newfound skills to capture dramatic silhouette photos.

Take a look at Pearson’s instructional YouTube channel once the video concludes for more helpful tips and techniques from down under.

And on a related note, be sure to watch a tutorial we featured earlier with another accomplished pro who demonstrates the finer points of creating spectacular silhouette photographs, with camera settings, exposure metering, shooting techniques, and more.

We frequently share expert advice for getting the light right to make images with perfectly balanced tones from light to dark and everything in between. This tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel demonstrates an unconventional approach for creating stunning landscape images like the one you see above.

The concept involves using masks to selectively overexpose specific portions in the frame, while leaving other areas untouched—a straightforward technique for transforming ho-hum mages into those that really grab attention.

Instructor Christian Mohrle begins with a drab, unimpressive, minimalist shot, and we encourage you to follow along in real time by downloading his sample Raw file with a link in the description beneath the 12-minute video. It’s all about using Lightroom to introduce an eye-catching light effect with a realistic look that stands out from the crowd.

Mohrle explains the interesting process like this: “Usually for scenes like this I’d begin by merging an HDR to maximize all the details in both highlights and shadows. In this case, however, I want to keep clipping the highlights on purpose to introduce dramatic light entering the frame behind the subject.”

The good news is there’s sufficient information in the shadows to restore detail in all of those areas. Mohrle always kicks of his workflow with a few global adjustments that provide him with a solid base image from which to work. For this shot he increases exposure, opens the shadows to reveal a bit more detail in the trees, and drops the blacks for the heightened contrast he desires.

Other preliminary enhancements include using Lightroom’s Highlights slider to precisely refine the amount of clipping for a softer transition, increasing Texture, and gently dropping Clarity and Dehaze to accentuate the atmospheric look with an appealing glow in the upper left of the frame. He also increases Vibrance and Saturation, and modifies White Balance by boosting color temperature to introduce significantly warmer tones.

Today’s magic begins once Mohrle’s base image is complete and he now turns to local enhancements with masks, thoughtful color grading, and very careful sharpening. He then demonstrates how to remove a few distracting sensor spots that compromise image quality. We trust that you’ll be duly impressed once you evaluate his before/after examples.

The PHLOG Photography YouTube channel is full of instructional shooting and post-processing videos of interest to everyone who shoots in the field.

And be sure to watch our timely video that demonstrates eight simple tips that anyone can use to capture perfectly exposed photographs when bright snow covers the landscape.

Photographers love their affordable, fast, and easy-to-carry “nifty fifty” lenses that can be used to capture a wide range of scenes from landscapes and portraits to nature photos and more. When your images fail to meet expectations, and you’re not sure why, it’s likely because you’re making one or more common mistakes when shooting with a 50mm prime.

Instructor Martin Castein is a London-based landscape and portrait photographer with more than a few tricks up his sleeve. In this eight-minute episode he explains why images with a nifty fifty look a bit different, the big mistakes a lot of photographers make, and the best way to create great compositions with this standard prime lens.

Castein begins with a discussion of perspective and the variables you must understand for thoughtful, effective framing that differ from the approach you take with wider or longer focal lengths. As he says, by doing things right, “you can have the best of an 85mm telephoto and a 35mm wide-angle combined. And that’s why many photographers are so excited about the oft-ignored 50mm option.”

One consideration is that the closer you get to tall subjects, the more the angle tilts as you strive to include everything into the frame. Other problems occur, in reverse, when shooting down from a high camera position. Castein explains that, unlike with a normal lens, these converging verticals become visually acceptable and appear intentional when you get to a certain point with wide-angle photography.

On the other hand, short telephotos like an 85mm “force you to move back far enough so that these corrections happen naturally.” That’s because shooting from a greater distance tends to flatten out the perspective because you can often shoot straight on, rather than being forced to tilt the camera up or down.

Castein says the one big challenge with 50mm lenses is that “you’re slap bang in the middle, and what we get can be slightly off” unless you take advantage of the composition techniques that he recommends for taking advantage of everything that your nifty fifty can do. There’s nothing difficult to learn, except a slight shift in your mindset and the camera angles you choose.

There’s much more to learn about landscape photography on Castein’s popular YouTube channel, so be sure to take a close look.

And speaking of lens techniques, don’t miss the tutorial we posted last week from another landscape photography expert who demonstrates why every serious outdoor shooter needs a telephoto lens and how to use it to capture attention-grabbing images that stand out from the crowd.

The sky is  usually a critical element of nature scenes, landscapes, and many other photos you capture in the field, and here’s what post-processing expert Matt Kloskowski says about this matter: “Before we can even work on the sky, we need to understand how to mask it before applying various tools and enhancements.”

Matt is an accomplished photographer, prolific author, and Photoshop Hall of Fame inductee whose mission “is to create videos that simplify the process of shooting great photos and editing them to get the results you’ve always wanted.” This quick episode demonstrates which Sky Selection tool works best depending on the specific image at hand.

There are several methods from which to choose and they all work a bit differently and are useful for different tasks. A familiarity with various techniques provides you with another option to fall back on when the first attempt falls short of expectations. And these are exactly what you’ll learn in the next nine minutes.

Matt’s demonstration takes place in the Masking panel, and his tips work exactly the same in any Adobe Raw editor you use, whether it’s Photoshop, Lightroom, or Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). You’ll also see why it can be important to apply a few global adjustments to an image before introducing sky selections for local enhancements.

The Select Sky tool is the option that Matt typically reaches for first and he demonstrates how this approach works to enhance details in a lakeside scene with an overly bright sky. This includes  an easy method for using a b&w overlay to refine a selection that isn’t absolutely perfect. In this case he employs a small brush with a low flow setting to include a portion of the distant mountains within his mask.

When this approach causes problems your second line of defense is to is to apply a Linear Gradient instead, and Matt walks you through the simple step-by-step procedure with another landscape photo that poses other challenges. This technique works somewhat like a Graduated ND filter when your goal is to modify the sky without biasing the tones of everything that falls below.

This method allows you to easily feather an edge and control a transition from hard to soft. And simple sliders get the job done in a hurry. The foregoing illustrates just two of the Sky Selection tools available, and the remainder of episode is devoted to other methods worthy of your attention.

Once the video concludes you may want to check out Kloskowski’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find many more image-editing tips and techniques.

We also encourage you to watch an earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates several “insanely powerful” color-editing tools that anyone can use to create jaw-dropping outdoor photographs.

Lightroom is loaded with sophisticated tools that enable anyone to adjust colors to perfection. Unfortunately, many inexperienced users shy away from these transformational techniques because of a misconception that “advanced” means “too complicated for me.”

This comprehensive post-processing lesson with instructor Austin James Jackson will disabuse you of this common notion by explaining that the only thing advanced about these tools is the remarkable results they provide, and not any difficulty with putting them to use. Today’s 19-minute primer is demonstrated with Lightroom Classic, but Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) offers many of these tools and technique as well.

Jackson is a professional landscape photographer based in Southern, Utah. He’s also an image-editing expert and kicks of the video like this: “This workflow falls outside most of the basic tips you’ve heard elsewhere, and I’m going to explain Point Color and how make selective adjustments with the Masking tool to refine colors in all types of outdoor photos.”

Not all landscape scenes require the same approach, which is why Jackson illustrates his tips with images that have different color-balance problems that need to be resolved. His first example demonstrates why HSL sliders simply aren’t good enough to provide absolutely precise results. This is partly due to the fact that these global enhancement introduce the same tones through the entire frame.

It’s easy to resolve this familiar problem by understanding how Lightroom’s Point Color tool works with selections. In simple terms, this is the process: Click on the Eyedropper and sample from the photo to create a swatch. “Then, that’s the color that will be adjusted whenever you click on similar colors within the frame—even if they’re not adjacent or in close proximity.

You’ll also learn how to control Range, either broader or more restrictive, based upon the swatch you’ve selected. This technique enables you to refine hue, saturation or luminance (or all three). It’s important to remember that “these adjustments only affect the selection, not the entire image.”

The lesson proceeds with step-by-step directions for employing masks for other selective adjustments and culminates with a demonstration of how to employ your newfound knowledge “to make the color in sunsets photos “pop” while retaining a natural-looking result.

Jackson’s popular YouTube channel is full of instructional videos for everyone who shoots in the field and edits their results for optimum results.

We also recommend watching a tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates an “essential” preliminary editing step that many shooters ignore, thereby limiting the effectiveness of every adjustment that follows.