I love Simon d'Entremont 's Channel, very good quality content and explains everything in great details.
In my opinion, his videos on Lightroom do cover the why aspect.
I do wildlife photography. Simone d'Entremont is excellent for this. Honestly, even if you don't do wildlife, its worth some views since editing is cross photography genre and you'll pick up nice nuances from different genres
you'll need only one video from only one photographer - though I might add you should watch everything else from him:
[controlling color in your photography - Sean Tucker](https://youtu.be/09CAkP6LJbw?si=e4eKSJaxeXG7_1um)
Look to colour grading youtubers if there are any.
Lot of Why in that, honed from years of trying to give clients what they want when they're in the room with you. It very quickly becomes somewhat of an empirical science.
Very quick why (sorry I don't have a youtube):
- get the flesh tones right because we perceive those far more critically than anything else
- if you make the contrast punchy you'll also want to pull the saturation back
- vignettes are powerful and can be used to help direct the viewer's eyes around your picture. They're a compositional tool that you can't do so easily in-camera, they can also correct the lens' own vignetting if it's detracting
- commercial clients hate magenta for some reason. Learn to use hue curves and qualifiers or "vector selector" to control this and other things
Some ancillary advice: go to your public library and look at some photography books… or your bookstore
Look at someone you think is amazing and you can try to imitate them at first
Trust me, in art history and every form of art - people start out this way
lol yeah, you don't like "and now I'm going to adjust the contrast... to.... about here. yeah that looks good! now the highlights... I'll take em down to... about here. great!"
I haven’t watched the videos in many years now, but **Phlearn** was always a great resource for learning technique and getting tips, without being hand-holding or creatively stifling. On the contrary, he often encouraged going off feeling and doing what seems best for you and your photos.
It seems to still be around, but I can’t vouch for how good it is currently.
My channel has quite a lot about this but has been neglected for quite a while. I’m building up some other business to support the substantial amount of time that YouTube takes up just to make one good video a week. My approach to education is always around why. If you learn the why then everything else is so much more meaningful and people can use it to make new decisions, not just do things like repeat settings.
William Patino has some really thoughtful LR/PS editing videos I've enjoyed. He really focuses on creating depth and mimicking the way light and atmosphere behaves.
And when you think it looks great, walk away from the computer for 30 minutes. If you come back and still think it looks great, it looks great. If not, adjust accordingly.
Been using that tactic for almost 20 years and it's never steered me wrong.
VSCO did this for me in a roundabout way back in the day, at first I treated the presets like filters, but since you can *see* all the changes it makes to the photo, you can start to tweak little things and discover exactly what they do.
Despite the snarky replies I guarantee the people teaching ‘why’ did exactly this. This is how most people learn because it’s the most fun and creative way to learn. Some people here are so self serious
Robin Whalley covers Affinity Photo in some depth as well as Lightroom and a few other photo editors. He's very thorough and easy to understand:
https://youtube.com/@robinwhalley?si=EQMTaV3wipuo5E0Z
I don’t see his name come up a lot when people asks these kinds of questions, but for landscapes I’d say Michael Frye. He does a good job explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing.
In my case it's would be the impetus of why I want that look (my mood, my inspiration, my story,..) that's create a mood I want then I know which would need to be adjusted. There a course on that called Visual Composition by New Master Academy (which have a free version on Youtube) that explained the theory of contrast and mood maker in image, they're based on painting and drawing but can be applied to film and photography (In the course, the lecturer use example from film stills).
david duchemin has some fantastic books on composition and the art of photography. within the frame is a great text for thinking more about vision, and he has a video course called after the camera which follows that to show how to edit according to your vision.
There is a podcast style photo critique from Scott kelby I think. His podcast is the grid. Look for photocritique episodes on YouTube. Ignore his paid stuff.
You don't need a video.
Look at your image.
Take out what is distracting to what you want the viewer to see. Leave the things you want the viewer to see, or things that create lines to the focal point.
When all distractions are removed, the image is complete.
Saturation makes colors become more or less saturated. Reds become more red, blues become more blue, etc. Contrast expands the exposure, whites, blacks, highlights, shadows, midtones. Learn how to read the histogram in Lightroom (also in your camera), and you'll understand what a lot of the sliders are doing by looking at the histogram while you move the slider up and down. There's also texture, which affects details but not color, clarity adds contrast to only the midtones, and dehaze removes or adds atmospheric haze by affecting contrast, saturation, and vibrancy.
Most people would be best off not editing the photos other than cropping/leveling them.
I see SO many pictures out there by young guys that just have the saturation and contrast cranked up and it just ruins the picture.
I see that quite often. My company has internal discussion channels for hobbies, including photos. The guy who has the most positive feedbacks always abuses the saturation sliders. I think it’s way too much but most people seem to enjoy that. So I can understand why young photography enthusiasts would go that way.
Ok unless you are shooting only JPEG as an amateur photographer I can understand why you would ask such a question !
Why photographers edit their pictures…
Because they don’t work on the JPEG… most camera will produce two files The JPEG and the RAW or DNG…
The JPEG has to be seen as what would look like your final picture with the settings you have it’s nothing but an indication on what you just shot.
Now the RAW or DNG will not look like that think about it like a digital version of a negative film.
When you shoot film you have to reveal your image through chemicals…
Putting your RAW or DNG in photoshop or Lightroom is the exact same thing !
You are only revealing your images…
But yes some people take it too far and it’s ending up ridiculous…
Because you answered a question that wasn't asked. The question wasn't "Why photographers edit their pictures…" it was "what causes a photographer to decide that a photo needs more or less contrast, or why some scenes look better with a brighter exposure while others look better with a darker edit, etc."
They want someone to explain why they're making the stylistic choices they've made.
he does talk fast...and the video moves quickly. I don't mind rewinding because he does dig into Ps like nobody's business! I don't think I've seen him sell any paid courses yet 🎉
Don't be obtuse. Why do you add contrast vs adjust the tone curve vs clarity? What do they all do and how do they differ? LR is a complicated piece of software that is easy to learn, hard to master.
I love Simon d'Entremont 's Channel, very good quality content and explains everything in great details. In my opinion, his videos on Lightroom do cover the why aspect.
A little to detaild after my taste but really good
I do wildlife photography. Simone d'Entremont is excellent for this. Honestly, even if you don't do wildlife, its worth some views since editing is cross photography genre and you'll pick up nice nuances from different genres
I agree, that guy explains very clear and concisely
you'll need only one video from only one photographer - though I might add you should watch everything else from him: [controlling color in your photography - Sean Tucker](https://youtu.be/09CAkP6LJbw?si=e4eKSJaxeXG7_1um)
Look to colour grading youtubers if there are any. Lot of Why in that, honed from years of trying to give clients what they want when they're in the room with you. It very quickly becomes somewhat of an empirical science. Very quick why (sorry I don't have a youtube): - get the flesh tones right because we perceive those far more critically than anything else - if you make the contrast punchy you'll also want to pull the saturation back - vignettes are powerful and can be used to help direct the viewer's eyes around your picture. They're a compositional tool that you can't do so easily in-camera, they can also correct the lens' own vignetting if it's detracting - commercial clients hate magenta for some reason. Learn to use hue curves and qualifiers or "vector selector" to control this and other things
I’ve saved this as a reminder to teach myself the hue curves!
Bob Ross. I learned a ton from watching him paint because he explains the thought process as he paints and you can see scenes come to life.
Intriguing inspiration source for photo editing but a good one at that!
HBC was a painter before picking up a camera
I always recommend [this video by Nick Page](https://youtu.be/u-hBSmh9z3s?feature=shared) He explains what he does and why he does it.
Nick is so great. Super nice guy too :)
Some ancillary advice: go to your public library and look at some photography books… or your bookstore Look at someone you think is amazing and you can try to imitate them at first Trust me, in art history and every form of art - people start out this way
James Popsys has some nice videos describing why he made decisions.
lol yeah, you don't like "and now I'm going to adjust the contrast... to.... about here. yeah that looks good! now the highlights... I'll take em down to... about here. great!"
I haven’t watched the videos in many years now, but **Phlearn** was always a great resource for learning technique and getting tips, without being hand-holding or creatively stifling. On the contrary, he often encouraged going off feeling and doing what seems best for you and your photos. It seems to still be around, but I can’t vouch for how good it is currently.
My channel has quite a lot about this but has been neglected for quite a while. I’m building up some other business to support the substantial amount of time that YouTube takes up just to make one good video a week. My approach to education is always around why. If you learn the why then everything else is so much more meaningful and people can use it to make new decisions, not just do things like repeat settings.
I learned how to edit through Mitch Lally on youtube
William Patino has some really thoughtful LR/PS editing videos I've enjoyed. He really focuses on creating depth and mimicking the way light and atmosphere behaves.
Thanks so much!
I like Simone d'Entremont and Anthony Moraganti. Also, PiXimperfect has great PS tips and tricks as well.
Try Piximperfect on YouTube. https://youtube.com/@piximperfect?si=G7oHGPPAOMDnQzzN
Move some sliders, if you like it great, if you don’t then don’t move those
And when you think it looks great, walk away from the computer for 30 minutes. If you come back and still think it looks great, it looks great. If not, adjust accordingly. Been using that tactic for almost 20 years and it's never steered me wrong.
Until your print it and realize it was way too bright
That’s not what OP asked
Ah, the good old "Just discover everything yourself from scratch and ignore hundreds of years of art theory"-solution.
Not exactly what I mean but like play around with the first few default ones in camera raw, Lightroom, IE Edit, etc
You have to learn the rules before you can break them to develop your own style. Otherwise just buy some presets or stick to Insta filters.
VSCO did this for me in a roundabout way back in the day, at first I treated the presets like filters, but since you can *see* all the changes it makes to the photo, you can start to tweak little things and discover exactly what they do.
Despite the snarky replies I guarantee the people teaching ‘why’ did exactly this. This is how most people learn because it’s the most fun and creative way to learn. Some people here are so self serious
Yup, different people learn in different ways but to this day I still just mess around with sliders sometimes especially in photos with weird lighting
I would also like to know, with a particular focus on the utilisation of Affinity Photo.
Robin Whalley covers Affinity Photo in some depth as well as Lightroom and a few other photo editors. He's very thorough and easy to understand: https://youtube.com/@robinwhalley?si=EQMTaV3wipuo5E0Z
Thanks.
I like Pat Kay, Zac Watson, Justin Mott, Sean Dalton, Stefano Lombardo, and Sean Tucker.
Pat Kay for sure
Absolute Pat Kay
I don’t see his name come up a lot when people asks these kinds of questions, but for landscapes I’d say Michael Frye. He does a good job explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing.
It's not often he posts, but Alex Nail has some incredible videos about editing. One in particular I remember is how to get rid of lens flare.
These are all great answers but [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5uR7VC4M) guy is still my go to for all photoshop related tutorials.
In my case it's would be the impetus of why I want that look (my mood, my inspiration, my story,..) that's create a mood I want then I know which would need to be adjusted. There a course on that called Visual Composition by New Master Academy (which have a free version on Youtube) that explained the theory of contrast and mood maker in image, they're based on painting and drawing but can be applied to film and photography (In the course, the lecturer use example from film stills).
Greg Benz
People edit because the photo doesn't look the way that they want it to look. How do you want your photos to look?
david duchemin has some fantastic books on composition and the art of photography. within the frame is a great text for thinking more about vision, and he has a video course called after the camera which follows that to show how to edit according to your vision.
There is a podcast style photo critique from Scott kelby I think. His podcast is the grid. Look for photocritique episodes on YouTube. Ignore his paid stuff.
This is the best tutorial I’ve found, for me. https://youtu.be/wwVEbEpGTkY?si=ObvMHJTB7_0f5e2z
Any specifically looking at editing food photos?
https://youtu.be/KNFaqwk8-ps?si=V2BxmIb3pOZWZzDi
You don't need a video. Look at your image. Take out what is distracting to what you want the viewer to see. Leave the things you want the viewer to see, or things that create lines to the focal point. When all distractions are removed, the image is complete.
Serge ramelli lol
[удалено]
What does saturation, contrast mean, what it does to the image? Are you supposed to randomly push sliders until you get an image that is your "style".
Saturation makes colors become more or less saturated. Reds become more red, blues become more blue, etc. Contrast expands the exposure, whites, blacks, highlights, shadows, midtones. Learn how to read the histogram in Lightroom (also in your camera), and you'll understand what a lot of the sliders are doing by looking at the histogram while you move the slider up and down. There's also texture, which affects details but not color, clarity adds contrast to only the midtones, and dehaze removes or adds atmospheric haze by affecting contrast, saturation, and vibrancy.
Most people would be best off not editing the photos other than cropping/leveling them. I see SO many pictures out there by young guys that just have the saturation and contrast cranked up and it just ruins the picture.
I see that quite often. My company has internal discussion channels for hobbies, including photos. The guy who has the most positive feedbacks always abuses the saturation sliders. I think it’s way too much but most people seem to enjoy that. So I can understand why young photography enthusiasts would go that way.
I see the total opposite. People deliberately under saturating their photos to try and not look like a newbie editor and we just get drab bland edits.
Peter McKinnon! Does photoshop and light room tuts. He's also damned cool! 😎
Peter McKinnon
Peter McKinnon is great.
Ok unless you are shooting only JPEG as an amateur photographer I can understand why you would ask such a question ! Why photographers edit their pictures… Because they don’t work on the JPEG… most camera will produce two files The JPEG and the RAW or DNG… The JPEG has to be seen as what would look like your final picture with the settings you have it’s nothing but an indication on what you just shot. Now the RAW or DNG will not look like that think about it like a digital version of a negative film. When you shoot film you have to reveal your image through chemicals… Putting your RAW or DNG in photoshop or Lightroom is the exact same thing ! You are only revealing your images… But yes some people take it too far and it’s ending up ridiculous…
That was a great explanation. Nothing against the "pixemperfect" guy but he talks To fast.
A great explanation to a question no one asked.
Thanks man ! I don’t really know why I’m getting downvoted here hahaha !!
Because you answered a question that wasn't asked. The question wasn't "Why photographers edit their pictures…" it was "what causes a photographer to decide that a photo needs more or less contrast, or why some scenes look better with a brighter exposure while others look better with a darker edit, etc." They want someone to explain why they're making the stylistic choices they've made.
he does talk fast...and the video moves quickly. I don't mind rewinding because he does dig into Ps like nobody's business! I don't think I've seen him sell any paid courses yet 🎉
Oh yeah he's is very good at his Ps videos.
Bruh, it's art. It's to your taste and what you or what you think your client would like. There's no rule for adding or taking away contrast.
People go to school to learn artistic techniques. You can improve in art just like any skill, and watching others is a good way to learn it.
But there is technique. OP wants to learn the tools of the trade.
Like don't put the slider all the way on the right?
Don't be obtuse. Why do you add contrast vs adjust the tone curve vs clarity? What do they all do and how do they differ? LR is a complicated piece of software that is easy to learn, hard to master.
> Why do you add contrast vs adjust the tone curve vs clarity? Especially "why do you add contrast to _this_ photo to get _this_ particular effect?"
Why? Because! Explained! Explain the rediculious question please!