I’m so excited about this new monthly series we are going to do. If you are like me you are curious how photographers edit certain images. Each month, one of us will edit an image of ours. Some months it may be a simple edit while other months it may be more complex.
I captured this adorable image. Unfortunately, it is underexposed. Watch this short video (3:45 min) to see how I take the image from start to finish.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you are the first to see the videos when they are uploaded. You don’t want to miss out on any of these tips!
Fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!! Glad you liked it!
I’ve been reading your blog for a long time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever commented. I really like the videos you’ve been doing lately, this one in particular. I’ve just started using Lightroom this year (LR4) so these tips are quite helpful. I’d love it if you’d consider doing video of your editing workflow in Lightroom.
Hey Corey!! You should comment more often :) Glad you are enjoying all the videos! They are fun to do. I have an old post on my workflow. Several things have changed but some I still do it the same way. http://clickitupanotch.com/2010/10/lightroom-workflow/
Oh wonderful! Thank you! :D
I’m soo flipping excited I just learned about the dropper and I have had LR3 for about a year! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Oh you will love the eye dropper! :)
Awesome Courtney! It’s just so nice to see how other people do things differently and why. Love it!
So glad you enjoyed it!! I think it’s going to be a fun series!
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for posting this. I am new to photography and photo editing so I am always looking for tips!
Fantastic! Let me know if you have any questions!
oooh, I like this idea! and WOW the edit was awesome…. seriously I never knew that little dropper thing existed… there’s so much to learn!!
Thanks! You’ll love the eye dropper! So useful!
I love this!! Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to more of these using lightroom!
I just love LR! You can find more tips here – http://clickitupanotch.com/category/lightroom/
I tried to view this on both UTube and your website and I couldn’t hear anything :( I had both my computer volume way up and the volume on the video but still nothing. Anything I’m doing wrong? Just thought you should know :)
Oh no! Were you able to get it fixed? I don’t know why you can’t hear it :(
Cheers to you Courtney! Great video … I’m guilty of getting a few of these in my mix from time-to-time. Made notes to the take-aways and will certainly be using your tips in my future editing. L.O.V.E. editing in LR3 {haven’t upgraded either}.
Keep up the great work and thank you for all that you do! ~jan
Thanks so much!!! :)
Hey Courtney,
Quick question. My understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong) is that you can’t fix an underexposed image unless you shoot in RAW. Is that the case? Besides losing image quality when editing a JPEG are there any other limitations to editing JPEGs. I’m sure you shoot in RAW all of the time.
Hey Emily!
Yes, I do shoot in RAW. However, you can still fix an underexposed as a JPEG. You may loose some of the image quality because a JPEG is not as easy to mess with as a RAW. But yes, you can fix it :)
I finally got to see AND hear your video…what a great tutorial on a few simple fixes to make a photo print worthy. LOVE the dropper tool and will use it every time now
Oh, so glad it worked for you :) The eye dropper tool is amazing :)
Pinning for future reference!
Thanks!
Thanks :)
I’ve been doing a trial period of Lightroom to decide if I want it or PSE. I think I want Lightroom. I came across this video today and it helped so much to understand the workflow! Thank you!
I love Lightroom :) So glad you found the video helpful!! I have plenty of other videos on Lightroom if you want to check them out – http://clickitupanotch.com/category/lightroom/
Hi, Courtney!
So I’ve never used the dropper before to find white balance, but I’m still a tad confused about it. So you try and find a neutral area that most of the numbers match, correct? Do you always use go for the pupil first or can you start on the skin tones? I don’t know if this is making any sense :) I just used the Kelvin method for finding white balance today in a photo shoot and I LOVED it! Thank you for that earlier post, by the way over that :) But since I use that and I tend to brighten up the area with the Tone Curve, do you still suggest the dropper? Ha! Alright…I’ll stop now :) Thanks for all you do!
Hey Jacqueline,
Yes, I tend to start with the pupils. The skin won’t work because it has to be white, black or gray. So glad Kelvins is working for you. The dropper is more for white balance not for whiting. I use Kelvins as well and find I sometimes just need to tweak it a little with the dropper. Play around and see what works for you.
Hi Courtney, if very low numbers come up or even very high whites using the eye dropper, LR tells me to pick another area. Why is that?
Mmm…I’ve never had LR tell me to pick another area. I know that if my numbers are 100,100,100 or 0,0,0 that those areas won’t work b/c they are blown out or clipped.
Wow this is really great to learn. I currently use Photoshop/Bridge for editing and have been considering getting LR. I’m still torn between the two since I am a graphic designer by trade. I hear LR makes processing easier to, and I love watching tutorials on it and try to mimic it in Photoshop. Thanks for all your knowledge.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks for the video! It was super helpful! Any chance you would do videos for Photoshop Elements users at some point?
Hey Abbie, Unfortunately, I don’t use PSE so it isn’t something I can teach on. However, I’ll keep my eye out for photographers who may be able to write guest posts about it.