Editing & colour
Set a neutral starting point for white balance
Use a neutral reference to establish a starting point, then judge whether the scene needs to retain the colour of its light.
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Editing & colour
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20 articles
Editing & colour
Crop a photograph without weakening its subject
Use cropping to clarify relationships inside the frame, and check what the new edges remove as carefully as what the centre gains.
Editing & colour
Recover highlights without flattening the whole image
Recover bright detail selectively, while keeping the rest of the photograph's light relationships intact.
Editing & colour
Lift shadows while keeping a sense of light
Open a shadow enough to reveal its role, but leave it darker than the surfaces receiving the light.
Editing & colour
Choose a black-and-white conversion for structure
Convert to black and white when tonal relationships strengthen the photograph, then shape those relationships without treating colour as irrelevant source information.
Editing & colour
Keep skin colour believable in an edit
Skin colour depends on the person and the light. Correct unwanted casts without forcing different complexions toward one preset target.
Editing & colour
Straighten an architectural photograph carefully
Straightening architecture involves rotation, perspective and cropping. Correct them in a deliberate order and check whether the building still looks plausible.
Editing & colour
Reduce noise at the intended viewing size
Noise reduction is a trade between unwanted variation and real detail. Judge that trade at the size the photograph will actually be seen.
Editing & colour
Sharpen a photograph after resizing
Output sharpening belongs to a particular size and medium. Apply it to the resized derivative while preserving an unresized editable master.
Editing & colour
Match colour across a short photo series
Match the interpretation of comparable light across a series, while preserving genuine differences between locations and times of day.
Editing & colour
Remove a dust spot without changing the scene
Remove a sensor-dust spot by replacing the small defect, while leaving genuine objects and surface marks alone.
Editing & colour
Use local adjustments to guide attention
Local adjustments can clarify an existing visual hierarchy. Begin with the part of the image that needs attention, not with a collection of dramatic masks.
Editing & colour
Keep a sunset from becoming an orange wash
Preserve the range of colours in a sunset instead of turning sky, clouds and foreground into the same warm tone.
Editing & colour
Edit a green woodland photograph with restraint
Woodland greens contain differences in light, material and distance. Preserve those differences instead of making every leaf equally vivid.
Editing & colour
Compare an edit with its starting image
Compare a developing edit with its starting point under consistent viewing conditions, then judge each major change by its purpose.
Editing & colour
Prepare separate exports for web and print
Make web and print files from the same edited master, with dimensions, colour handling and sharpening chosen for each destination.
Editing & colour
Understand why one image looks different on two screens
Separate file, application and display differences before changing an edit to compensate for another screen.
Editing & colour
Choose an export size for a photo gallery
Choose pixel dimensions from the way a gallery displays images, then inspect the exported file rather than relying on a quality slider alone.
Editing & colour
Keep a reusable editing checklist short
Use a short editing checklist to catch recurring omissions while leaving room for the photograph to need a different treatment.
Editing & colour
Decide when a photograph needs no further editing
Recognise when another adjustment changes the character of a photograph without solving an identifiable problem.
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