Behind The raw | Ep 3 The Vanishing
In the vast expanse of landscape photography, every image captured tells a story of its own. From the serene tranquillity of a mountain lake at dawn to the fiery hues of a sunset over rolling hills, each scene holds its unique charm waiting to be unveiled through the lens.
In this blog post, I want to delve into the behind-the-scenes of editing images from my recent landscape photography shoot. Join me as we explore the workflow of my editing process, my reflections on each image, and the lessons we can extract together.
This week’s Image: Vanishing Cliffs at Fogher
When I arrived at the location for this shoot, I had some great light bouncing all around me and even had a partial rainbow to play with, however, it wasn’t long before all that was to change and the weather would close in and effectively make my subject vanish. For this editing video, I chose one of my frames which was my 30-second exposure to show my thoughts and workflow. I had taken the image well and had no brights or darks to contend with, so the edit was going to be a pretty straightforward affair, slight adjustments would be key here as I try to bring out the detail and add some punch to the scene. This particular shot was taken while I had a sliver of light remaining which added some nice layering to the shot and also still had some colour in the water from the light, so I edited with this in mind. I also found several rain spots on my shot and used my dehire trick once again to reveal them and then quickly remove them. I used a linear grad to also darken down the sky to add more layering to the shot before finally running it through Lightroom’s built-in AI deNoise. The finished shot was my favourite of the day as I was still able to have my subject as well as have some light to bring out the detail in the water below me. One of the areas of the composition I didn’t like was the imbalance of the scene due to the large cliff taking up most of the frame, this is hard to avoid however as there is only one real position to place the tripod at this location
Key Takeaway: Use light and shadow to add depth to your image and once you have the shot exposed right in the field then is simply a matter of small adjustments to bring the image to life. Less is more on this occasion and don’t forget to check for water/dust spots
Final Thoughts
Editing landscape photography is both an art and a science, requiring a delicate balance of technical skill and creative intuition. Through each image, we embark on a journey of discovery, uncovering the hidden depths of nature's beauty and the endless possibilities that lie within the art of post-processing.
As you embark on your editing process, remember to approach each image with an open mind and a willingness to experiment. Embrace the imperfections, celebrate the details, and above all, allow your passion for photography to guide you on your quest for visual storytelling mastery. Take a break and come back to an image after you think it is done, as more often than not you will see it in a different light as such.
Join me in this instalment of our editing journey, where we'll explore the magic of landscape photography with a view of creativity and inspiration. This episode is now live on my YouTube Channel where you can see my approach taken for this image.