I import my RAW files directly to my external hard drive through Lightroom. I then select my favorites - usually 25-30 for a one hour session- and do a clean edit in Lightroom, adjusting white balance, cropping if necessary, and giving the image a gentle pop with the tone curve panel. I also reduce clarity a touch to smooth skin on portraits. I will sometimes remove small distractions, but usually do most of my cloning in Photoshop.
I then export to PS CC for the final edit, which is determined by the mood of the image and, frankly, just my instincts on what it needs. For this image, I warmed it up and painted some color on the foliage. I added a slight vignette and also cleaned up the green on the wood, which I found distracting. Then I sharpened and that's it. Of course, for some images, I do additional artistic editing if I feel moved to do so - but, I try to keep it simple and batch process to save as much time as possible.
These are screen captures of the process:
It has taken me many, many hours to develop my editing skills and I still have a long way to go. But, I am getting more efficient and learning new things all the time and I love that the creative possibilities are endless. Lightroom is a huge time saver and I love the ease of organization. PS was very daunting at first, but I am getting more and more comfortable with it.
What's you favorite way to edit your images?
This is a great edit and compliments their cool, blue outfits!
Love seeing the progression of the edits!
I'm still learning to use Photoshop but feel as if I'm pretty much a Lightroom queen, haha. Love your editing style and process!
It's gorgeous!!!!! Obviously starting with a beautiful SOOC is key - you always do that effortlessly. But the final- with the vibrant colors, sigh... I love your editing style. One day- one day I will be able to have you do our family pics & I can get away from the tripod :)
Beautiful edits! I find the whole editing process sooo time consuming. I've just been using photoshop but have recently been thinking about lightroom. Everyone seems to love it.
I use LR always. I did TRY PS, but I just kept getting lost and frustrated so I gave up.
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