There is one truth about digital cameras that many photographers don’t know or don’t want to accept. After all, after you spend over $2,000 on a camera, you kind of expect it to be surprise free. But most cameras do have an inability to capture a scene as it really is. A good example of this is landscape photography.
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Most cameras will get a correct exposure even if you use them on automatic mode. If you use them manually, that’s even better. But as machines, they somehow lack the ability to reproduce the beauty of a scene as we see it. A good friend of mine, who is an avid landscape enthusiast, has been telling me about his disappointment when finally seeing the image at full size on his 27” screen. According to him, the warmth of the beautiful light isn't there and the colors often look flat and uninteresting.
Finally, one day he was frustrated enough to look for a solution. So to help him, I showed him one of Serge Ramelli’s videos. My friend usually photographs in wild areas, and although in some of his tutorials Serge works on cityscapes, the techniques apply to most landscape photos.
That goes for this video in which Serge shows how much difference the right use of color can make. Saturation is one of the most sensitive settings in post processing and it’s very easy to overdo it. Tutorials like this one can be especially useful for photographers who aren’t that familiar with Lightroom and Photoshop.
Learn more about editing landscapes from these recommended books:
- Landscape Photography Workflow Using Lightroom and Photoshop
- Lightroom 4 Retouching Landscapes
- Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques