The Mission
– Use adjustment layers and masks in Photoshop to selectively enhance your landscapes
Time
– 20 minutes
Skill level
– Beginner
Kit needed
– Photoshop CC
One of the main challenges with landscapes is in balancing out bright skies with darker landscapes, especially if – like here – the foreground is in deep evening shade. Let’s be honest, when editing a landscape like this, where the contrast between land and sky is too great, many of us might simply lift the Shadows and drop the Highlights. It’s a quick fix that may help to pull detail out of the lightest and darkest portions of the frame, but can also lead to an image
looking over-processed, almost HDR-like. Sometimes it’s better to take a targeted approach. By making local adjustments that are tailored to specific areas of the shot, the results can look more natural. Here, we’ll look at how to make a series of powerful local edits using adjustment layers in Photoshop. We’ll isolate the sky (using the new automatic sky selection tool) and make it bolder, then select the land and perform a few edits to enhance the textures and boost contrast.
This story is from the February 2021 edition of N-Photo: the Nikon magazine.
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This story is from the February 2021 edition of N-Photo: the Nikon magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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