The Most Effective Photo Editing Skills You’ll Ever Need

8 / 27 / 182 / 24 / 20

As a natural light photographer living in a Scandinavian country, capturing bright and airy photos can sometimes be a huge challenge!

During fall and winter the light is VERY limited and many of my indoor photos come out of the camera looking like the “before” photo you see above.

Yep, it’s called REAL life!

As a photographer working with just the available light, the conditions are not always perfect enough to achieve beautiful images straight out of camera.

Here’s the good news. With the right skills, you can create stunning images that wow your clients, blog readers and Instagram followers.

And by knowing exactly HOW you can do it quicker and easier!

In my upcoming photography course I show you my personal workflowfor creating both light and airy photos as well as the more dark and moody styled photos.

I simply LOVE editing photos. It´s my meditation.

And it´s such a HUGE part of my creative style.

I dare say that image editing is almost 50% of the process to achieving a signature style.

Here’s What You Need To IMPROVE Your Photo Editing Skills:

#1. Photo Editing Software

You need a photo editing software program like Lightroom or Photoshop. I actually recommend subscribing for a monthly membership for both programs via Adobe CC. I use Lightroom for ALL my basic editing – because it´s super efficient and fast. And I use Photoshop for fine-tuning and giving my photos that editorial look.

#2. Shoot in RAW mode

THIS is KEY! Jpeg files are great for everyday photos of family and friends, but to achieve a professional looking imagery you must turn to RAW files. Raw files are simply unfinished photos. When you take a photo with your camera set to shoot RAW files, you´ll have to finish that photo inside Lightroom or Photoshop. This gives you enormous creative power – which is fantastic when you shoot in low light conditions, which I often do.

#3. Focus On The Basic

Be careful not to rely too much on presets and actions. With a basic understanding of editing you can easily create beautiful images inside Lightroom or Photoshop. AND you´ll save a bunch of money buying expensive presets. You can get a long way with just mastering the curve tool and the white balance.

#4. Don’t Over Edit Your Photos

When you first get into editing it can be a real challenge finding the balance between over-doing it and not doing enough. I really struggled with this myself when I started out. At first I didn´t do enough, and then I had a loooong phase of over-processing my photos – especially my portraits! It was all porcelain doll skin and shiny, non-human eyes! Ohh, yes! But hey, it´s a learning curve, right and while learning you are allowed to make mistakes.

The best tip to achieve that balance is to find a photo you like – a photo that has the editing style you like. (look at Pinterest or Instagram). Then use that photo as your reference guide while you practice your editing skills. Have it open in a window and look at it to see if you can match the look. You´ll learn a lot from doing this.

#5. Give It Time

Whilst editing can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s the first time you’re getting into post-processing, with patience and practice, you’ll be creating beautiful images in a matter of minutes. Give it time and don’t rush this process. Make it fun and enjoyable. Put on your favourite music and get to work. Experiment and don´ be afraid to make mistakes. Even after 10 years as a pro, I still manage to create photos that ends up in the trash can…it´s okay…it´s normal. You don´t need to get it perfect every time! It´s called being creative.

If you need help with your editing skills or you are not aware of how to use post-processing software to create stunning photographs, you´ll get ALL the training you need in The Lifestyle Photography Workshop.

IMPROVE YOUR EDITING SKILLS WITH:

My Lightroom course module.
My Photoshop course module – including professional retouching video tutorials.
Workflow steps on how to achieve the most popular editing styles.
Lifetime access so you can practice anytime, anywhere.

My photography workshop contains over 100+ lessons and lifetime access: the lessons are all the pieces you need to complete the puzzle to grow as a photographer and to take your photography to the next level.

I want to empower YOU to succeed and make your dream about capturing stunning photos come true.

In my workshop I cover everything you need to know:

* Photography technique and tools
* Photoshop + Lightroom Tutorials
* Floral Photography
* Food Photography
* Travel, Nature Photography
* Still Life and Interior Photography
* Trendy Editing Styles
* Trends in Lifestyle Photography
* Lifestyle Portraits
* Pro Retouching Tutorials
* Life and Career Motivation
* Interviews with amazing Photographers
* Creative assignments
* Personal Style
* Business-building
+ much, much more!

I promise it’s a lot of FUN and so much easier than you think.

Join the Lifestyle Photography Online Course here >>

How To Achieve A Beautiful Matte Effect In Just Two Easy Steps

4 / 4 / 182 / 24 / 20

If you’ve wondered how to create a matte effect in Lightroom or Photoshop, this tutorial is for you. Today, I will show you how to achieve a beautiful Matte Effect in just two easy steps.

The matte effect is a fun and stylish way to transform your photos. Especially if you want your photo to have a more moody, dreamy and artistic look.

The secret to creating the matte effect is using the CURVE TOOL. Whether you use Lightroom or Photoshop you can find the curve tool inside the editing software.

The curve tool is one of the most powerful editing tools available. You can create so many styles with just this one tool but today we will focus on creating the matte effect.

So let’s get started.

How To Achieve A Beautiful Matte Effect In Just Two Easy Steps

Before you start playing wit the matte effect, I recommend that you do some basic editing to your photo and then let the matte effect be your final step in the editing process.

Adjust exposure, saturation, contrast, vibrance, clarity, and the white balance. When you are happy with your image proceed with the curve tool to add the matte effect.

To get started with the matte effect open up the curve box and follow the instructions shown in the images below.

How To Create The Matte Effect In Photoshop

How To Create The Matte Effect In Lightroom

You might find that the matte effect works better for some photos and not so well for others. The only way to find out is to experiment and be playful.

And remember; when you work with the curve tool “a little goes a long way”. You only have to do a small pull on the curve to get a huge effect.

Five Tips for Taking Photos in Low Light

2 / 8 / 172 / 24 / 20

The days with pretty sunlight are soon gone! If you live in a Country where it gets dark during fall and winter I have good news for you. You can still create beautiful photos!

In my upcoming photography course I teach all about shooting with natural light. I never EVER use a flash. Not even in the darkest time during winter – and that´s a challenge because it can get pretty dark in Denmark.

I used to panic when winter came. Afraid I would not be able to do my work. I tested shooting with flash, rented a professional photo studio – but it’s was not for me – not my style.

I adore natural light and with time I learned that it´s possible to capture beautiful photos even in low light conditions.

As winter is slowly arriving, I share my best tips to shooting in low light.

Five Tips for Taking Photos in Low Light

1. Shoot in RAW

The photos on this page was all shot during times with little daylight available. In most photos I will emphase the darker mood in the photo, but sometimes I also make it as bright as I can for a more clean and fresh look – it´s possible as long as you shoot in RAW. When you work on a RAW file in Lightroom or Photoshop ACR you can really brighten the photo a whole lot without loosing quality. I´ts magic. It´s a lifesaver! Use the exposure slider, the shadow slider and the white slider to lift the shadows and brighten the photos.

2. Raise ISO

I remember when I was a beginner in photography I was told that I should always keep ISO on 100 for best image quality. That´s true, but also a very limiting rule to follow. One of my tips is to play as much with ISO as you can. Take some test shots and notice how high you can take ISO with your camera without seeing to much noise in the photo.

This knowledge will help you tremendously when you shoot in low light. During the darkest winter hours I often have my ISO set to around 800 or 1200 ISO. It´s very different from camera to camera how well it performs with hight ISO settings, so it´s important to test it. Play with it. Don´t be afraid – ISO can be your new best friend.

3. NO FLASH – Use window light

Never turn on artificial light in the room when taking photos, it will add yellow tones to your image. Also avoid any type of flash – especially on-camera flash. Simply use window light. Make sure to place yourself as close to a window as possible. The bigger the window the better, but a small window can do the job as well. Your photos might look dark when you look at the back of your camera, but don´t stress, you will do the last work in post production.

4. Use a tripod

If you use a tripod for stability you can allow the camera to let in even more light, without the risk of getting unsharp photo. When the camera is stable and out of your hands you can lower shutter speed + aperture . This will give you brighter photos and a tack sharp photo. Remember to use a remote so you don´t touch the camera with your hands.

5. Edit in RAW

This is by far the most important tip! As long as you shoot in RAW, you can do wonders in editing. No matter if you use Lightroom or Photoshop ACR you can get amazing results. When I shoot in low light I allow my photos to look darker on the back of my camera than I normally would accept.

When I look at the back of my camera I can see what´s going on in the image but I can´t see any details because the image is to dark. Then when when I get the photo into my editing program I immediately raise Exposure to take a closer look at the image quality. From there I do my normal editing.

In my photography workshop I include ALL my SECRETS on how to edit your photos like a pro. My tricks are EASY to learn and everybody can do it!