Nature Photography How To

If you consistently capture landscape photos with colors that don't portray the realistic vibrant tones you saw the viewfinder, it's time to make a few changes to your editing workflow. This task may appear dauting at first, until you watch today's quick tutorial Lightroom tutorial from the Focus Photo School YouTube channel.

The topic at hand is simple and straightforward: elevating color editing in Lightroom Classing using the oft-ignore Preset Amount Slider. Photographer David Marx extols the virtues of this technique by saying, "this powerful tool offers unparalleled control and flexibility, transforming color adjustments from a single-step process into a nuanced exploration of creative possibilities."

Marx is an Adobe Certified Instructor dedicated to helping photographers of all skill levels make the most of their edits in Lightroom and Photoshop. In this episode he demonstrates why and how the Amount Slider is a "hidden gem" that you've been missing all along." And it takes him less than 11 minutes to bring you up to speed.

As you may know, a Preset is nothing more than a saved set of Develop settings that you can quickly apply to any photo; where it's in color or b&w. You can create Presets of yours own, purchase them online, and even modify the ones you already have to make them more suitable for a specific task.

Marx has several reasons for lauding the Amount slider, one of which is that it enables you to achieve a perfect tonal balance and avoid over-editing by making subtle yet impactful adjustments. Another important advantage of this tool is that it helps you make more informed decisions by comparing different shades and intensities until you find "the one that best complements the overall composition and narrative of your image."

Marx patiently walks you through how all this works and he encourages you to explore a variety of alternative looks. In other words, there's no "right" answer to any particular image, and a bit of experimentation is part of the game.

There's one important qualification before you begin unleashing your creativity with this interesting method: The Amount Slider isn't universally available throughout Lightroom's myriad of post-processing capabilities. This means that the Calibration Panel, Lens Correction, and the Lens Blur panel do not currently support this option.

If you're interested in more editing tricks be sure to watch the earlier tutorial we posted in which another pro demonstrates eight Lightroom tips that he says every "landscape photographer should understand."