Nature Photography How To

If you're a regular visitor to the Shutterbug website you know that there are a variety of methods for color grading landscape images—some more effective than others. This tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel demonstrate a very powerful technique that's easy to accomplish and delivers spectacular results.

German pro Christian Mohrle says this method great contributes to his stunning imagery. In this 12-minute episode you'll learn why and how he employs Lightroom's White Balance tools to achieve perfect colors in his photos.  Keep watching if you’re a Photoshop user because the method you'll learn works equally well with this software too.

Before clicking the "play" button it's a good idea to download Mohrle's Raw file with the link beneath the video so that you can follow along and make the adjustments yourself as they're explained. He's working with an HDR image and you'll see how that affects the process.

The value of this particular technique, according to Mohrle, is that it enables you to create a specific mood by modifying the warmth or coolness of a shot. He always begins with a few basic global enhancements to improve the original photo as much as possible, so that the selective adjustments that follow are easier to accomplish.

Mohrle's goal for this drab lakeside photo is to give it a very vibrant sunset effect, and he begins by changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe landscape which immediately boosts base saturation. He explains that starting with a balanced exposure is extremely important for optimum White Balance adjustments. Mohrle makes few quick adjustments to get the light right in the blown-out sky and the crushed shadows in the trees on the horizon.

He then refines composition with a simple crop and then turn to the meat of this lesson; namely the White Balance adjustments that are necessary for creating the sunset look he desires. When that task is complete Mohrle improves the image further with a bit of masking—walking you through every step in the process.

Mohrle concludes the impressive transformation with straightforward tweaks to color and a bit of careful sharpening. You can use this powerful edit to enhance just about any photograph that you shoot in the great outdoors. Be sure to visit Mohrle's robust YouTube channel for more powerful lessons like this one.

And don't miss the tutorial we posted recently from another post-processing expert who demonstrates a "hidden" Photoshop hack for spectacular edits of landscape photographs in five simple steps.