Photoshop How To

We all strive to capture photos in which the primary subject of a scene is full of detail and properly exposed. Today, however, you'll learn a different approach whereby the subject is shy on detail but full of drama and impact.

Anyone who has used Photoshop knows that it’s an extremely comprehensive tool, and because of that it enables you to accomplish just about any task you desire.

Converging verticals, skewed horizontal lines, distorted buildings, tilted horizons, and other such "wonky angles" will quickly spoil an otherwise nice shot. This basic Lightroom tutorial explains why these distractions occur and demonstrates a simple Lightroom technique for straightening everything out.

While we're not, generally, fans of "quick fixes" on images in Photoshop – why not get it right when you shoot it? – there's no shame in using Adobe's landmark image editor to make a boring photo look better. And in the below video from Photoshop maestro Serge Ramelli, he shows you how to do just that.

So you scouted out a promising location, used your best tools and techniques, yet the photos you captured are far less impressive that you expected due to problematic daytime light. You can return just before sunset and try again, or you can mimic a stunning Golden Hour effect by using the editing technique demonstrated in this beginner-friendly Lightroom tutorial.

Understanding masks and masking techniques are essential to understanding how to use Lightroom to edit your photos. But Lightroom masks aren't all they're cracked up to be and you can easily misuse them, which will damage your photos.

Adobe's new Adaptive Color Profile is an amazing AI-based tool that analyses an image and adjusts tones and colors to make them "look just right." The experts at Adobe put it like this: "The effect is as if the AI has changed exposure, shadows, highlights, Color Mixer, Curves, and other key controls for you."