Lightroom Workflow with my Most Used Preset
Ever since I started using Lightroom, I've been fascinated with presets for a variety of reasons. For one, as the name suggests, they make workflows a lot simpler and faster given their ability to apply a ready-made look to a photo in seconds. Secondly, presets allow us to achieve styles the amateur user may not be capable of when initially getting to grips with the program. Although popular mobile apps such as Instagram and Snapseed have educated the average person as to how to adjust things like Exposure (Brightness), Contrast and Saturation, features such as the Tone Curve, Split Toning and Gradual Filters can be intimidating to some - they were for me when I started out!
What preset am I using? I found this one in particular about a year ago now after watching a video from Photographers/Youtubers 'Athena and Cameron'. Unfortunately it's no longer free, but you can see more of the preset in action and find links to the pack it belongs to by watching the video that inspired me to download - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH51UkJL-Ek&t=370s .
So why this preset? Despite months ago purchasing a collection of presets numbering in the hundreds, I've always come back to this one in particular because of its unique style and depth. While some prefer photos to be high in colour and warmth, I prefer a desaturated approach that creates a colder look - checkout #moodygrams on Instagram for more examples. Furthermore, I'm a fan of this preset because it's really added to the learning experience of using Lightroom. Although the base look is provided, it's desaturation of colours has challenged me (and hopefully other beginners) to evaluate which tones need boosting so as to achieve the best result.
The photo I'll be editing will be one taken in the Summer of 2018 during a visit to the Great Wall of China - the Mutianyu section to be precise. It was taken on my old Canon 600D with the 18-55mm kit lens which I think is important to note because in this age of quickly evolving technology, it's easy to think that good photos can't be achieved with a cheaper set-up.
ISO 100, 33mm, f7, 1/160 sec
1. I cropped the image to put more focus on the wall itself by adhering to the Rule of Thirds. Although the original photo did provide a greater sense of space, I didn't want the frame to be dominated by the sky.
2. Preset Applied
3. Due to the segmented nature of the shot, I applied a Gradual Filter from the bottom in order to edit the main part of the image. The main focus of this step was to make the focal section pop, to do this I upped the Exposure (0.65) and boosted the depth of the colours by adjusting Contrast (28), Highlights (-40), Shadows (20), Whites (-20) and Blacks (1).
4. With the basis of the bottom third edited, I finished up by majorly boosting the Texture (75), Clarity (20) and Saturation (5). This really brought the section to life and contributed to the 'story' of the image by bringing out the brickwork that was laid in the mid-6th century, and juxtaposing it with the surrounding greenery.
5. Now it was time to move on to the image as a whole, starting off with a few corrections in the 'Basics' panel. As you've seen, this preset desaturates and washes out the colours of an image so it's important to reverse this effect where necessary. I adjusted the Highlights (40) to make the flog clear but still moody, then dropped the Whites (-20) but upped Saturation (10) to bolden the trees surrounding the wall.
6. Normally I head to the 'Colours' panel first because it's what this preset affects the most. An example of this is my photo of a train in Sri Lanka in which I boosted its blue tones at the beginning because I wanted the rest of the workflow to focus around the carriages. Due to the segmented nature of this photo however, I decided to adopt a different method:
i) Adjusting the greens added further depth to the trees contrasting them with the wall. (Hue -10/Saturation -15/ Luminance - 0)
ii) By upping the saturation of the yellows the tips of the trees became more pronounced. While the greens took care of the 'moodiness' of the trees, yellows clarified the varying terrain and added a sense of realism. (Hue 0/Saturation -50/Luminance -7)
iii) Adjustments to the orange slider primarily edited the wall. While I wanted to give it a sense of warmth and grandeur, it was also important to keep things realistic. (Hue 0/ Saturation -10 /Luminance 45)
iv) The least obvious of all the colour corrections, changes to aqua and blue allowed the trees and terrain in the back to stand out more. With all the focus so far on the foreground, this maintained the gradual fade towards the back. (Hue - 34 / Saturation 0/ Luminance-10) | ( Hue- 71/ Saturation 100/ Luminance 45)
7. I rarely use Split Toning, and to be honest the effect here is barely noticeable. However I adjusted the Shadows (Hue 82/Saturation 5) to compliment the work just before with the Yellows of the image.
8. With the image almost finished, I applied a Gradual Filter at the very bottom to compliment the vignette I'd be adding in the next step. By adjusting the Texture (-40) and Clarity (15), I was able to take focus away from the trees and shift it towards the wall coming out of them.
9. As aforementioned, I added a minor Vignette (-10) to frame the image. Then, despite being the final touch, the Graduated Filter applied from the top left corner to the bend of the wall transformed the photo. By slightly upping the Warmth (10), Exposure (0.25), Contrast (21) and Saturation (10) I was able to create the effect of the morning sunlight coming in from the side. Again not only did this contribute to the photo's story (it was taken around 8:30am), but also the grandeur of the Great Wall and its surroundings with the golden tones.
Finito
