Photography Tips | Photoshop Editing Secrets

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Original Photograph | Unedited

©  2013 Wazari Wazir | After Edited With Photoshop Master Of Colors Editing Technique | Kota Belud Paddy Field

Most people, especially  who have been following me through my photography probably by now, knew that I shoot my photograph in RAW format for most of the times. Why shoot in RAW, very simple, RAW file contain a lot of digital informations or data compared to JPG file.

Currently I’m using Canon 5D Mark II full frame body. Normally if I shoot in JPG the file size will be around 5 to 7 MB but if I shoot in RAW format the file size is going to be around 25 MB to 29 Mb per image. Can you see the huge difference there?

In order to pull out all of the details, you need some kind of knowledge, it is not a simple procedure, sometimes, it can take around five to maybe half an hour just to edit one single photograph in Photoshop. It all depend on the output you are after. The photograph above were edited 100 % in Photoshop Cs6 without any additional presets or plugs-in. It is purely 100% done with everything that Photoshop has to offer.

I use multiple layers to get a desired effect, as you can see the original photograph (Centre Photograph), it is quite dull, lack contrast and look like it was taken on a compact camera. But after you polish it, the only you can see its shine. RAW file is like uncut diamond, but in digital term, RAW file contain so much data, you can get back the blue colours of the sky and the deep rich gold color of the paddy.

Like I said previously, I use multiple layers of the same photograph and blend it with different kind of blending option  to get the look that I’m looking for. Sometimes I use Soft Light blending option and sometimes I use Luminosity, it all depends.

Sometimes when you do the blending, you may get undesired effect, especially on the human face, so to counter that problem, you need to do few masking here and there and like they said before, the devils is in the details. I can teach you about the technique but I cannot teach you how to get it perfect, you really need some kind of passion and patient. You need “Love”, I mean you must “Love” doing editing, if you hate spending few minutes doing editing, then better shoot JPG and it can save you a lot of times.

Yes, there is another way on how you can get the look that you want by using Presets but sometimes, you may get something that undesirable, so in this case you need to it manually, and personally I think editing is an art in itself. Just like when taking a photograph, how you choose to compose your picture, the framing, the lighting, the choice of Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed is also an art in itself.

Same goes to editing, you need to choose just the right amount of Opacity, the right kind of Brush Size to use and to use it delicately to brush some part of the images. You also need to know which blending option is suitable for certain kind of a picture.

To those of you who claimed to be a “Purist” photographer who doesn’t like editing, then it is your choice. I’ve nothing to argue but if you shoot in RAW, the you need to learn how to get it right, how to polish your picture, because if you just convert your photograph from RAW to JPG, it will almost looks the same, just the reduced in file size.

If you think a great photograph is good enough, think back again, how many times have you seen a winning shot? And have you ever look closely at the winning picture, yes they are great but most of them have one little advantage over another, which is good editing. Good editing is not too exaggerated to look like manipulated but good enough.

 Let me give you just simple though, I you and your friends goes on a photography trips on a certain location, both of you shoot the same subject, in this case a Landscape but your friends have one advantage over you, he is good with editing but you lack the editing skills, and when both of you publish the same picture on a great photography site like 500 PX of the same scene, which one do you think will have plenty of viewer, a dull picture or the vibrance one?

Great photograph does not entirely depending on how good the edition is, there is a lot of elements that will make one photograph look great over another, among the things is the moment captured, the composition, the lighting and few other things, but with good editing skills, you will definitely be one step ahead of your competition.

*If you like to know on how I get those colors for the photograph above, you can click the banner below…