Introduction

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Overview

In this Lightroom 4 tutorial, we will show you how to create a warm, sunset-toned look in Lightroom 4. It is a great look that can be applied to a late afternoon outdoor images. I particularly dig this look on shots like this one at the beach. We will also correct for uneven exposure across the image that is caused by the directional lighting of the sun.

Before and After Image

Before…

The Graduated Filter tool in Lightroom 4 allows you to apply edits across an even gradient. In this article I will explain 4 ways to use the Graduated Filter tool to enhance your photos.

I used a Graduated Filter to adjust exposure on the left side of this photo. Read on to see how.

Adding a Graduated Filter to a Photo

1. Click the Graduated Filter tool, or use keyboard shortcut ‘M’
2. Dial in the desired settings (exposure, color temperature, etc)
3. Drag your mouse across the image, starting at the point where you want the filter to be the strongest. An easy way to remember this is that you start dragging your mouse from the area of the photo that you

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Ever wondered how the professional photographers get those dreamy black and white or sepia toned images? Wonder why yours come out looking dull and flat looking?  I’m going to give you 3 tips to help you do better black and white conversions using Adobe Lightroom, and solve that problem!

Today’s cameras are pretty smart, and many of them offer a black and white setting or shooting mode. I recommend using those to start, especially if you’ve never done any black and white (B&W) or if you are not currently doing any post processing or image editing on your files. BUT, if you have some experience with b/w photography, and you are processing your images, I recommend doing the conversion yourself as you have more control over the look of the final image.  I’m going to show you a few ways of …

This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on creative color effects in Lightroom. In this article I will explain how to use the Tone Curve tool for creative color effects.

Tokyo Street Scene Color Settings

In Part 1 of this series I covered white balance. I discussed split toning in Part 2, as well as how to use split toning and white balance together. If you missed parts 1 or 2, check them out here:

Creative Color Processing (Part 1/3 – White Balance)
Creative Color Processing (Part 2/3 – Split Toning)

Tone curve is perhaps the most powerful …

The original image before the motion blur is applied

Motion Blur Filter

For the first technique I am going to start with this rather boring and cluttered image I made in a forest on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so boring if there was anything to show the scale of these enormous trees but it’s pretty hard to get away from cluttered in the dense forest there.

I decided to mimic the effect of in-camera panning by using the motion blur filter in photoshop to blur the image in the same direction as the strong lines of the trees.

Try this technique on your own forest scene or another scene with strong lines by following these steps. I am using Photoshop Elements but you can also do …