Warrior 2 James Paterson

Sometimes detail is overrated. We photographers obsess a lot about detail (me as much as anyone else), perhaps partly because raw files let us rescue a phenomenal amount at the tonal extremes. But just because we can, should we? We’re taught that blown-out highlights are a no-no – but sometimes they can enhance the mood.

This image of the River Camel is a case in point. Initially, my detail-rescuing instincts kicked in, and I clawed back a little cloud detail. But for me it killed the wonderfully tranquil mood, and drew attention to a messy hot spot on the water. So instead I went the other way, and increased the exposure and warmth in the sky. Clipping? Who cares!

1 Retouch distractions

After opening in Camera Raw and levelling the slightly wonky horizon with the Crop tool, the next step for me was to boost the tones. I set Contrast to -28, Highlights to +44, Shadows to -7, and Whites to -41.

Next I grabbed the Spot Removal tool. This is ideal for removing small distractions and sensor marks. (For anything more strenuous, head into Photoshop). I used the Visualise Spots checkbox to check for sensor marks in the sky, then removed the buoys on the water as, for me, they’re a distraction. I also removed a distracting cloud in the top left.

2 Darken the sky and blow the sun

Any landscape that includes the sun is going to struggle with dynamic range because it’s so bright, and the result here is blown highlights. My attempts to recover the detail left me underwhelmed, so instead I lightened and warmed the area to give the image a brighter mood. I plotted a circular adjustment around the sun with Camera Raw’s Radial Filter tool, then set Effect: Inside, Exposure to +0.90 and Highlights +76. I added a second circle to add warmth to the image with Temp +23, Tint +22 and Saturation +17. I also used the Adjustment Brush to paint positive exposure over the foreground details.

3 Warmth and mood

I set the White Balance to Temp 5650, Tint +17 to give the scene a warm evening glow. To take this further I used the Tone Curve. Working in Point mode, I targeted the Red Channel and dragged the top right point slightly to the left, which added a red cast. Next I went to the Blue Channel and dragged the top right point down slightly, which introduced yellow to the highlights.

Finally I targeted the RGB channel and moved the bottom-left point upwards and the top-right point downwards. This reduced the contrast and softened the highlights, resulting in a more hazy, subdued feel.