ESSENTIAL STYLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS
Master a new processing style today by using these ten professional tools and techniques
it is true that developing any complex process involves trial and error, patience and a little luck, but it is possible to streamline the process to make the experience more precise and creatively fulfilling. photoshop, lightroom and other similar editing suites incorporate features for speeding up common steps and saving sequences of related actions together, so that exposure fixes, detail extraction and colour grading effects can be introduced in a more reliable way. professional photographers include the use of these features in their workflows as a matter of course, as they recognise the importance of reproducibility in marketing their photographic styles.
Beyond the most commonly used applications, satellite software – such as third-party plugins – are tailored to generate specific effects that cannot be easily simulated using standard photoshop techniques. Adding these to your arsenal of processing tools will help add sophistication and unique character to your editing signature. For effective results that are notably different from the work of other photographers, thinking at a local level, rather than global image editing, will offer more opportunities to craft looks that are not easy for your competition to emulate.
When trying to produce anything new, thinking unconventionally – using existing resources in new ways – will provide a catalyst for individuality. here we explore some easy ways to get started in customising the appearance of your image portfolio.
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COMPILE MOOD BOARDS
Gather together colours and textures that appeal to you, along with images featuring possessing styles you admire. This can be done with physical materials, but more usefully, create swatches in Photoshop by sampling colours in finished images. These will provide the inspiration for your personalised colour and toning mode.
REVERSE YOUR SETTINGS
An effective strategy for overcoming a creative block is to invert your common preferred setting combinations. If you usually apply positive Clarity in Lightroom for example, try using a negative setting to soften detail. If you usually favour lower contrast, try working with greater tonal spacing to see how this impacts your subject.
USE PLUGINS
Employ additional software, such as the DxO Nik Collection or Topaz suite, for specific effects. While it may not be necessary to use a plugin filter all of the time, shooting and editing to allow its use can be a route to a particular style. Apply to new layers to permit local application.
USE LOCAL ADJUSTMENTS
The Adjustment Brush and Gradient Tool in Lightroom and Camera Raw, plus the use of layer masking in Photoshop, all allow edits to be made to smaller areas of the frame. Perfect your ability to introduce subtle detailed processing for added individuality.
MAKE PRESETS
In Lightroom or Camera Raw, save all of the current slider positions and settings choices by making presets. Name the preset using a standardised system – such as image content, style appearance or image name – for easy identification. Create a new preset for every major change in your style, so you have one for any situation.
CREATE ACTIONS
When using Photoshop, save regular processes in recorded sequences to be applied to similar images. Actions allow complex edits to be quickly re-created in a single click, without having to navigate to and manipulate individual tools. Usefully, it is possible to download actions from online resources, to help get you started.
UTILISE MULTIPLE TOOLS
The most popular styles are those that are difficult to break down and replicate. Successful photographers often employ more than one software tool to achieve their look, obscuring the process behind the effect. This also enables more precise alterations to be made.
CREATE VIRTUAL COPIES
A highly useful feature of Lightroom is the function to create duplicates of edited images within a Catalog. These can be used to make multiple variations of editing processes, without having to save multiple files. Versions are also grouped together in the Catalog, so it is easy to decide which you prefer during the review process.
SHOOT RAW
Adopting a RAW workflow is arguably the most important step wherever extensive editing is involved. It allows greater changes to be made without file corruption, so the photographer can essentially perform whatever actions are required to achieve their vision. Shoot with your preferred white balance and tailor colour and exposure later.
PICK THE RIGHT SUBJECT
Often editing style is formed around favoured photographic subjects, but for a digital photographer it is possible to begin with a target processing look. Adapt what you shoot to match – if moody, cinematic editing is what you desire, capture the correct lighting to allow for that style.