EDIT THE SHOT
1 CHOOSE RAW PROFILES Import your image to Lightroom and apply a RAW profile – I chose Camera Vivid here for a nice bit of pop, but I often use Adobe Landscape, which balances most seascape shots nicely.
2 MAKE BASIC ADJUSTMENTS Apply basic tone and white balance changes – if you have spent time getting things right in-camera, hitting Auto Tone and Auto White Balance should give you a good starting point.
3 WATCH THE SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS Despite carefully choosing your exposure settings, you may find early-morning shots need to have highlights lowered and shadows raised. Remember to watch the histogram, and aim for a balanced image overall.
4 ADD DRAMA IN THE WAVES Inject some additional interest to the wave motion by using the Adjustment brush. Increase the contrast, clarity and texture to your taste, and paint over the main wave areas to make them the star of the show.
5 USE RADIAL AND GRADUATED FILTERS Draw attention to other parts of the image, such as prominent rocks, with radial or graduated filters, or use them to balance the image further and remove overly dark or bright areas like the sky.
6 PERFORM FINAL CHECKS Ensure Remove Chromatic Aberration is ticked, doublecheck your crop is straight, and tweak the sharpening/noise reduction. Also, ensure there are no overly distracting items at the edge of the image. I often apply a small vignette just to draw the eye to the centre of the shot.