It’s time to enter our...

You’ve captured a great shot on the hill, but how do you give it the ‘wow’ factor? Affinity Photo’s James Ritson explains how editing software can turn all your images into real winners.

...2021 Mountain Photo of the Year competition!

Great light, amazing views and good compositions will go a long way to help you achieve stunning mountain images. But there’s a lot you can do once you’re off the hill to improve your pics too. Use these three simple editing tips to enhance your photos...

■ SHADOW & HIGHLIGHT

It’s tempting to push shadow detail up and bring highlight detail in. While this is beneficial for images that are underexposed, it’s easy to get carried away applying this technique to most of your images. So use a light touch and consider learning to employ more advanced tehniques such as brush work with blend modes for selective tonal enhancement.

■ LAYERS

If you’re unfamiliar with layer-based editing software you may not realise the extent and power of it. Layers provide the ability to work non-destructively, so any editing decision you make can easily be changed at a later date. And you can also experiment with multiple revisions to see which you prefer.

■ TAKE STOCK

Zoom out of your image to evaluate tone and composition. When looking at the entire image at a smaller reproduction, analyse it and ask yourself if it still has the same impact. It’s also sometimes beneficial to come back to it another day.

■ For more info on editing capabilities with Affinity (50% off when you enter this comp), go to affinity.serif.com