Photo Editing Demonstration With Lightroom and Luminar

In this video, watch as I do a photo editing demonstration using five different images submitted by members of our Digital Photo Mentor Facebook group and community.

Thanks to the following people for the use of their images: Sarah K, Sue P, Fran Y, Dan W, Peter S.

Let’s get right into it.

I’m using mostly Lightroom to process the images, with a hop over to Luminar for one. But you can do the same kinds of edits using whatever software you prefer.

The sliders or names of things might be a little different but take the concepts and techniques and apply them to your workflow.

Watch the image processing demonstration

Learn how to use Lightroom Classic in my Lightroom for Photographers: The Complete Course. Even seasoned Lightroom users report that they’ve learned a ton of things there weren’t aware of. Check it out here.

Before and after images

I hope you found that helpful and interesting. Now, let’s look at the before and after images so you can see the final results.

#1 – Mountain scene in JPG format

Because I was starting with a JPG on this one, the detail isn’t a good in the bright areas of the sky as it would be from a raw file. But look at how much detail can be pulled out even from a JPG. I cropped the final image just a tiny bit on the left side to come into the tree reflection.

#2 – Sunbeams JPG image

Here is another JPG but I wanted to show how to bring out the beams of sunlight coming through the clouds.

Image #3 – Underwater sea turtle

This image of a sea turtle is fantastic! But because it was shot underwater it is really flat and lacks contrast. So that was my main objective for processing this image. That and to really feature the turtle and make him stand out more. The original image is an ORF file which is the raw formet from an Olympus camera.

Image #4 – Landscape RAW file

Image #5 – Floral conversion to black and white

For this final image, I did a black and white conversion. I love flowers in b/w and knew this one would translate well because of its nice contrast and tones.

I hope you found that helpful. Everyone sees things differently and has different ideas. You may process the same images completely different than I did, and neither of us is wrong. It’s all about your vision for your own images and what message you want to convey to the viewer.

These are just tips to help you get started and give you ideas if you feel stuck. Sometimes seeing through another person’s eyes or perspective can help give you a creative boost. That was my intention with this demonstration. You get to take it from here!

More photo editing with Lightroom videos and tips:

• Learn Lightroom
• Step by Step Tutorial – Import Photos Into Lightroom
• Using the Basic Sliders in Lightroom and Photoshop – a Comprehensive Tutorial
• Correct Your Images in Under 2 Minutes Using Lightroom
• Using Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts

More photo editing demonstrations using Luminar:

• Luminar Neo Review
• Luminar Neo: The Complete Course
• Video Tutorial: How to Apply a Bokeh Overlay to Make Your Images Pop
• How to Understand and Use the Curves Tool for Precision Photo Editing
• 5 Day Photo Editing Challenge

Get 15% off Luminar – use the code: DIGITALPHOTOMENTOR

NOTE: This discount code is only applicable to the regular price. During a sale, the price is already reduced and a further discount is not possible.

Join the DPM Facebook group

Just click here or on the image below to request joining our Facebook community. 

Cheers,