At the outset of the digital age of photography, many creatives were critical of what was more commonly referred to as photo ‘manipulation’ – a word that carried many negative connotations in its own right. Some hardened film devotees may have seen post-processing as cheating, merely because of how much quicker it was to apply effects at the computer, compared with the equivalent darkroom processes.
However, today, photo editing is far more widely accepted as an art form in itself, with many top professionals and social media influencers fully integrating it into their role as content creators. As with all artistic genres, trends in photography change rapidly, fuelled by the continued growth of social media. Some of these changes are seismic shifts but, often, styles are an evolution of an existing look, amended to incorporate the latest editing software features and cultural inspirations.
In this final part of our successful Masterclass Series, which has aimed to re-establish the current core techniques that every aspiring photographer should be equipped with today, Lauren Scott provides three essential editing techniques. Each of these covers the baseline tools and tricks for making successful edits and applying the current styles – from fundamental compositing skills using layer work to advanced colour customisation and monochrome conversion.
Leak it like a Lomographer
Sun flares and light leaks are in right now. Here's how to achieve the effect in Photoshop without overdoing it
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 273 de Digital Photographer.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 273 de Digital Photographer.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Apply a stylised detail enhancement
Give your photos a movie aesthetic with the bleach bypass effect in Photoshop
Sony FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G
Matthew Richards investigates this lightweight wide-angle zoom lens with a unique focal range
Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
This lens offers everything from wide-angle to super-telephoto reach, says Matthew Richards
Novo Helix T50 Carbon Fibre Tripod
Adam Waring discovers an unfeasibly small yet feature-packed travel tripod
OM System OM-1 Mark II
James Artaius finds the OM-1 Mark II has features that you wish your camera did
How do I get into events photography?
Jules Renahan, owner of Jules Renahan Photography and co-founder of PhotoHound, tells us what to expect when photographing events
Career advice
This issue, Claire Gillo looks at the logistics behind running a photography business and talks to an events photographer
My dream photo kit
With help from used camera gear specialists MPB, we've created an expert photographer's fantasy camera kitbag
Create wet plate portraits
Recreate the collodion process for enhanced detail
Fine-tune colour and saturation
Use Lightroom's extensive controls to enhance individual colours in your shots