Make a moody seascape in Lightroom Classic

If you feel you've missed the perfect shot, a monochrome conversion could save the day

- Sean McCormack

Have you heard the phrase “You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take”? While it’s meant to apply to taking chances, with photography it’s a literal fact. Being there is often the most challenging part of getting a shot in landscape photography. Maps, weather forecasts, sun position and sunset or sunrise times – all play a role in dictating the perfect shot. And heaps of luck, of course.

Not every day needs to be perfect, though. Some photographers do amazing work on really bad days. For example, Julian Calverley has produced some outstanding and inspirational work shooting in horrendous weather, when most of us would just stay at home. Even when the days aren’t that bad, you can feel you’ve missed the perfect shot, but you may still have some options.

It may be a cliche to suggest a black-and-white conversion, but it can often be the making of a shot. Here’s a shot from a day when the sun was in and out of clouds, with rain never far away. For effect, this was shot with a 6-stop ND to slow the motion of the water.

Expert tip: Change mood in colour