If you've struggled with editing photos that have excessively bright highlights and deep, dark shadows, Lightroom's Adobe Neutral profile could fundamentally change your approach. This lesser-used tool offers distinct editing advantages, especially in complicated lighting situations.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this useful video walks you step by step through the process of using Adobe Neutral to rescue challenging raw images directly in Lightroom. Möhrle starts by selecting the Adobe Neutral profile, clearly demonstrating how this instantly makes your image appear flatter and lower in contrast. At first, this might seem counterintuitive. However, this "flattening" is precisely why the neutral profile works so well; by offering you an even, blank canvas, it puts more control directly in your hands, allowing targeted adjustments rather than fighting pre-existing contrast or exaggerated colors baked into the starting point. Möhrle offers straightforward guidance on manipulating shadows and highlights to recover hidden detail without additional software.
Möhrle takes the editing deeper by introducing clearly explained masking techniques in Lightroom. He demonstrates effective ways to isolate sections of the image—the sky, waterfalls, and foreground—making precise adjustments possible where you need them most. Masking, particularly using object selections, radial gradients, and appropriate subtractive methods, gives flexibility for landscapes that feature extreme exposure variation within one frame. He also touches on adjusting contrast, texture, clarity, and vibrance, giving you solid, practical methods that are easy to replicate without getting bogged down in unnecessary complexity or exaggerated retouching.
To add another creative layer, Möhrle explores color grading and calibration adjustments. He moves beyond basic color sliders, demonstrating how these advanced tools can subtly shift your image from superficially pleasing to thoughtfully striking without oversaturated or unnatural results. Particularly useful is his approach to balancing cool midtones in the waterfalls and foreground against warmer tones in the sky. His adjustments to the calibration tab—especially the blue primary hue slider—provide insight into quick, confident methods of color enhancement that many might overlook.
The video closes with a practical Photoshop segment on cleanup, using simple tools to remove distracting elements from the image. Möhrle's decision to switch quickly from Lightroom for cleanup is a good reminder of workflow efficiency; understanding when to utilize Photoshop alongside Lightroom is as important as mastering each application's editing tools independently. He skillfully employs Photoshop's remove and healing tools to handle distractions like water droplets and unwanted visual clutter, enhancing overall image clarity without substantial effort or technological drama.
If you're serious about refining your editing skills, especially handling challenging files where high contrast between highlights and shadows typically frustrates you, pay attention to Möhrle's clearly demonstrated workflow. You might find this approach just the thing to enhance your editing efficiency and improve final results. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan II - Discovering Hidden Gems with Elia Locardi!”
