The colors in your photos aren't always perfect straight from the camera. Knowing how to easily and naturally restore vibrant colors, especially in plants or trees, will dramatically improve your images without making them feel fake or overdone.
Coming to you from Aaron Nace with Phlearn, this informative video covers an effective yet straightforward approach in Photoshop to rejuvenate faded or dying trees and greenery. Nace starts by converting the main layer into a smart object, allowing flexible adjustments that you can fine-tune at any stage. Next, he demonstrates the Camera Raw filter—a powerful but user-friendly tool you may already have heard of but perhaps haven't fully explored—in simple, practical terms. Nace guides you step-by-step through hue adjustments to shift yellows subtly back into natural greens. The video clearly illustrates how these subtle adjustments maintain realism while making foliage look healthy again.
Nace also breaks down how to use saturation and luminance effectively within the Camera Raw filter, clearly demonstrating the visual impact of each adjustment. Instead of randomly moving sliders and hoping for the best, his approach is intentional, controlled, and easy to replicate across multiple images. This technique proves valuable whether you're shooting pure landscapes or portraits with nature in the background. Importantly, because Nace uses smart objects, you can toggle adjustments on and off easily and refine them later without permanently altering the original pixels.
The video makes a point of showing real-world applications rather than theoretical examples, focusing on situations you'd likely encounter and need to handle efficiently. This isn't about flashy edits or unnatural colors but about quickly rescuing images that didn't turn out as lively as you'd hoped initially. These simple but powerful tweaks can save an otherwise dull or lifeless shot without investing hours in complicated editing. Nace helps you learn exactly where to begin and shows you clearly why each step matters—while leaving plenty of room to experiment based on your own photographic style.
Considering how regularly you might run into disappointing foliage or washed-out greenery in outdoor images, the few minutes you invest learning this Camera Raw method could enhance dozens, even hundreds, of future shots. Whether you're working on enhancing professional images or cleaning up snapshots from casual shoots, knowing these quick adjustments can bring a noticeable improvement. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Nace.
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!”
