I Edit Your Photos!

Teo Crawford
25 Dec 202223:16

TLDRIn this video, the host showcases a second edition of 'I Edit Your Photos!', a project where they edit raw pictures sent in by viewers. They received numerous submissions and have split the task into two parts, with this video featuring the first 18 photos. The host uses Adobe Lightroom to make various adjustments, including white balance, contrast, and saturation, to enhance the mood and colors of each photo. Techniques such as adding teal to shadows, yellow to mids, and color grading are employed to bring out the best in each image. The video provides a fascinating insight into photo editing, demonstrating how small tweaks can significantly improve the look and feel of a photograph.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 The video is a follow-up to a previous video where the creator edits photos sent in by viewers, showcasing a second edition with a new set of images.
  • 📸 The creator received many photo submissions and thanks the participants, but can only edit a selection due to the volume.
  • 🧩 The photos are split into two parts for the video series, with 18 photos in each part, and this is part one.
  • ⚙️ The editing process typically starts with basic settings, most importantly white balance, to set the direction for the image.
  • 📈 The creator adjusts tonal values, contrast, and shadows to control the overall look and feel of the photo.
  • 🎭 Additional adjustments include adding vibrance and saturation, and using curves for further contrast and color enhancement.
  • 🖼️ Specific color grading techniques are used, such as adding teal to shadows and yellow to mids for a warmer or cooler effect.
  • 🌄 The creator uses masks to brighten or darken certain areas of the photo to draw attention or enhance the composition.
  • 📘 Before and after comparisons are shown for each photo to demonstrate the impact of the editing process.
  • 🎞️ The video includes editing of both digital and analog (film) photographs, with specific techniques for each.
  • 🌟 The editing goals vary from photo to photo, aiming to enhance the original mood or bring out certain features like light rays or skin tones.
  • ✂️ The creator also discusses the use of cropping to change the aspect ratio of a photo, which can improve its composition.

Q & A

  • What was the purpose of the video titled 'I Edit Your Photos!'?

    -The purpose of the video was to showcase the process of editing photos sent in by viewers, as a follow-up to a similar video made two years prior.

  • How many photos did the creator select to edit for this video?

    -The creator selected a total of 36 photos to edit, which were split into two parts for the video series.

  • What was the first step the creator took when editing the photo by Thiago Matios?

    -The first step was adjusting the white balance to set the direction for the edit and then warming it up slightly.

  • What tool did the creator use to convert the film photo by Jens?

    -The creator used Negative Lab Pro to convert the film photo by Jens.

  • What was the creator's approach to editing the photo taken by Kostok Patel on his phone?

    -The creator started with basic adjustments, decreased contrast, set a warm white balance, softened the shot, added haze, and increased vibrance and saturation.

  • How did the creator enhance the colors and mood in the photo by Thiago Matios?

    -The creator added some teal to the shadows with the red curve, a bit of yellow to the mids with the blue curve, and then adjusted the color wheels to add more teal in the mids and some yellows in the shadows.

  • What was the creator's process for editing the foggy shot by Kevin Pietek?

    -The creator warmed up the image, darkened it, softened and added saturation, de-hazed it slightly, and then made adjustments in the curves to darken the mids and add colors to the shadows and mids.

  • How did the creator approach the editing of the abstract shot by Pushkar Dial?

    -The creator boosted the colors and contrast to make the droplets stand out more, added a strong S curve in the curves, and used the color grading tab to add orange to the mids and blue to the shadows.

  • What was the creator's strategy for editing the street photography shot by Psy Photo?

    -The creator warmed up the shot, decreased the contrast, recovered from overexposure, softened the image, and added saturation. Then, using curves and color grading, added teal and yellow, and some red to the highlights for a sunny warm vibe.

  • How did the creator edit the self-portrait by Gab's Tombs?

    -The creator did some contrast tweaking, color adjustment, darkened the shot with a slope in the curves, added teal to the shadows in the red channel and blue to the blue channel, and then used masks to concentrate focus on the middle and subject.

  • What was the final step the creator took in editing the autumn photo by Ad Mubashu?

    -The creator added sharpening and grain, and then made small changes with masks and brush strokes to enhance certain areas of the image.

Outlines

00:00

📸 Photo Editing Process Overview

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude to participants who sent in photos for a second edition video. They mention they received many emails and chose 36 photos to edit, splitting them into two parts with 18 photos each. The video showcases the editing process in Adobe Lightroom, starting with basic settings like white balance and tonal values, followed by adjustments to contrast, shadows, and saturation. The speaker also discusses color grading techniques, including adding teal to shadows and yellow to mids for a warmer look.

05:02

🎨 Advanced Color Grading Techniques

The paragraph details the color grading process for several photographs. The speaker describes adjustments made to the red and blue color curves to introduce teal into shadows and yellow into mids. They also touch upon the use of color grading tabs to add warmth and fine-tune colors. Additionally, the speaker uses masks to selectively darken or brighten parts of the image and concludes with sharpening and adding grain to finalize the edits.

10:03

🌁 Foggy and Abstract Photo Edits

The speaker discusses the editing of foggy and abstract photos, emphasizing the importance of preserving silhouettes in foggy scenes and enhancing the appearance of droplets in abstract shots. They use white balance adjustments, dehazing, and saturation boosts to bring out the desired mood in each photo. Color grading is also applied to enhance specific color tones, and sharpening along with grain addition finalizes the edits.

15:04

🌅 Sunrise and Snowy Landscape Edits

The speaker focuses on editing a sunrise photo and a snowy landscape, aiming to bring out the warmth of the sunlight and the cold tones of the snow, respectively. They adjust the white balance, contrast, and use curves to enhance the mood. Color grading is applied to emphasize the sunrise's warm tones and the snow's cold hues. The use of masks for fine-tuning and the healing tool for cleaning up unwanted elements complete the editing process.

20:06

🍂 Autumn Colors and Final Edits

The final paragraph covers the editing of an autumn photo, where the speaker aims to enhance the season's colors without overdoing the contrast. They use a unique 'W' curve in the color grading to maintain brightness in the mid-tones while adding contrast. Adjustments to the green primary in the calibration tab make the greens more vibrant. The speaker also uses color grading to add yellow to mids, orange to highlights, and green to shadows. The video concludes with a thank you note to the participants and a teaser for the upcoming part two.

Mindmap

Keywords

White Balance

White balance is a fundamental photography and video editing concept that refers to the process of ensuring that white appears white under varying lighting conditions. In the video, it is used as the starting point for editing photos to set the correct color tone for the image, which influences the overall mood and appearance.

Tonal Values

Tonal values refer to the range of colors or shades in a photograph, from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights. The script discusses editing these values to control the contrast and brightness of the image, which is crucial for enhancing details and achieving the desired visual effect.

Vibrance and Saturation

Vibrance and saturation are terms related to color enhancement. Vibrance affects the intensity of less-saturated colors, while saturation refers to the purity or intensity of a color. In the video, increasing vibrance and saturation helps to make the colors in the photos more vivid and eye-catching.

Curves

In photo editing, curves are a tool used to adjust the tonal range and contrast of an image. The script mentions creating an 'S curve' and other curve adjustments to refine the contrast and bring back details in a controlled manner, which is essential for achieving a specific look or mood in the edited photos.

Color Grading

Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video, or still image. The video discusses using color grading to add certain hues to shadows, mids, and highlights to create a cohesive and stylized look, which is a key aspect of giving photos a professional and artistic finish.

Dehaze

The dehaze feature in photo editing is used to reduce the appearance of atmospheric haze in images, making details clearer. In the context of the video, the dehaze slider is adjusted to either enhance or reduce the hazy effect, depending on the creative goal for each photo.

Calibration Tab

The calibration tab in photo editing software allows for fine-tuning of primary and secondary colors to achieve more accurate and desired color representations. The video script describes using the calibration tab to make subtle adjustments to colors, such as shifting yellows towards green or adjusting the blue primary.

Masks

In the context of photo editing, masks are tools that allow editors to apply effects to specific areas of an image without affecting the rest. The script mentions adding masks to brighten or darken certain parts of the photos to enhance lighting or draw attention to specific elements.

Sharpening and Grain

Sharpening is a process that enhances the details of an image, making edges appear more defined. Grain refers to the texture added to an image to simulate the film grain look or to reduce the appearance of noise. The video discusses applying sharpening and grain as finishing touches to give the photos a polished and professional look.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between the width and the height of an image or screen. In the video, the editor crops a shot to a wide cinemascope aspect ratio to suit the scene better, emphasizing the composition and the narrative of the image.

Negative Lab Pro

Negative Lab Pro is a plugin used in photo editing to emulate the look of film negatives. The script mentions using Negative Lab Pro to convert raw scans of film photos, which is a crucial step in giving the digital images a traditional film aesthetic.

Highlights

The video is a second edition of 'I Edit Your Photos' where the creator edits photos sent in by viewers.

The creator received a large number of photos and has chosen 36 to edit, split into two parts.

The editing process includes basic settings, tonal value adjustments, and color grading using Adobe Lightroom.

The creator emphasizes the importance of white balance as the first step in photo editing.

A technique used is adding teal to shadows and yellow to mids for a warmer look.

Vibrance and saturation are often increased to make colors stand out more.

The S-curve in the curves adjustment is used to enhance colors and mood.

Film scans are converted using Negative Lab Pro, with further adjustments for warmth and contrast.

The creator uses color grading to add specific hues to different parts of the photo for a desired mood.

Masks are applied to brighten or darken specific areas of the photo to support the overall lighting.

The editing of a foggy photo involves dehazing to retain silhouettes in the background.

For a street photography shot, the creator aims for a sunnier and warmer look with enhanced green tones.

Skin tones and green colors are carefully adjusted in the calibration tab for natural and pleasing results.

The final steps often include sharpening the image and adding grain for texture.

The creator appreciates the vulnerability of viewers sending in their photos for editing.

A sequel to this video, part two, is in production and will feature more edited photos.