Editing in Post Without Going Bonkers

For reference, I’ll be talking about editing in Lightroom, but most decent photo editing software has near-identical tools and settings.

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The Golden Rule: Don’t Overdo It

Here’s the deal with editing: the goal is to enhance your image, not turn it into a contestant on Love Island. Start with a good photo (always helps), then tweak gently. Think of editing like seasoning food—too much, and you’ve ruined dinner.

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Contrast Is King, but Don’t Rush the Coronation

• Clarity? Keep it chill—between -10 to -30 is the sweet spot for that natural, “I woke up like this” look.

• Crank it too high and you’ve got yourself an HDR disaster from 2008.

• Colour grading? Less nightclub, more National Geographic.

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Sharpening & Contrast: Finesse Over Force

Blanket sharpening across the whole image? No thanks. Use linear gradient masking to:

• Keep distant objects soft

• Let the foreground or subject pop

If your software allows edge masking for sharpening, even better. That way, you’re not accidentally sharpening the air around a tree and giving it a weird halo of doom. That tree didn’t ask to look like it’s being haunted by a glowing pigeon.

This one I turned down the greens a bit so it wasn’t just a green mess

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Midtones, Clarity & The Crunch Factor

Too much positive clarity in the midtones = harsh, crunchy images.

If your subject’s meant to be in the distance but the foreground has less contrast…

Congrats, you’ve just made a green screen effect—without the green screen.

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Colour Magic: Enter the Luminance Slider

This is where the real magic happens. Most of the heavy lifting lives in the blues and greens.

Greens

• They’re show-offs. Knock their saturation down.

• Adjust luminance to set the mood:

• Want a calm forest? Dial it back.

• Want punchy greens? Please don’t. Unless you’re going for radioactive pigeon habitat vibes.

Blues

• Reduce their luminance = deeper, moodier shadows.

• Want those classic blue sky days without frying your eyeballs?

• Lift blue luminance

• Drop blue saturation

• Boom—instant magic.

sometimes just selecting a black and white preset is enough

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Faking Sunlight (Legally)

Want to cheat a little sunshine into your shot? Try a radial gradient from the sun’s direction:

• Warm it up

• Boost the highlights or exposure

• And just like that, you’ve got that golden hour glow—even if you took the photo on a grey Tuesday in Bognor.

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Top Tip: Slight Underexposure

Underexposing your image slightly is like buying post-processing insurance:

• You can lift the shadows later

• The noise gremlins stay away

• If your blacks are getting cluttered, just tone down the shadows to tidy things up

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Final Thoughts

Editing is supposed to be fun, not a descent into madness. Make subtle choices, don’t oversharpen the pigeons, and always keep your end goal in mind: natural enhancement, not digital chaos.