I’m helping out a fellow amateur photographer with her editing, and I wanted to share the results. I can’t stress how important good editing is! It makes or breaks a photo! If your having trouble editing or if you want a second pair of eyes to look at a shot feel free to email me! The more I teach the more I learn! 
On the left is the old photo on the right is the one I edited for her. copyright Denice’s photography.
I love this shot in BLACK and WHITE as well. I think it’s very powerful.
Here are the general steps I took to edit these photos. I used Lightroom 4 and Photoshop 6.
1. Crop the image. to make the tower be on the line of the 3rd quadrant because it makes the photo appeal more to the eye. IN general it’s a good practice to think about the rule of thirds as a guideline for whats appealing to the eye.
2. Open the photo in lightroom and used the medium contrast filter
3. Then used the punch filter.
4. First I select the ground in the picture and minipulate the curves I generally make it a little above the og. line and then below it to add more contrast.
5. Next i select the sky and then I go to “select” then “modify” then feather and I used 40 pixels. this just smooths my selection so it doesnt look all wonkadoodle when I manipulate it.
6. Now I manipulate the curve to my liking.
7.Next i select the tower and then I go to “select” then “modify” then feather and I used 40 pixels. Then I manipulate the curve and i made this one darker because I just like it looking more dynamic
8. Now I will select the canal. I used the curve to make it match the rest of the photo
9. Now I used the vibrance tool and I upped the vibrance to around 50 i believe
10. I used the levels tool and slightly adjusted the levels to make it pop more. I took the black marker and moved in it a tad.
11. Then I clicked the photo filter tool and added a warming filter. just for more color correction.
12. Finally I selected the tower and feathered the selection and went into filter and sharpen then chose smart sharpen and sharpened the tower.
THEN I SAVED! yay!
great post. G
Thank you!
Thanks!
I know it might have only taken you like 2 minutes to do this, but it’s a good idea to recommend saving often rather than just when you’re finished! This is a rough lesson to learn the hard way.
The black and white is fantastic. It’s great to be able to photograph something iconic in a new and meaningful way. Kudos to the photographer for seeking out the spot!
Do you know if PS3 has this “curve” thingy you’re talking about? Love the way it was used so subtly.
Yes it does! Most programs have a way of adjusting the curve! I totally agree I have a tool I use that reminds me to save every 10 or so minutes. Thanks!