Common Editing Mistakes To Avoid

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When I first started my photography journey, I was reluctant to post process or spend any time developing those skills, and this certainly showed in my work. Over the years I've developed a simple, intuitive and highly effective way of processing my RAW files and dynamic light.
In this video I want to share with you some of the common mistakes I made early one, in the hopes that you can skip this frustrating phase and start getting solid results sooner rather than later!
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Enjoy!
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[@deangawler9727]

Love your tutorial. It's great to see a landscape photographer who aims for a natural look, and isn't madly cranking up the saturation and contrast, or constantly trying to recover every single shadow. Just because you can manipulate the cr@p out of a raw file, doesn't mean you should!

[@Jackie_Tikki_Tavi]

Yes, I mostly appreciate the explanation for why something is done and to what goal

[@lesscott3435]

Sorry to disagree but the contrast in the mountains was far better before he “recovers” to much shadow detail and spoils the final image

[@dr.nielsen9645]

I am finding the hard way that "recovering the shadows" is actually very important when you print your images. I used to think that clipping wasn't a big deal (and even liked the contrasty look), and yes, a small amount is ok sure...but you do need data almost all the way across the exposure. If you have significant clipping, you are going to have a bad print likely.
We are talking about different things when we talk about recovering shadows and creating an overly contrasty image. They aren't the same.
Also, by the time you open a raw file it has already had the crap manipulated out of it. No harm in further tweaking it to your vision.

[@banditalley9592]

Absolutely brilliant analysis of the "I want to see everything" problem so many suffer from. I have been guilty of it myself!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha. Thank you. Let’s let shadows be shadows and highlights be highlights.

[@WalkForFreedomOz]

Thank you Will for explaining your process. I'm guilty of bring as much detail as I can in as much of the image. You explain yourself very clearly. 👍

[@lisarobertson7011]

love your subtle processing - thanks for this !

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you ☺️☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@marcowolfart1977]

Wow. So much value on this video. Keep up the good work mate! 👏👏👏👏

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a ton!

[@bearcherian]

I could watch you do this all day. Your calm and soothing voice is also quite inviting. It's like Bob Ross, but for photography. Great video!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha, thank you!

[@dertomh]

This video is awesome. Thanks for giving out this information for free

[@radim_spitzer_seascapes]

so much information in this video! Love it. Really appreciate the time and effort with these, William!

[@kaissechopra7321]

Thanks a lot . Very clear tutorial.

[@rodrigoaugustogiranitejos9001]

Every time i see you videos i learned more and more thanks very much for more one beautiful video!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Glad to help! Always appreciate the views and comments 🙏🏻

[@mariavanderkraan7015]

What a wonderful video yet again. I love the fact it is not only technical, slide this, slide that, but also clearly explaining why you are doing it, explaining the "artistic" reasons for it. I have to watch this a couple of times before really grasping all the details but I can't wait to try this out on my images. Thank you so much Will

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment and support of the channel 🙏🏻💚

[@Randor10]

This is the first video of yours I’ve seen. The absolute best part, as others have noted, is you including your thought process and reasoning for each adjustment. Well done.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Randy, hope you enjoy some others. Plenty of new ones on the way. Cheers.

[@4kawolfe]

Excellent video!! Thanks for sharing

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot Karen 🙏🏻

[@jonvause9883]

Great video Will. You explained not only how but why which is really helpful. Thanks.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks mate

[@caroleneame4974]

This was very informative. Thank you

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks 🙏🏻

[@ronmarsalis941]

Really well put together William, your tips simplified many key editing concerns needed to create a natural look that many of the pros online just cant properly convey. Great job.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot Ron, I really appreciate it.

[@drive.hike.capture]

Great video man! Appreciate the detail and the explanations!!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks for the support! 🙏🏻❤️

[@theolinol]

Thanks William, another great tutorial

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Very welcome

[@SonjaBella]

Thanks Will, your tutorials are always informative and easy to follow. Really appreciate the videos you put out 👍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Sonja!

[@richardsmith5021]

Thanks for the discussion of contrast between foreground and background elements. I hadn't thought of it the way you described it. I'll definitely be changing my post processing procedures. Thanks again.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

No worries. I think photographers definitely don’t think about tonal range as much as we should, compared to painters. We can learn a lot from them. thank you mate.

[@garyrowe58]

Yup, it's called 'aerial perspective'

[@stuartbell3666]

Thanks Will! I've always loved the way you edit, how you travel the viewers eye through to the to the hero of the image. Great tips and insights as usual, keep it up mate!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you mate! Always appreciate the comments 💪🏼🙏🏻

[@davidligon6088]

These editing examples are very helpful and inspiring. This is definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen. Thanks for the food for thought.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot Dave. Much appreciated.

[@robbertjurrien7550]

Thank you!! I like the relaxing tone in the video.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot ☺️🙏🏻

[@GuilM]

Thank you so much ! It's been a year I'm doing landscape photography and I'm so proud of the progress I made month after month and it's all thanks to your tips. Keep it up !

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

So glad to hear that, thank you!

[@denisejanisch5112]

Such a useful and well explained set of tips. Thanks so much!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

My pleasure. Thanks!!

[@kevinmcdonnell]

Will, another fantastic and valuable lesson. Selective and subtle and in moderation. Thank you again for the words of wisdom and the tonal guidance.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

My pleasure. Thanks as always Kev.

[@LuckyPiano]

Wow that was so good! I've watched so many tutorials that it surprises me when I find new ones that introduce highly useful concepts. Awesome job!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

That means a lot, thank you 💙🙏🏻

[@MegaDwilkinson]

Awesome instruction as always Will - thank you for sharing your expertise so generously

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Good onya mate, thanks as always!

[@rachelsmyth9912]

Love your videos, thank you!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

That means a lot, thank you!

[@user-co5nx3yo6g]

Real good explanation; calm, clear! Thank you

[@ajithabeysekara9105]

Best editing lesson I have ever seen. This transformed my editing style completely .Thank you so much Willam.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Wow thank you!

[@duncan_struthers]

Loving both your images and your tutorials Will, thank you 🙏

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you mate!

[@rosssayer6524]

Very nice edit and well explained, Many thanks William for sharing this with us. Love that soft touch.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers Ross!! :)

[@mooshaikh2030]

I've not seen a man speak this many facts in a hot minute!!!!! very true and helpful !!!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha, thanks mate!

[@Ben_CoombeNz]

Great step by step walkthrough mate! Very subtle final image. Looks awesome 😎

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks brother 👊🏻

[@Walkinginthewoods]

Thank you William very helpful advice.

[@SaraWC72]

😂 I should have watched this one before I edited my first pics…starting to all make sense to me now…thankyou again Will 🙏

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

😅❤️

[@barkleyc]

Thanks for sharing, great video. You're not only a photographer but also an amazing artist. Good job.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you!

[@davepastern]

Many thanks mate - awesome video.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks mate!

[@MrBrabo1]

I just really loved this video. It has many tips/tricks that I definitely will be coming back to 👍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot mate!

[@joanhuggett5164]

Your patience is very evident when you teach, William, and much appreciated.
A very beautiful image here. I oh so wanted you to bring out more gold highlights in the foreground grass, but you explained why you didn't, and I understand. (Even so :)
Loving your Masterclass; taking lots of notes.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Joan! It’s all subjective though, I could (and would) look at this image and find something to adjust and tweak. There’s no perfect result. The principles I teach here are certainly good to keep in mind though. Thanks as always!

[@guntherreissner5966]

Hi William, for some time now I have been watching your videos. And I have to say, thanks for sharing your insight, it has helped my photography a great deal.
I am looking forward to your next video.
Greeting from Austria.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you!

[@matthewgarnett5615]

I really enjoyed watching this video, thanks for the thoughtful advice and tips.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Hope you enjoy the rest of the channel and new stuff on the way :)

[@ianbraithwaite9563]

Excellent Video Will made great sense. Little adjustments all add up and make the photo Pop! Easy to understand.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Spot on! Thanks mate :)

[@sawekzabron8591]

Another grate tutorial editing. 👏👏👏 and thank You William 🤝 you opened my mind, vision for my editing 🙂

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks so much ☺️🙏🏻

[@melissahall7009]

I love your editing videos!!! They are the best tips I’ve found. Your processing is beautiful. Thank you! 🖼️🤍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks Mel! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@chriswright6381]

Excellent video! That tip about change in tonal range and colour between fore, mid and background is so useful. Also the use of the colour grading wheels (using the shift key to lock in the hue - so handy!). Cheers!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Chris! 👊🏻

[@pangelos44]

Really good information you are sharing. Thanks Will! 👍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers mate!

[@forresthogue3532]

AMAZING explanation! Definitely learned a few tricks and will be saving this video to refer back to it! Thanks!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

You’re awesome. Thank you!

[@timshields8720]

Bloody excellent 👏 learnt ALOT is such a short video. Cheers!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks legend 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@rhodesia1578]

As always Will .. all educational and informative.. simply explained for the laymen folk .. great episode as always.. stay well !

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you!

[@Mattburgessphotocom]

Another great walk through mate ! thankyou !!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks mate!

[@geo4844]

Wow, great advise! Thank you!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@eliot9217]

The best photography tutorial I've seen in a very long time! I've been doing my photo editing wrong this whole time! Thanks so much for this!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks so much. There’s no right or wrong but I’m glad to have given you some food for thought :)

[@conniequinton371]

Thank you for this great video!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks Connie!

[@josstroobants]

Very instructive, thank you Will 👍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@travishenry6764]

Excellent tutorial. Great detail.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks Travis 🙏🏻

[@photoman3579]

Excellent....transforming my photos !!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks!

[@erikladefoged6108]

Your videos/explanations are a joy to watch and follow - so well put together. "The eye" you repeatedly say/emphasize. I fully agree - that's what 'see's', but is so easily missed. Thanks a lot for great videos👍.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Really appreciate the comment mate, thank you! 🙏🏻

[@mikephillipsphotography]

Nice tutorial Will, thanks.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers Mike!

[@alessandropinto5204]

Great tips and excellent explanation!
Something I often see is a complete absence of care when touching up the sky in sea or lake images. What happens is that people get carried away by the apparent saturation increase thay they get by locally reducing sky exposure, but usually forget that the reflection should be darker. No reflection is lighter than what it reflects, ever. That lends a completely unnatural look to the image. So if darkening the skies is a must, don't forget to darken the reflections as well.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks. Yeah, mate, right on. The only downside of making a tutorial like this is that most people assume 1.I consider this a portfolio image and 2.That this is the final edit. Truth is I would do several more passes over the image in the editing stage and would have added some more midtone contrast. It was just used for teaching purposes. Hopefully gets some points across nonetheless. In the future I'll only be using portfolio images and have to film in segments to show the complete start to finish haha.

[@garyrowe58]

True - reflections are usually up to 2 stops darker.

[@larshefte2403]

Really one of the more helpful tutorials on post processing. Thanks a lot!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Really appreciate that. Cheers 🙏🏻

[@grufiog]

Great video!! This is a great class for intermediate and advanced photographers. Thank you for sharing!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you!

[@madebydbm]

Interesting and well explained - thanks 🙌

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers! 🙏🏻

[@aviatorman8]

Thanks William, very helpful. Cheers from Seattle!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Pleasure. Thanks for commenting and viewing 👊🏻

[@ArtandLes]

Very detailed and informative video. Very useful for landscape photography. ❤

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot 🙏🏻

[@gregmartin1615]

Brilliant! Thank you for a great video

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot Greg 🙏🏻

[@dreamship563]

This is amazing. Never knew about it. Definitely will apply to most of my images. You helped me a lot🙏 I will keep practicing. Thank you🙏

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks! 🙏🏻

[@krisweyers6248]

Very well done. I really like the color grading examples. It helped me really understand how to use it! Thanks!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Happy to have helped. Thanks for supporting the channel Kris 🙏🏻

[@Dipexplores]

It was so pleasing to hear your explanation along with your workflow. Thanks for sharing the process.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks for the kind words 🙏🏻

[@krzysztofchudoba9465]

Just started experimenting with photo editing after delaying it for so long, trying to focus primarily on video, and the explanation of the step by step process of localised adjustments just completely changed how I view editing. Can't wait to try this out

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Awesome, so glad to hear that. Thank you!

[@alexlford]

Yes mate - great videos

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot mate

[@newtuberhk]

Really good video. Yup, committed a lot of those mistakes. What you do makes a lot of sense. Thanks for showing.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@patcosgrave1546]

Simple and inspiring -------- a great video .Deeply grateful

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Pat 🙏🏻

[@NapalmAtSunrise]

Masterful class. Never thought about layering local contrast adjustments based on the distance of subject matter!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you. Stoked you enjoyed it 👊🏻

[@dhimandas]

Thank you for sharing the knowledge, I learnt a lot. For obvious reason, I tend to like the images where distant mountain also has some color, little bit of contrast, instead of muted, almost flat, specifically in this particular image. If the haze, foggy look comes naturally due to atmospheric reason that leaves just the shape of those distant mountains with color gradients, I like them. Probably I will need to train my eyes to start appreciating this look.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Every scene is different and the results subjective. If you look at my portfolio, you’ll see the majority of the time I aim to have sunlight hitting the peak. This image is just an example to show the principles and the ‘why’. Ultimately you should aim for a result you personally like, but hopefully this gave you some food for thought :)

[@thelensguy6050]

now i know why i always loved a little vignette :)), awesome video! thx

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks for watching!

[@hamshanksproductions7161]

This is great. What you can now do in ACR is amazing.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers 🙏🏻☺️

[@donaldhurley66]

Loved this video! I really wish their were more about editing like this on the web. I would pay for a class that dealt with this subject matter, I am fairly competent in Lightroom as far as masks and sliders but really need help in the artistic side. Your explanation of contrast and color in a scene was great. I would love to hear more about how you look at a scene and decide what to do with, it and not make it just about moving sliders.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you Don. Please check out the link in the description if you’re interested in learning more.

[@Nils.steiner]

Really a nice vid William! I learned some new stuff although I would consider myself as advanced Lr user. Thanks for that! 😁

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Great, thanks mate!

[@gamilcastro9593]

Great video. There’s a lot to unpack and absorb here for me as I will think about tonal range and contrast from foreground to background.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you! Best idea is to now practice on some images and then come back to the vid if you need a refresher. Appreciate the support 🙏🏻

[@shayanthis]

Excellent demonstrations on what the sliders and what not do, I'll probably use this video to help people understand LR and ACR, not just for landscape.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks, I appreciate that 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@howardrollinson3819]

Thank you William for that very informative tutorial I will try and do this on my photo's kind regards Howard

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot for checking it out Howard.

[@RobBrens]

Great walk through!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers Rob :)

[@NYskyHI]

Great tips and reminders to lay off the global settings.

[@zpinkcloudz]

Really enjoyed this tutorial. Your experience and expertise is prominent. Hope to be able to practice what you've shared in this video

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Very kind. Thank you ☺️🙏🏻

[@Olly.]

Incredible advice! Can tell you know what you are talking about. Definitely a great video for landscape photography editing. I'll be sticking around!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks a lot!

[@kencabeen7786]

Thanks so much William. Oh, how those global adjustments are a new shiny thing for beginners, myself included.

[@urionandon]

very informative, thanks

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you!

[@RichardSmith-rp7yp]

That is awesome Will. So subtle but so important. Now I have to go back and re edit all of my photos. I love fiddling on PS and LR, my wife doesn't understand though. Ha ha

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha, good onya mate!

[@guglielmo_nature_photography]

thank you really cool video, i really do like to precess images and i think i am already good at it but you cleared out some doubts to me so i am thankfull

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@rickfink]

great video thank you

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Great video mate

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks mate

[@steveking6204]

Well done.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Cheers Steve

[@TRaider66]

The issue I always have is deciding which version I create looks the “Best”. I end up with a top 3-4 every single edit!!
Good video!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha, true. Personally I take multiple visits on the image and take my time, until I know it’s done and there is no longer any doubt. Some images are harder than others too. Even the image in this video was not intended for me to make a final result, it’s just for educational purposes. It’s good to be critical but also, it’s good to just move on and not get too caught up on minute details. All the best!

[@shelleylewis8847]

Thanks!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you so much! 🙏🏻💪🏼☺️

[@SwanSycorax]

A great video, thanks. I use Capture One as my preferred RAW editor but the techniques you suggest are just as relevant.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thank you. It’s not so much the tools used or the ‘how to’ … but it’s about the ‘why’. Thanks for the support.

[@ViktorPankraz]

How have I edited so many photos without knowing these "basics"? I may have to reedit them after learning this 😅 Thank you so much Will!

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Haha, thanks a lot mate! 🙏🏻

[@duncanmeechan5694]

Now I kinda no what I have been doing wrong all this time, hopefully I can use the tips in this video to help me resurrect all my past mistakes. If I cannot do something or think it is not working I know where to come for some help and advice…here 😁 Thank you William, for the best and the only video that has made me look at what I have been doing wrong,what a help this has been😁👍

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Very kind, thank you for the thoughtful comment Duncan.

[@suitcasejunkies8719]

Nice in-depth and easy to follow tutorial. I really appreciate it, just nice small subtle adjustments, not like all these others tutorials with this mask, that mask, moving so fast you can't even follow, again thank you for your tutorial, you have a new sub.

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

That means a lot, thank you 🙏🏻

[@rubyvictoria7055]

Awesome! Great info. Question, to draw eye into shot and keep foreground sharp, where was your focus point in that shot? One of the rocks in the midpoint?

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Thanks! Yep, about 1/3 of the way in on the rocks. Have a video about focussing coming out soon :)