the MLK Memorial Edit | Part 1


Today I’m proud to share my first video (of a five part series) on image editing. In this article I’ll talk a bit about this new video series and what you can expect from my videos in the future.

About Photoshop for Image Editors

My background has a lot of diversity but if there’s one job I’m most proud of it’s working as a designer for Ford Design (North America). While I was there I worked in the digital core group where we created magic using computers. It was a creative environment where I had amazing mentors and access to the most powerful computers (including a large render farm) and all of the Industry standard software. Today I apply all the lessons I learned to my personal style of photography and image editing.

I don’t own the most expensive, latest & greatest top-of-the-line photography gear (my Sony A900 is over 6 years old now) so I use my skills as an image editor to create pictures that I can’t easily make “in camera”. Over the years I’ve developed my own personal style and it continues to evolve. One thing has stayed consistent – I get a lot of very positive inquiries about how I post process my images. This blog has shared tips and tricks for many years and now I’ll be sharing videos.

With my Photoshop for Image Editors series I want to share some of the many tips and techniques I use on a daily basis to crete unique images. For me the finishing touches can really turn an average shot into an amazing image. With a little dodging and burning, for example, you can completely change how a viewer looks at your final shot. That’s a powerful tool at your disposal and there are many more we can take advantage. With my new video series I want to share some of the techniques I use make the most of my images.

Every Friday I’ll share a new video here on my blog and on my YouTube page. Next Friday I’ll be posting part 2 of my MLK Edit series and in the accompanying blog post I’ll include the steps you see in the video.

The MLK Memorial Edit Video Series

Video is unique because it requires time to make as well as time to watch. I want this series to show the entire edit starting with the RAW file and finishing up when I save a reduced size jpg. One thing I don’t want is for viewers to be overwhelmed with too much information in a 30 minute long video.

For this five part series I’m sharing the entire edit of my image broken down into smaller videos (around 5 minutes each) to make it easier to find a specific technique. This first video is an introduction to my entire 30 minute edit (with the video sped up a bit). With this video viewers can see what I’m doing at each step and why.

I’ll start with this RAW file:

And by using Lightroom and Photoshop I’ll create this final image:

In the next four videos of this series I’ll be going in to great detail about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. If you want to know how I edit the RAW file in Lightroom, for example, then Part 2 is for you. Are you interested in how I corrected the color? Then Part 3 will give you an detailed explanation of how I use selections and adjustment layers to fix a tricky color cast. In part 4 I’ll share how I simulate a long exposure shot with Photoshop (using motion blur) and in the final video I’ll share a unique technique I use to add a targeted vignette.

the MLK Edit, Part 1 of 5

Part one of this series is an introduction to my entire edit. In 5 minutes you can decide if you want to watch the next four parts or skip directly to a later video. This approach should make it easier to watch the entire edit however you want (instead of searching for a particular technique in a 30 minute video). If a particular technique looks helpful you can add a bookmark to make it easy to find later.

If you have questions or comments be sure to leave a comment (here or on the YouTube page) and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.


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