Creating HDR Effects in Lightroom and Photoshop

HDR processing can be a great option for creating powerful photographs, but you may not always have multiple exposures of the same shot. In a case where you don’t have 3, 5, or maybe even 7 different exposures to create a true HDR image you can still replicate the HDR look in Lightroom or Photoshop using a single exposure.

We’ll take a look at the process of creating HDR-like effects in both Lightroom and Photoshop in this one article. Lightroom is a little better for this purpose, so I recommend using Lightroom if possible, but for those of you who do not have Lightroom we’ll also show how it can be done in Photoshop.

Creating HDR Effects in Lightroom and Photoshop

How to Create a Cinematic Effect in Lightroom

In this tutorial we’ll go through the process of creating a cinema-inspired effect in Lightroom. The cinematic style works well with a lot of photos, and it is not difficult to create. The effects created in this tutorial are used in our “Intensity” preset, which is included in our set of 12 Cinema Lightroom Presets, so if you want the effect without following all of the steps you can simply use the preset.

How to Create a Cinematic Effect in Lightroom

How to Create a Beautiful Matte Effect in Photoshop

One of the most useful types of effects that you can create in Photoshop is the matte effect. Matte effects are highly versatile and will look great with a large selection of photos, and they are also pretty easy to accomplish.

Here we’ll go through the process of creating a matte effect from scratch. The effect we’ll be creating is the same as the one used in our “Strong Matte” action that is a part of our set of Matte Photoshop Actions. Of course, you can follow along with this tutorial to apply the effect to your own photos, or simply use the action if you’d like to save a little time.

How to Create a Beautiful Matte Effect in Photoshop

40 Free Lightroom Presets for Processing Your Photos

If use Lightroom to process your photos, you probably love Lightroom presets. With the help of presets, you can get beautiful looks with your photos in no time. There’s a wide variety of presets out there and some of them are available for free download. Here at...

How to Photograph Fireworks

Photo by Cedric Letsch, Unsplash License Fireworks can result in beautiful photos, but the task of capturing fireworks in your own photos can be intimidating if you’ve never tried it. Thankfully, photographing fireworks isn’t as difficult as you might...

How to Create a Cinematic Effect in Photoshop

The cinematic look is really popular right now, and you can easily create a nice cinema-inspired look in Photoshop. In this tutorial we’ll cover the process of creating the effect, but if you want to get the cinematic look instantly without any manual work in Photoshop you can download a free action here, and we also have a set of 20 Cinema Photoshop Actions that can be purchased.

How to Create a Cinematic Effect in Photoshop

How to Create a Haze Effect in Photoshop

In a recent post we looked at the process of creating a haze effect in Lightroom. Well, Photoshop can also be used to create some really beautiful haze effects, so we’re going to cover that as well. In this tutorial we’ll add a purple or violet haze effect that looks great with many photos. If you don’t want to follow along with the tutorial you can download a Photoshop action to automatically create the effect for you, and we also have a set of 14 Haze Photoshop Actions that can be purchased.

How to Create a Haze Effect in Photoshop

How to Create a Nice Haze Effect in Lightroom

Haze can add a nice touch to outdoor photos, from nature photos to portraits. Recreating a hazy effect can easily be done in Lightroom or Photoshop. In this article we’ll go through the simple process of adding haze in Lightroom. Here is the sample photo that...

How to Create a Light Leak Effect in Lightroom

Light leaks, although sometimes unintentional, can add some character and intrigue to a photo. In many cases light leaks can be used to create a vintage feel. While light leaks are ideally captured in-camera, Lightroom also makes it possible to artificially add a light leak effect.

How to Create a Light Leak Effect in Lightroom