Post-processing is where a good capture becomes a finished photograph. My approach to editing landscape images has simplified over the years. I aim for results that look natural and honest to the scene while bringing out the qualities that made me press the shutter in the first place.

Here is my Lightroom Classic workflow, step by step.

Step 1: Import and Cull

I import RAW files with a dated folder structure: Year > Month > Location. During import, I apply no presets. I want to evaluate each image on its own terms.

Culling happens first. I go through every frame using the flag system: Pick (P) for keepers, Reject (X) for obvious failures. I am ruthless at this stage. A landscape trip might produce 200 frames. I typically flag 15 to 25 as keepers.

Step 2: Profile and White Balance

Before touching any sliders, I select the correct camera profile. Adobe Landscape or Camera Landscape are reasonable starting points, but I often prefer Adobe Standard for its neutrality.

White balance comes next. Auto white balance in RAW is just a suggestion. For golden hour shots, I warm the temperature slightly (around 5500-6500K). For blue hour or overcast conditions, I let the cooler tones remain, typically 4500-5500K. The goal is to match the feeling of the moment, not to impose an artificial color scheme.

Step 3: Exposure and Tone

I work the Basic panel sliders in this order:

  1. Exposure: Get the overall brightness right first. Histogram should use the full range without clipping highlights or crushing shadows.
  2. Highlights: Almost always pulled down, often significantly (-40 to -80). This recovers sky detail.
  3. Shadows: Opened up moderately (+20 to +50) to reveal foreground detail. Heavy shadow recovery introduces noise and an artificial HDR look, so I stay conservative.
  4. Whites: Set by holding Alt/Option while dragging until the first pixels begin to clip. This sets the true white point.
  5. Blacks: Same technique for setting the black point. A small amount of pure black anchors the image.

Step 4: Presence

Clarity adds midtone contrast and local punch. For landscapes, +10 to +25 usually enhances texture in rocks, foliage, and clouds without looking over-processed.

Vibrance selectively boosts muted colors while protecting already-saturated tones. I prefer it over Saturation, which applies uniformly and quickly looks garish. Vibrance at +10 to +20 is usually sufficient.

Dehaze is powerful but dangerous. Even small amounts (+5 to +15) can enhance atmospheric depth. More than that and images take on a dark, crunchy appearance.

Step 5: Tone Curve

I apply a gentle S-curve for contrast: lift the shadows point slightly (prevents pure blacks, adds a film-like quality), pull down the highlights point slightly, then add a subtle S in the midtones. This produces richer contrast than the basic contrast slider while preserving more shadow and highlight detail.

Step 6: HSL Adjustments

The HSL panel allows targeted color corrections. Common adjustments for landscapes:

  • Blues: Shift hue slightly toward cyan for cleaner skies. Desaturate if the blue is too intense.
  • Greens: Shift hue slightly toward yellow for warmer, more natural-looking foliage. Adjust luminance to brighten or darken vegetation.
  • Oranges and yellows: Fine-tune warm tones in golden hour light.

Small moves here. If you are dragging any slider past +/- 30, reconsider whether the image needed that adjustment or whether something upstream is off.

Step 7: Local Adjustments

This is where editing becomes specific to the image. I use graduated filters to darken skies or brighten foregrounds. Radial filters can draw attention to a specific element. The adjustment brush handles precise work: dodging a shadow area, burning a bright distraction, adding clarity to a specific texture.

Each local adjustment should serve the composition. Ask yourself what you want the viewer to look at, and use local adjustments to guide their eye there.

Step 8: Lens Corrections and Transform

Enable lens profile corrections to fix distortion and vignetting. For wide-angle lenses, this makes a noticeable difference.

If the horizon is not level, fix it with the straighten tool. There is no excuse for a tilted horizon in a landscape photograph.

Step 9: Sharpening and Noise Reduction

For output sharpening, I typically set Amount to 40-60, Radius to 1.0, and hold Alt while adjusting the Masking slider until only the edges show white. This prevents sharpening smooth areas like sky and water.

Noise reduction depends on ISO. At ISO 100, little to none is needed. Higher ISOs require Luminance noise reduction in the 15-30 range.

Export

I export at full resolution as JPEG, quality 85-90, with sharpening for screen. For print, I export as 16-bit TIFF with no output sharpening, handling that in the print driver or a dedicated sharpening plugin.

The entire process takes 3 to 8 minutes per image once the steps become habitual. Efficiency in post-processing means more time in the field, which is where the real work happens.