50 30 November 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

Technique

Even woodland scenes shot on a

drizzly day can make nice prints.

LizzieShepherdis yourguide

T

his is a favourite

image and was

the result of a

chance encounter.

It was a wonderfully dank,

mizzly kind of day and, as

I wandered in the woods

near Hodge Close Quarry

[in Cumbria], this beautiful

and somewhat broken

old birch tree jumped out

Behind the

print

3

HSL sliders desaturated

the green in the bracken

and trees. The greens went

down by -13, the blues by -2.

4

Using an adjustment layer in

Photoshop, I desaturated the

greens further. I used the brush

tool to apply just to the bracken.

2

I set clarity to -30. I often

use this for woodland

images, particularly detailed

ones, viewing at 100%.

1

I lifted the shadows (+62)

and pulled back the

highlights (-20) to reveal the

gentle tones and textures.

Lizzie Shepherd

Lizzie is a full-time

photographer,

specialising in

landscape, nature and

travel. She runs a

number of small group

workshops in the UK

and Europe and writes and speaks on

photography. See http://www.lizzieshepherd.com

and the Joe Cornish Gallery in Yorkshire.

LIZZIE’S LIGHTROOM MASTERCLASS

1 Cream of the crop
When composing the image, I had thoughts of
a 5:4 crop – although I’m unable to set this in
camera. In the end, I opted for a slightly wider
4:3 ratio, finding the inclusion of the left-hand
tree trunk provided a better framework and
overall balance.

2 Split toning secrets

The white balance was on the cool side for this

image. Rather than use the temperature and

tint sliders to add warmth, I opted to use split

toning, allowing me to add more warmth to the

highlights than to the shadows, with both hue

and saturation set independently.

3 Adding global contrast

I used the Tone Curve to add just a little more

global contrast. I find this an intuitive way to

work, allowing me to make gentle, incremental

adjustments; I move between this and the Basic

panel to fine-tune my settings, going by instinct

but also keeping an eye on the histogram.