56 12 October 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Technique
Maarten Mellemans reveals the
necessary steps he takes to get his
images print ready using Lightroom
A
big chunk of my
assignments
consist of
capturing events
in a documentary style,
ranging from corporate
events to weddings and
music festivals. I love being
on the go and capturing
moments that are over in
the blink of an eye. As such I
have to travel quite a bit and
Behind the
2
By lowering the
highlights slider,
details can be brought
back into the lights.
4
Using the spot removal
tool to get rid of this
bright spot will keep the
focus on the face.
1
This wall is ideal to use
for selecting the white
balance with the pipette tool.
3
Adding subtle colours to
the shadows will create
a cinematic look.
Maarten Mellemans
Maarten is a fine-art
photographer based
in Belgium. He’s
worked with a wide
range of clients
including magazines
and music festivals;
he also organises workshops.
See maartenmellemans.be and
photographydomination.com.
PREPARING FOR PRINTING
1 White balance
I never bother with in-camera white balance,
so the first thing I do in Lightroom is adjust it,
either by eye or with the pipette. I don’t care
too much about getting it ‘right’ but try to find
a specific mood that I think suits the image or
series. So in this case I reduced the orange.
2 General adjustments
I further enhanced the image by playing
around with the sliders in the ‘Basic’ panel.
While doing this, I kept a close eye on the
histogram as I wanted to retain detail in the
shadows and highlights. I also nudged the
Clarity slider, to add a subtle punch to the print.
3 Fine-tuning
Next, I fine-tuned the colours further as this is
the key part of the image. The shadows were
quite blue so I added some green into them
to achieve the moody look. This finish is often
used in classical paintings or movies such as
Amélie or The Matrix.