Hey everyone, welcome to the second episode of our Edit Explorer series! In Edit Explorer, we dive deep into submitted photo edits, offering constructive feedback and valuable tips that can enhance your photo editing workflows and techniques. If you’re a member of ON1 Plus, you can submit your edited photos along with sidecar files for review. Today, we’ve randomly selected three submissions from the community to discuss editing techniques and inject new life into these images.

Photo #1 Polar Bear:

Common issue: Bright background and darker subject. It can be tough for viewers to focus on a subject when the background is brighter and more illuminated.

Recommendation: Use selective editing to brighten the subject and darken the background – this can be performed with local adjustments or with filters.

Photo #2 Bird on Wooden Deck:

Common issue: The image lacks a lot of varying colors and has similar tonality across the entirety of the scene.

Recommendation: Style with a black-and-white look to emphasize the subject and to focus the viewer’s attention on the textures and details in the scene.

Photo #3 Bird Using Feeder: 

Common issue: Selectively editing subjects and the masks seem harsh and create halos.

Recommendation: Feathering the masks will help immensely to soften the edges and ensure the adjustments appear natural. If the image is underexposed, try using the develop tab to brighten the photo first – and then start selectively applying edits into the specific areas or subjects.

Thanks to everyone that submitted their images! Submit to the next Edit Explorer here —›