A few quick enhancements go a long way

Whether you’re working with vacation photos or landscapes, image files most often benefit from a few tweaks. Sometimes, enhancing photographs is dramatic, and other times it’s relatively minor.

Here’s an image of of an Irish countryside with a a view of the coast.

scenic image in Ireland - enhancing photographs
Image by Larry Shapiro

It’s a nice image, properly exposed, and the fence provides an interesting element which directs the viewer’s eye into the photo. It’s a bit dull, lacking in contrast and vibrance/saturation.  Opening the image in Photoshop, I used several filters from the NIK Color Efex Pro …

  • Pro Contrast
  • Glamour Glow
  • Foliage
  • Sunshine
  • Tonal Contrast

Using the Selective Tool Pallet makes applying filters quick and easy..

scenic image in Ireland
Image by Larry Shapiro

This image was a .jpg with no RAW file, so the sky gained some noise after the enhancements … and I used the Glamour Glow for some softening.