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How a Pro Photographer Edits iPhone Photos

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As a photographer, I do most of my photo editing on a desktop computer with a giant screen. But like most people, I also take loads of pictures with my phone, and I often employ mobile apps to sharpen and polish those iPhone photos before sharing. The bevy of tools and adjustments in the best photo editing apps can be truly overwhelming. But don’t panic: In the video above, I walk through my basic workflow for quickly editing photos in one of our favorite apps, Adobe Lightroom.

You don’t need a deep knowledge of Lightroom to get great results. In this video, I focus on the basics first, such as exposure, and getting the most detail out of highlights and shadow areas. Then, I establish a look with contrast and white balance adjustments. Finally, I adjust specific hues and regions of the image. Check out the before-and-after results:

A dull image of a hillside on a seashore.
The original photo, shot with an iPhone XS. Photo: Michael Hession
A fully saturated image of a hillside on a seashore.
The edited version. Photo: Michael Hession

Every photographer has their own preferred methods for getting great results, and this is just one path that happens to work for me. Once you get familiar with the tools and figure out your own techniques, I think you’ll find it endlessly gratifying to control your photos and make them come alive without resorting to prefab filters.

Watch on YouTube

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