A Simple Photo Editing Trick You Should Know! | Warm vs Cold

I want to show you a simple photo editing trick that makes a huge difference. I use this technique a lot in Lightroom and Photoshop and you can use it for all kinds of photography–landscapes, travel photography, documentary, street photos, and even portraits... It's super simple but it just works if you use it correctly. I'll show you two totally different examples in this video: a landscape and a portrait...

I've talked about this in another editing video but I wanted to focus a little bit more on it and show you different options and tools in Lightroom or Photoshop Camera Raw that you can use.

It's all about color theory and warm vs cold colors. In the color wheel, warm and cool colors like blue and orange for example, are complementary colors. That means they're opposite from each other in the wheel and they just work very well together.

A simple Photoshop and Lightroom editing trick

Two things are important here. First of all RAW files just look dull and they need some work to make the photo look like what you saw when capturing it. Also, a lot of times your camera doesn't capture it properly because the white balance was off or whatever. Anyway, RAW files always need photo editing.

Then there's also the artistic part of editing. Most of the times, I don't edit to show an exact representation of the scene. I also want to convey a mood and emotion. The feeling that I had when taking the photo is just as important. That doesn't mean I want to create something that's unrealistic.

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Use photo editing to enhance a mood

Editing for a super realistic look is fine but there's also nothing wrong with adding something extra, some atmosphere. That's what photographers did in the film days too when they had a range of different films to choose from. Just find the right balance and don't go overboard when editing.

I like to add or enhance the contrast between warm and cold and you have a few options in Lightroom or Photoshop Camera RAW. The gradient tool is great but also split toning can help you to lift your photos to the next level.

Of course, it's all a matter of taste but it's a technique I like to use to because I can keep it subtle and natural. If you like it too, start experimenting with your own photos.