Learning from the Greats | Basics in Editing

My entire photography skill toolbox is self-learned. This is something I am very proud of given that I now teach others.

But I didn’t learn in a vacuum without help.

I turned to the free resources my favorite photographers put out on YouTube and their blogs (I was still in school when I started learning photography and just could not afford the investment in their more professional courses—I still haven’t made the investment but I can consider it more seriously now).

Note: I edit almost exclusively in Photoshop so these resources will reflect my own initial education.

Here’s a few of these resources that gave me a fantastic foundation from which I was able enough to experiment and find my own style without crashing software and ruining models’ pictures.

1. Basic Skin Retouching For Beginners - Photoshop Tutorial by Jessica Kobeissi

Frequency Separation is my main edit action to smooth skin out and color correct for blemishes and acne. I don’t think I can survive with it! Jessica lays it out really nicely with this great tutorial and is the reason I know how to frequency separate in the first place.

Note: The link in the video description doesn’t work anymore so I found a new one that you can find here.

2. “How I Edit and Retouch Fashion Portraits - Photoshop Tutorial” by Jessica Kobeissi

A second resource from Jessica that covers color correction and things like exposure, highlights, shadows, etc. I edit a little less yellow than she does but I learned a lot from this video.

3. “My TOP 10 Photoshop Hacks for Portraits” by Irene Rudnyk

There’s a lot to learn in this video especially with retouching! If you’re just learning Photoshop, this is a great resource to get you started with tricks that will make your everyday pictures just a little more glam.

4. How to make your photos LOOK BETTER FAST! Photoshop Tutorial by Peter McKinnon

Every single one of Peter’s tutorial videos are worth watching. This one is a good start to the McKinnon world with quick tips and tricks in Photoshop. Peter’s editing style is very specific and he mentions all the time that it’s just his preference and that you should experiment and not just copy him. That advice helped me find my photographic “voice,” so to speak. His tutorials focus a lot more on the shooting part of photography but when he does do software tutorials, they’re always great. Ugh, I love Peter McKinnon so much!

5. “Remove ANYTHING from a photo using Photoshop!” by Peter McKinnon

This one is a little more technical but it’s SO good for when your background is irritatingly messy or someone walks in your frame. Also, Peter does hilarious sponsorship plugs that are so entertaining and this video is a good example of that.

6. “Fake Yourself Flawless - Beginner Retouching Secrets in Photoshop” by Sorelle Amore

None of these resource lists are complete without some Sorelle. This is a really fun tutorial to watch with a lot of information for when you’re starting out with Photoshop. It’s a little crazy and whimsical but shows you the power of good editing!

7. “The ANTI-EDITING Tutorial for Boudoir” by Michael Sasser

I had to drop a Lightroom tutorial and a tutorial for boudoir editing and Michael delivered a two-in-one! If you’re batch editing and need to be quick, Lightroom is so much easier than Photoshop. I rarely batch edit because I enjoy getting really nitty-gritty but this tutorial has come in handy a few times when I needed a quick turn around. Michael uses an additional software in Lightroom called Portraiture which makes frequency separation look like a medieval technique with its speed and precision at a click of a button but it is expensive (another reason I stay in Photoshop).

These were the first few videos that helped me get started. Nothing crazy and too advanced for now. I’ll follow up soon with a list of more advanced resources for editing!

You’ll also notice many of these photographers mention “presets.” Presets are just saved settings you can use for any picture to make editing faster and more efficient if you already know the vibe and feel you’re going for. Most of these photographers sell their presets for pretty cheap (like USD$ 15 for a bundle of them) but you can also make your own in both Lightroom and Photoshop. I personally don’t use presets because I shoot very different moods most of the time but I’ve also been itching to experiment with making a few and seeing if they' make my editing process any easier.

That’s it for now!

P.S.: This post is dedicated to my amazing partner and fellow photographer (in-training), Raymundo Gonzalez!