Editing, Retouching and Advanced Image Processing

Lessons in this course

1. 1

   Editing Philosophy and Non-Destructive Workflows

   Learn a clear photo editing philosophy: the four levels of editing, editing for purpose, knowing when to stop, ethics by genre and a non-destructive mindset.

   5 min
2. 2

   Cropping, Straightening and Basic Corrections

   Learn the first editing steps: crop tools and aspect ratios, straightening horizons, lens corrections, and basic exposure fixes without clipping.

   5 min
3. 3

   Levels and Tonal Adjustment

   Learn how the Levels tool works: setting black and white points from the histogram, adjusting midtones, output levels and fixing casts with channel levels.

   5 min
4. 4

   Curves

   Learn the Curves tool: how it maps input to output tones, S-curves for contrast, faded blacks, targeted changes and RGB channel curves for color.

   5 min
5. 5

   White Balance and Color Correction

   Learn practical color correction: the white balance picker, temperature and tint, checking neutrals with RGB values, fixing skin and syncing sets.

   5 min
6. 6

   Saturation and Vibrance

   Learn the difference between saturation and vibrance, how to adjust individual colors, when to reduce color, and the signs of over-saturation.

   5 min
7. 7

   Noise Reduction

   Learn noise reduction in editing: luminance and color controls, AI denoise tools, when to apply it, local noise reduction and avoiding plastic results.

   5 min
8. 8

   Sharpening

   Learn how sharpening works: amount, radius, detail and masking, capture, creative and output sharpening, and avoiding halos and noise.

   5 min
9. 9

   Blurring and Selective Softness

   Learn when and how to add blur in editing: background and lens blur, miniature tilt effects, motion and radial blur, soft glow, and keeping it believable.

   5 min
10. 10

    Healing and Cloning

    Learn healing and cloning: spot healing, healing brush, clone stamp, AI removal, choosing sources, matching texture and finding dust spots.

    5 min
11. 11

    Removing Distractions

    Learn to find and handle distractions in editing: what pulls attention, choosing to crop, darken, blur or remove, and knowing when not to remove anything.

    5 min
12. 12

    Selections and Masks

    Learn selections and masks: tools from lasso to AI subject and sky selection, how masks show and hide edits, refining hair and luminosity masks.

    5 min
13. 13

    Local and Targeted Adjustments

    Learn local adjustments: brushes, gradients and radial masks, dodging and burning to shape light, brightening eyes and faces, and keeping results subtle.

    5 min
14. 14

    Layer Blend Modes

    Learn how layer blend modes work: darken, lighten, contrast and color groups, the most useful modes for photographers, and practical uses.

    5 min
15. 15

    Background Removal

    Learn background removal: AI tools, precise paths for products, refining hair, removing color fringes, keeping shadows and exporting transparency.

    5 min
16. 16

    Perspective and Geometry Correction

    Learn perspective correction: lens profiles, automatic and guided upright tools, vertical and horizontal transforms, and fixing stretched proportions.

    4 min
17. 17

    Advanced Retouching

    Learn advanced retouching: retouching levels, a step-by-step portrait workflow, frequency separation, product retouching, consent and retouching laws.

    5 min
18. 18

    Compositing and Image Construction

    Learn the technical workflow of photo compositing: organising layers, masking, matching perspective, light, color and contrast, shadows and grain.

    5 min
19. 19

    Image Manipulation Defects and Quality Control

    Learn to spot editing defects such as halos, banding, clipping, fringes, clone repeats and AI artifacts, and use a quality-control checklist before delivery.

    5 min