How To Edit Photos In Photoshop (In 5 Easy Steps)

Main ideas / lesson

The video teaches a repeatable 5-step Photoshop workflow to edit a photo from a raw file into a finished, stylized image. The emphasis is on:

• Making Photoshop feel manageable with a system you can reuse
• Using Camera Raw for exposure foundation
• Doing edits in a non-destructive / revisitable way (e.g., smart objects, adjustment layers)
• Improving quality and style through object removal, contrast/color, and dodge & burn
• Exporting correctly depending on whether you want to share or re-edit later

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The 5-step Photoshop editing methodology (detailed)

Step 1 — Open the raw file + basic exposure correction (Camera Raw)

Goal: Create a balanced exposure so later edits have good starting information (detail in shadows and highlights).

• Open raw in Photoshop
  • From Photoshop: Open (or File → Open) and select the raw file
  • Raw automatically opens in Camera Raw

• Inside Camera Raw

  • Go to the Basics panel

  • Use this guiding question:

    • “Can I see all the details in my shadows?”
    • “Can I see all the details in my highlights?”

  • Shadows

    • If shadows are too dark, increase the Shadows slider to reveal detail
  • Highlights
    • If highlights are too intense / lack detail, decrease the Highlights slider to recover some information and reduce harshness
  • Blacks / Whites to restore contrast
    • Decrease Blacks to add contrast back to darker tones (while keeping shadow detail)
    • Increase Whites to add contrast back to bright areas (without destroying highlight recovery too much)
  • White balance
    • Adjust Temperature (cooler/warm look)
      • Example goal: “moody and cool” → move toward cooler/blue side
    • Adjust Tint
      • Fix color cast (e.g., move toward purples if the image feels green)
  • Optics correction
    • Go to Optics
    • Ensure:
      • Use Profile Corrections ✅
      • Remove Chromatic Aberration ✅
  • Before/after check
  • Compare Camera Raw “Before” vs “After”
  • Open into Photoshop as a Smart Object
  • Hold Shift while clicking Open Object (so edits remain editable)
  • To revisit Camera Raw later: double-click the Camera Raw thumbnail

Outcome of Step 1: Balanced exposure with recovered detail; no heavy styling yet.

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Step 2 — Object removal (remove distractions using Clone Stamp on a new layer)

Goal: Remove unwanted elements (example: a fallen tree near a waterfall) cleanly and non-destructively.

• Create a new layer
  • In the Layers panel: click New Layer
  • Rename to Object Removal
• Select Clone Stamp Tool
  • Press S
• Clone Stamp settings (base setup)
  • Brush: Soft Round
  • Mode: Normal
  • Opacity: 100%
  • Flow: 100%
  • Samples: All layers / “current and below” (so painting on the Object Removal layer works non-destructively)
• Remove the object
  • Zoom in
  • Choose a sample point similar to what you want to replace
    • Hold Alt / Option and click to set sample
  • Paint over the object using the Clone Stamp
    • The sampled pixels are copied to the painted area
• Reset sample frequently
  • Hold Alt / Option, set a new sample point, continue painting
• Fix duplicated textures
  • If repeated/duplicated branches or sticks appear:
    • Set a new nearby sample point
    • Repaint the duplicated area to blend naturally

Outcome of Step 2: The distraction is gone and the background blends more naturally.

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Step 3 — Add creative contrast + subtle color using a Curves adjustment layer

Goal: Add contrast and tasteful tonal/color changes in a flexible way.

• Add a Curves adjustment layer
  • With the Object Removal layer selected: go to Adjustments → Curves
• Understand the curve
  • Anchor points can brighten/darken different tonal ranges:
    • Left = Shadows
    • Middle = Midtones
    • Right = Highlights
• Contrast shaping
  • Add/reset anchor points as needed (example: remove default point, add your own)
  • Adjust:
    • Darken shadows (improve contrast and depth)
    • Boost midtones
    • Bring down / adjust highlights (keep recovery intact)
• Add color via RGB channel curves
  • Switch from RGB to a color channel:
    • Blue channel
      • Drag up → adds blue
      • Drag down → adds yellow
  • Example method used:
    • Add yellow to shadows (drag slightly down in blue channel in shadow area)
    • Add blue to highlights (drag slightly up in highlight area)

Outcome of Step 3: More “life” through contrast and subtle complementary color contrast (blue/yellow split).

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Step 4 — Color grading (3-layer system)

Goal: Stylize the image using a simple, repeatable “three adjustments” approach.

Step 4.1 — Hue/Saturation (target specific color ranges)

• Add Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
• Use the hand icon to sample colors directly from the image
  • Example sampling:
    • Sample waterfall blues
    • Then sample moss greens
• For each sampled color range, adjust:
  • Hue (shift toward desired color, e.g., toward teal)
  • Saturation (increase intensity for dramatic look)
  • Lightness (make color lighter/darker to taste)

Outcome: Controlled, localized color changes for major color families (blues and yellows in the example).

Step 4.2 — Selective Color (blacks/neutrals/whites) with improved blending

• Add Selective Color adjustment layer
• Work in the Colors tab:
  • Start with Blacks
  • Then Neutrals
  • Then Whites
• Blending technique using layer mask
  • The video applies image data onto the layer mask to improve how colors blend across tonal ranges.
  • Process described:
    • Use Image → Apply Image with:
      • Layer: Merged
      • Blending mode: Normal
      • Opacity: 100%
      • (Applies merged channel RGB setup)
• Adjust sliders per tonal group:
  • Move sliders up/down to lighten/darken and push color taste (varies by photo)

Step 4.3 — Color Balance (moody feel across shadows/midtones/highlights)

• Add Color Balance adjustment layer
• Reuse the selective color layer mask to help blending:
  • Duplicate the layer mask via Alt/Option copy/drag (to avoid redoing Apply Image)
• Adjust color balance by tonal range:
  • Shadows
  • Highlights
  • Midtones
• Example stylistic goal:
  • Favor cooler tones for a moody blue look

Outcome of Step 4: A consistent stylized color mood across tonal ranges.

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Step 5 — Dodging & burning to finalize (paint-based contrast control)

Goal: Make highlights and shadows pop using a non-destructive paint workflow.

Create a non-destructive dodge & burn layer

• Shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N
• In the new layer dialog:
  • Mode: Overlay
  • Enable: Fill with 50% gray
• Name: to dodge and burn

Use Dodge and Burn tools

• Select tool:

  • Click/hold Dodge/Burn Tool
  • Start with Burn (darken)

• Burn settings

  • Brush: Soft Round
  • Range: Midtones
  • Exposure: 10%
  • Check Protect Tones

• Burn approach

  • Paint on areas to darken
  • Heuristic: add darkening on the opposite side of bright areas
    • Example: darken near brighter regions to increase contrast
  • Paint multiple passes for stronger effect.

Switch to Dodge (brighten)

• Select Dodge tool
• Same style settings:
  • Soft Round brush
  • Range: Midtones
  • Exposure: 10%
  • Protect Tones checked
• Dodge approach
  • Paint to brighten key attention areas:
    • moss/foreground leaves
    • highlights on rocks/water foreground
    • brighten waterfall and bright sky-side details if desired

Outcome of Step 5: Dramatic final contrast and focus, achieved without complex selections.

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Export / saving guidance

• If editing in Lightroom originally
  • Ctrl/Cmd + S
  • Edits save back to Lightroom as a TIFF
• If exporting directly from Photoshop
  • File → Save a Copy
  • Choose format:
    • JPEG for sharing
    • Photoshop (.PSD) for re-editing later
• Save to a chosen location and finish.

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Sources / speakers featured

• No specific external sources are cited in the subtitles.
• One primary speaker: the video’s instructor/narrator (appears as an unnamed person who demonstrates the steps and promotes their “21-Day Photoshop Expert” course).