Being a great photographer isn’t just about taking beautiful photos—it’s about knowing when, where, and how to edit them too! And guess what? Photo editing is a whole lot more than just adding a preset and adjusting your white balance. Learning how to edit your photos in Adobe Photoshop is an essential skill that every photographer should know in order to elevate their brand and achieve their goals. It’s what helps each of us make sure that the photos we take perfectly reflect our style and creativity! But when it comes to skillfully and efficiently editing an image, there’s more to it than meets the eye (literally). And that extra love you put in is always worth the effort.

Did you know that in the last year alone there were nearly 20 million cameras sold around the world? Yes, 20 million!! So what does that mean exactly? It means that—at this very moment—there are a whole bunch of people around the world who are using the exact same camera as you are to shoot photos that are likely very similar to what you are shooting. And while everyone has a different eye and no two people will ever take the exact same photo, it can still be challenging to make your RAW images stand out and reflect who you are as a photographer. This is one of the main reasons why we edit.

Let me take a moment here to emphasize just how important editing your images is. You’ve put all this creative energy into capturing the most beautiful photo you can, but your camera can only do so much—you need to step in and take your artistic vision to the next level. Learning how to use Photoshop to create a body of work that reflects your personal style is an absolute GAME CHANGER and is 10,000% necessary. And editing is one of the the most powerful tools you can use to harness your creativity.

Now, I know how intimidating Photoshop can be—I’ve been there! But here’s a secret: If you understand how to use Photoshop, you WILL become a better photographer. They literally go hand in hand, trust me. Photoshop is an incredible artistic tool that will without a doubt unleash a whole new creative side of your photography that you may not have even known was there! It’s an exciting and empowering way to take your photos and make them uniquely yours—and in the process you’ll begin to think about photography differently.

But before you start rollin’ up your sleeves and gettin’ down to the nitty-gritty of editing, there’s a common question that you might be asking yourself: 

“Can’t I just use Lightroom, or do I have to use Photoshop?”

A lot of photographers have never even opened Photoshop, and while of course you don’t HAVE to use it – can I let you in on a little secret? Lightroom will never provide you with as much editing potential as Photoshop will. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both amazing tools and Lightroom has been an absolute lifesaver for almost every photographer at one time or another. But let me just put it this way: Using Lightroom to edit your images is like taking your car through the drive-thru car wash. It’ll be clean-ish, but only from a distance. Using Photoshop is like hiring a professional to detail every inch of your car by hand. You know – the kind where after it’s done you stand there wondering if it’s even the same car? The differences in the level of precision that can be achieved are not even comparable.

Lightroom is an incredible tool for giving an image a quick once over and doing a general ‘global’ edit. So, if you’re just looking to adjust the overall color and tone in a quick batch edit, Lightroom will perfectly do the trick.

Photoshop, on the other hand, let’s you manipulate your images all the way down to the pixel level. The massive amount of information you can access when importing RAW images in Photoshop means that there is truly no limit to what you can do. With Lightroom, you will eventually hit the glass ceiling, but with Photoshop you’re only limited by your own creativity.

Editing your photos in Photoshop is a sure-fire way to harness your voice and style as a photographer, while adding a little extra twist that will take you and your brand to the next level. All the details and settings that you consider when shooting a photo come together to form your canvas —and editing is where you take it to the finish line and bring your art to life!

So this is my challenge to you: Next time you sit down to edit an image you’ve taken – before you do anything to it – open it up in Photoshop. Play around with it and see what happens. Let yourself make mistakes! Remember to have fun with your work, get weird, challenge yourself and see what happens. Part of learning is the curve, right?

I urge you to give Photoshop a try! Follow this link to explore Photoshop Free for 7 Days!! Warning: Prepare to get addicted.