Figuring out a photo editing style

Today, I’m looking at some photography editing styles, trying to figure out if I want to go for something more natural, or make use of overlays, gradients, and color alterations to come up with something a little more unique for the brand.

This is an important step in branding, because a blog uses so much photography. If I commit to a photo treatment, it’s something I’ll need to add for every post header and social media image. Now, the extra work isn’t a good reason to not have a strong brand - so it’s still definitely something I’m considering. Plus with Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, and templates, I can easily create processes that will allow me to batch and create gorgeous images with little effort.

Here, I pulled three photos from my brand set and two I recently took, and played with a selection of Lightroom overlay ideas to see how I feel about them. Let’s take a look:

Original Images:

Overlay 1: Starting simple, this one brings an even light across the images, and slightly boosts the colors. It’s consistent, but subtle.

Overlay 2: Jumping right to something super bold, this overlay overly boosts the vibrance and brings in a high-contrast drama

Overlay 3: This one introduces colors through a gradient light-leak style overlay, which gives every image a feeling that they go together

Overlay 4: For a softer look, this one brings the vibrance and colors down but carries a warmth from the sepia style desaturation

Which one do you like the best? ​