Photo Tips with Alexes

Hey there Fancy Pants lovers!! It’s me, Alexes! Ya know, from Dear Lexe Designs?!

Well I’m here today to show you a little tip that I use in my regular Lightroom editing routine. Have you guys ever seen those pictures that have a “matte” look to them? Well today I’m going to show you how to do that easily in Lightroom!

Allrightie, let’s get started! First I opened up Lightroom and selected the photo that I wanted to edit. This is a cute little picture of my nephew that I took at Easter time.

As you can tell, it’s a little overexposed so, the first thing I did was to bring the exposure down just a tad. To adjust the exposure, just find the exposure slider off on the right hand side of the screen. Here’s a close up.

 

Next I used a preset from the My Four Hens Imagination Collection which I LOVE and use all the time!  The preset I used is called Nola. I just browsed through all my presets and decided this one gave me the best color, (presets can be found on the far left panel, if you can’t find them, try pressing “D” on your keyboard to switch to the Develop Mode)

Okay now you’ll want to find, over in the far right panel, the heading that says Tone Curve. Your curve should look something like this image below. So the next step is to remove all of the anchor points that are already on the line and flatten the curve. To do this right click on the line and select “Flatten Curve”

 After your line has been flattened its time to add your own anchor points. It’s really easy to make an anchor too! All you do is click somewhere on the line! The first point you’re going to make should be just to the left of the very center of the grid.

 

Then you’re going to make another anchor just underneath the first point.

Then click on the point you just made (the second or lower point) and pull it down just a bit until it looks similar to this.

You’ll notice this will make the colors a bit brighter and add some contrast as well.

Next we’re going to use the point at the very bottom of the line. (I bet you didn’t notice that did you!) Take that point and bring it wayyy up. Below is a picture of where I wanted my point but remember that you can also make it higher or lower depending on your picture and your personal preference.

Now you have an awesome looking, well exposed and beautiful matte look to your photo!!

Here is a a quick project I made with photos that have that matte effect to them, check it out!!

Park Bench Blanket Paper / Park Bench Park Walk Paper / Park Bench Paddle Boat Paper / Park Bench Fountain Paper / Park Bench Conversation Paper / Park Bench Bridge Paper / Baby Mine Chipboard Alphas / It's The Little Things Chipboard Alphas 

 

thanks again for stopping by and happy crafting!

- Alexes

Comments

[Dorina D]

Nice tutorial (and layout). TFS

[Victoria Freze]

thanks for sharing these tips, Alexes!

[Alexes Brown]

anytime guys!!

[Diana Brodeur]

Great tips Alexes!

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