In this video we’ll practice some night photo editing using a picture I took of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I’ll show you how to clean the image, make color and light correction and how to create a nice final look.
Use a RAW photo whenever you can when you edit a night photo because you will have a higher dynamic range and you can get more information out of the blacks with much less noise than on a JPG file. You can download the image used in this video clicking the link below.
Night Photo Editing end result
In order to clean the image you can use the Clone Stamp Tool or the Content Aware Move Tool. The second one can work really well on cases where you have very smooth transitions like in this case with the sky.
Use the Content-Aware Move tool to select and move a part of a picture. The image is recomposed, and the hole left behind is filled using matching elements from the picture. You do not need to carry out intensive edits involving layers and complex selections.
You can use the Content-Aware Move tool in two modes:
- Use the Move mode to place objects in different locations (most effectively when the background remains similar).
- Use the Extend mode to expand or contract objects such as hair, trees, or buildings. To best extend architectural objects, use photos shot on a parallel plane, rather than at an angle.
Content Aware Move Settings
Mode
Use the Move mode to place selected objects at a different location. Use the Extend mode to expand or contract objects.
Structure
Enter a value between 1 and 7 to specify how closely the patch should reflect existing image patterns. If you enter 7, the patch adheres very strongly to existing image patterns. If you enter 1, the patch adheres very loosely to the existing image patterns.
Color
Enter a value between 0 and 10 to specify the extent to which you want Photoshop to apply algorithmic color-blending to the patch. If you enter 0, color blending is disabled. A Color value of 10 applies maximum color blending.
Learn more about this tool on this dedicated article by Adobe.
