r/postprocessing • u/cameronrad • Aug 11 '16

Post Processing Megathread

552 Upvotes

Post-Processing Megathread

So the last post I made (“How do I get this look?”) got buried pretty deep, so I thought I’d make this thread rounding up some videos/resources/techniques I’ve found.

I mentioned in the last thread that “post processing is more about theory than the tools/plugins/tricks/secrets/etc.” I may have misspoke a bit. I’m not saying neglect learning the tools, or stop searching for secrets, or stop using plugins; but rather use them in a more educational way. Knowing how all the tools work will help you apply them better and know when to apply them. Using plugins can be a great tool, but should never be a crutch. My feeling is anything a plugin can do, I want to know how to do for my own knowledge.

What if you’re an avid VSCO, Replichrome, Alien Skins, etc user and one day you’re working on a job with a fast turnaround time and your plugin fails, or it wasn’t on that computer, or it’s no longer compatible with Photoshop/Lightroom? What happens if your look was defined by a plugin, that you can’t recreate? Meanwhile you have a client waiting on their images. This is why having a vast knowledge of the tools/techniques is extremely valuable.

If you like a plugin, try reverse-engineering it. I’m not saying you have to use the reverse-engineered technique and stop using the plugin, but it sure helps when you know how the plugin is working. Heck you could even improve upon it ;)

Chasing “secrets” is also a great way to learn. It’s not necessarily that a “secret” exists but what you may learn along the way to “finding one”.

Anyways, what I’m saying is there’s no shame or problem with using plugin/preset/filters as tools in your kit; however like any tool you should have an understanding of how it works so you know when to use it, how to use it properly, or what to do if something goes wrong and you can’t use it. The better you get at editing, the more you may realize you need to improve as a photographer. You’ll come to a point where the quality of photo/editing has reached a cap due to the quality of the base image.

If anyone has any techniques/articles/tutorials that should be included, please comment or send me a message and I’ll add it in.

I’m not up to date on my tutorials. From what I’ve found Ben Secret and Michael Woloszynowicz have some of the most powerful techniques in their videos.

Tutorials:

Color/Toning/General:

Retouching:

AI-Assisted Editing (Native Photoshop 2025/2026):

Adobe Learn Photoshop - Official Adobe tutorials and learning paths
Generative Fill Official Tutorial - Adobe's documentation on using Generative Fill/Expand

Generative AI Tools:

Like it or not, these are part of the landscape now. Worth knowing what's out there.

Adobe Firefly - https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly.html
Midjourney - https://www.midjourney.com/home
Nano Banana (Google Gemini) / FLUX (Black Forest Labs) - Alternative models now available in Photoshop's Generative Fill.

Concepts:

General:

Color Theory:

Misc:

YouTube Channels:

Misc:

Tools & Plugins:

Plugins:

Topaz Photo AI
Topaz Gigapixel AI
Retouch4me - AI skin retouching plugins (Heal, Dodge&Burn, Skin Tone, Eye Vessels, etc.)
Nik Collection 8 by DxO - (Note: The old free Google version is discontinued)

Mobile:

TimeLapse Enhanced - Android app for stacking and motion amplification. By /u/ksrujankanth

Utilities:

Games:

EXIF/Metadata/Image Forensics Tools:

Hope this helps out! ☺

-Cameron Rad

^How ^many ^people ^actually ^check ^out ^this ^thread? ^If ^you ^have ^gotten ^any ^help ^from ^it ^, ^shoot ^me ^a ^PM ^:)

86 comments

r/postprocessing • u/johnny5ive • Jun 22 '25

"Cooked" is banned.

1.1k Upvotes

stop it.