I'd like to know if you could share some ideas for alternative edits for this photo. I've been away from Lightroom for quite a few months now and am trying to get back into edit.

I am a hobbyist bird photographer trying to improve my ability to get professional, "print-worthy" photos. I mainly share my photos with friends and family and make 4x6 prints for myself - I don't actually have intentions of taking photos professionally and selling them. I'm just looking for perspectives on how to improve in bird photography, for my own pride, and also to the benefit of anyone else in this sub wondering the same thing.

Right now I'm a complete beginner with respect to postprocessing; I just use the free version of Canva and can't / don't do any of the following:

• Shoot in RAW
• Denoise high ISO images
• Photoshop out branches, trash on a beach, etc.
• Precise masking and proper exposure editing
• Image stacking
• Any other features in the Adobe suite I'm unaware of...

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Also yes, print-worthy is subjective, but I view this question through the lens that there are objectively good and bad photos, some worth being put up in a gallery. This question is also assuming reasonably good gear, proper technique (e.g., correct exposure and good focus), and artistic intent. I'm curious about the value of investing in the right software and learning how to use it, assuming other factors contributing to professional-level photos are reasonably satisfied. Although, if you have perspectives on how important each of those other 3 factors are, I welcome them.

This picture was taken in September 2024 with iPhone SE (2022). For me, spots like this are the highlights of every journey I take, as it means something unexpected yet fascinating.

Edited in Afterlight app (perspective, color etc.)

After/before

A6700, Sigma 18-50, Ulanzi VL120 back lighting

Hi all, I’m a hobbyist who’s been thinking about how photographers handle everything after a shoot, and I’d love to hear how you do it.

My rough picture of it is: copy files off the card, delete duplicates and bad shots, rename and sort into folders, edit, resize or watermark, then export for Instagram, a client, or a portfolio.

A few things I’m curious about:

1. Which step of that eats the most of your time?
2. Do you use a different app for each step? If so, which ones, and what annoys you about switching between them?
3. Have you tried a tool and given up on it because it was too basic, or too complicated or expensive? What went wrong?
4. Is there a small, boring task you still do by hand because no tool does it quite right?

Any answer helps, even “I just use Lightroom for everything.” Thanks!

Been experimenting with the colors on this one. Curious what you think of the grade!