FINE ART ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY - Editing Tutorial - 7 Step Workflow for Black and White Mastery!

This fine art architecture editing video was appreciated on my other channel, so I thought I'd re-share it here for those of you that missed it. This photo editing tutorial delves into fine art black and white editing. Specifically for architectural photography. I've broken the workflow down into 7 steps.
If you don't have Luminar AI yet, you can save $$ using the discount code ATSKY10 here: https://bit.ly/Lum-AI

✅ SOFTWARE I USE 👈
👍 Merge photos with realistic exposure blending in Aurora HDR: https://bit.ly/2TfoisF_HDR
👌 Improve photos in bulk with Luminar AI (discount code ATSKY10): https://bit.ly/Lum-AI
Get Lightroom and Photoshop here: https://bit.ly/CCadobe
😄 Lightroom Alternative without subscription!: https://bit.ly/dxo-editing
💣Best Sharpening, denoise, and upscaling: https://bit.ly/TopazBundle (use turnham15 for a discount!)

✅ THE BEST EDITING PLUGINS 👈
🤩 Luminosity masking panel for Photoshop: https://bit.ly/3dpGeub
💪 High end finishing alternative https://bit.ly/nik-collection-dxo

✅ USEFUL PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS 👈
⛅ Best Sky replacement pack: https://bit.ly/2Ruj8KP-Skies
🖊 The graphics tablet I use: https://amzn.to/33mJxwN (best brand, best size IMHO)
🖱 Tourbox - for editing quicker: https://bit.ly/39TdQ1S (discount code: TB20210408XXL08)
🖥️ Monitor: https://amzn.to/346A64E

✅ My Camera Equipment 👈
Best power vs cost strobe for lighting interiors https://bit.ly/pro-strobe
📷 Lens: https://amzn.to/2RZzV5M
📷 New fav camera: https://amzn.to/3vHkMI6
📷 Pro Camera: https://amzn.to/3j3fQan
📷 My Wide Angle Lens: https://amzn.to/3j9I1Vb (used for 90% of my architectural work)
📷 Nifty fifty: https://amzn.to/3ifmY2t
📷 Mid-range zoom: https://amzn.to/33Xltkc
📷 Telephoto Lens: https://amzn.to/3cBAyMo
📷 Tripod Head for architecture: https://amzn.to/30cbJBq

These are affiliate links to the equipment I use - they are not sponsored by the manufacturer in any way. If you use these links it costs you no more than normal and will get you a discount where possible. Any small commission I get helps me to keep providing free content for you guys. Thanks for supporting the channel. I really appreciate it. ​​🙏​

YOU CAN FOLLOW ME AND MY WORK HERE:
Architecture:   / nz_architectural_photography  
Website: https://www.architectural-photography...
Website: https://anthonyturnham.com

The Concept
The concept is to sculpt the architecture using brightness values. Enhance areas of highlight and shadow to control your vision for the photo. I prefer a low key photo with minimal areas of highlights that demand the viewers attention.

The basic Editing Process
Create a good base layer that contains a full dynamic range from white through to black and has no clipping. This should be created from a RAW photo. Before converting to black and white, select the various facades of the building that you wish to change. After converting to black and white we then use curves to control the brightness of the different regions. We then make global adjustments to contrast including vignetting if need be. Utilise a creative tool such as Luminar to push your creative vision to the next level.

Below is an overview of the steps we follow in the fine art editing workflow:

1. Create a base layer with a good dynamic range
This can be done in Lightroom by boosting the shadows and controlling the highlights. The black and white points should meet the end of the histogram but they shouldn’t clip off the edge. A raw file should be used at this stage for the best results
2. Create selections of the different areas of the building
Utilise selection tools to isolate the building. The pen tool is great for this
3. Convert the image to black and white
There are so many black and white conversion methods. Most aren’t great but there are a few that stand out. The more flexibility the better. For this example, we’re going to use the Black and White adjustment layer
4. Use the premade selection to brighten and darken. Enhance the 3D feel and add emphasis based on your aesthetic preference. Use a curve adjustment pulled downwards to darken and use a curve pushed up to increase brightness. Also, consider giving areas of your building more visual interest by adding contrast with an S curve.
5. Make global adjustments to contrast by adding an overall Curve adjustment Layer with an S Curve.
6. Let your creativity loose by loading the image into a tool such as Luminar for the finishing touches.
7. Consider adding a vignette to control the highlights that are at the edge of the frame. Do this by again adding a curves adjustment layer and this time bring the right-hand point that controls the highlights downwards. Then create a radial gradient mask to control where the effect is applied. Refine this with a brush if necessary.
8. Post to Instagram and look like a photo ninja!