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The Consistent Underwater Edit #6: Masking Fixes Local Problems

By Robert Herb Photography
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Masking should solve local problems without disturbing the parts of the photograph that are already working. Scope first. Tool second. There comes a stage in underwater editing when most of the photograph is already working, but one area still needs attention. Perhaps the subject is slightly too dark. Maybe the water looks right, but the foreground needs more definition. A diver’s face may need a small correction, or one coral, fish, or section of a wreck may need something different from the rest of the image. This is where Masking becomes useful. But there is an important distinction: Masking should isolate a problem, not rescue an unfinished photograph. That is why Masking comes fifth in The Consistent Underwater Editing System: White Balance → Exposure → Presence → Color → Masking → Final Adjustments By the time we reach Masking, the global foundation of the photograph should already be working. If it is not, we need to go back and correct the earlier decision first. Before You Cre...
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The Consistent Underwater Edit #5: Color Should Refine, Not Repair

By Robert Herb Photography
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Before choosing a Lightroom color control, determine whether the problem affects the entire photograph, one color family, or one specific subject or area.   Color is often the first thing underwater photographers notice when an image does not look quite right. Maybe the water appears too blue or too green, the coral looks dull, or a fish has lost the vibrant colors you clearly saw during the dive. Perhaps a diver’s skin looks pale, magenta, or unnaturally orange. In these moments, the typical instinct is to boost Saturation. While increasing Saturation can sometimes give a quick burst of color and make the photo pop, it can also create electric blue water, oversaturated coral, unnatural skin tones, and colors that compete with your subject instead of supporting it. Saturation is not a bad control. The problem is using it to fix issues that should have been addressed earlier in the editing process. In my approach, outlined in The Consistent Underwater Editing System , Color adjustme...
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Location: Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
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The Consistent Underwater Edit #4: Presence Adds Definition After Exposure

By Robert Herb Photography
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Presence strengthens definition, separation, and perceived detail once White Balance and Exposure are already established. You have corrected the White Balance and worked through the Exposure, which already improves the underwater photograph.  However, it might still feel a little flat or lacking in depth.  Many photographers instinctively reach for Clarity or Dehaze tools at this stage, pushing sliders to add more punch to the image.  While this can sometimes produce a pleasing effect initially, it often leads to unintended consequences: the water may appear overly dark, the reef can look harsh and crunchy, backscatter becomes more noticeable, fine details get exaggerated and turn harsh, and colors become overly intense and unnatural.  Although these adjustments might give the image more impact at first, they do not necessarily make it better overall.  That’s why Presence is placed third in The Consistent Underwater Editing System.  White Balance → Exposur...
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Location: Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
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The Consistent Underwater Edit #3: Exposure Comes After White Balance

By Robert Herb Photography
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Exposure comes after White Balance because reliable color makes tonal decisions easier to judge. When an underwater photograph appears dark, flat, blue, or green, the natural inclination is often to reach for the Exposure slider. You may raise Exposure, open Shadows, reduce Highlights, and adjust Whites and Blacks until the image starts to look brighter, more balanced, and closer to what you remember seeing underwater. Only after that do you correct White Balance. Then the image changes. The color of the water shifts, contrast changes, and areas that once seemed too dark may now look acceptable, while highlights that seemed safe may now appear too bright. This often sends you back to the tonal sliders, making adjustments you thought were already finished. This does not mean you used the wrong Lightroom tools. It means you used the right tools in the wrong order. In The Consistent Underwater Edit workflow , Exposure is Step Two, after White Balance. White Balance needs to come ...
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Location: Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
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