Focus of Episode: Editing a Photo Shot Directly into the Sun in Lightroom

In this episode of The FIX, I show you the editing behind a shot that was posted as Photo of the Week on February 19th, called Sunrise in Havana Streets. I took this photo on a trip to Cuba in 2016 where our first stop of the trip was in Havana. 

Havana itself is a really crazy city with so much going on and the noise, crowds, and smells can at times be completely overwhelming. It is, however, a really unique city and it feels like you have stepped back in time when you’re exploring it. I took this photo on our last morning in Havana as we were walking to a bus stop to catch a ride to our next town. For me, this picture captures Havana as a whole with the warm sun, the tattered streets and buildings, and of course, the old American cars.

The editing on this photo did end up being quite tricky as the photo was shot directly into the sun. There are dark shadows and blown out highlights, so it’s not technically the best photo. It might have been easier (or at least different) if I had taken 3 exposures and merged them with some sort of HDR software. I didn’t do this, however, so my only option was to make the most of it. I made several attempts at editing the photo before finally getting something that I was really happy with. The trick to this one was figuring out the balance in contrast. The high contrast and lack of colour (other than the strong orange glow of the rising sun) made it a bit tricky. Check out the episode to find out everything that I do, step-by-step, to get the photo to its finished stage.