Grand Canyon Vacation

[KmH]

Thanks. I have the Raw file but it wouldn’t let me upload it due to the file size.

Actually - Raw files can't be displayed online for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of their bit depth.

 

[florotory]

I used Photoshop ACR (Ps Camera Raw/Lr Develop module).
Using the Basic panel I added +40 of Clarity (mid-tone contrast), +60 of Vibrance, and +20 of Saturation.
Tone Curve panel - Highlights +13, Lights -8, Darks +29, Shadows +33.
Sharpening panel - Amount +35, Radius 1.0, Detail 25, Masking 0 (none).
Gradient tool with the exposure set to -0.75:
I drew a gradient down from the top of the frame to the middle of the frame. I then selected the New gradient radio button and drew up from the bottom of the frame about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the frame.
I then opened the image in Ps CC 2018, cropped some off the top of the frame to give the image a more panoramic feel, and added a thin black border to the image.

Since it was a JPEG file there is some banding/posterization in the sky due to the limited JPEG bit depth of only 8 bits.
Landscape images are best shot as 12-bit or 14-bit Raw files so each image has way more editing headroom.

View attachment 149308

If I send you the RAW file would you mind editing it? The reason is I want to compare what I have vs what you did to see how they differ and what each of your changes did. Hope that makes sense. Im trying in my spare time to learn Lightroom and so far have done ok I think but still have a long way to go. I would like to get one of my images blown up into a nice frames picture on the wall. My goal is to have the walls in my house have pics that I have taken and not bought from a store. Thank you

On a side note I will not use your work to get the enlargements done for my wall. I am simply using it to learn for future use. Thank you

 

[KmH]

Do you have Photoshop too, hopefully as part of Adobe's Photography subscription?

You will learn boatloads more by investing in your image editing education:
The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop (2nd Edition)
The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC / Lightroom 6 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
Lightroom Transformations: Realizing your vision with Adobe Lightroom plus Photoshop

I also recommend www.tv.adobe.com

 

[florotory]

Do you have Photoshop too, hopefully as part of Adobe's Photography subscription?

You will learn boatloads more by investing in your image editing education:
The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop (2nd Edition)
The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC / Lightroom 6 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
Lightroom Transformations: Realizing your vision with Adobe Lightroom plus Photoshop

I also recommend www.tv.adobe.com

I do! Ill check out the link you sent. One of the biggest challenges I've been having is exporting. Trying to get the image to export to the right size an all that stuff. Ive watched numerous videos on it but seems like it is going to be my nemesis in Lightroom.

I have also heard that looking at the image in PS after its been edited will give me an actual new of what the photo will look like once processed. Lightroom is not the best place to view the final edit. Is that correct? Thank you again for all the help/

 

[KmH]

I don't use Lightroom much, for a variety of reasons.
But scroll down at this link to Soft-proof images:
Develop module options in Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC