What order should you edit a landscape photo in?
Choose the type of scene and tick off each editing step, from import and culling to export. The list changes for sunrise and sunset, long exposure, astro, black and white and bracketed scenes.
How the tool works
A consistent order saves time and avoids doing the same job twice. This checklist follows a common order: cull, correct the lens and crop, set white balance, shape exposure and tone, make local adjustments, work on colour, then sharpen and reduce noise before export. Steps use Lightroom names in brackets, and Capture One and Darktable have equivalent tools.
The preset selector hides steps that do not apply. For example, astro adds checks for star trailing and noise, long exposure adds colour cast and hot pixel checks, and bracketed scenes add merging and deghosting. Photoshop finishing is optional and can be switched on if you work with layers.
The checklist gives no slider values because the right amounts depend on the picture, the camera and your taste. Judge each step by eye, check detail at 100 percent zoom, and compare with the original often. Use the copy button to paste the list into your notes. Nothing is stored, so the list resets when you close the page.
Questions
What order should I edit a photo in?
A common order is lens corrections and crop, white balance, exposure and tone, local adjustments, colour, then sharpening and noise reduction. Doing global changes before local ones usually saves rework.
Do I need Photoshop to edit a landscape photo?
No. Many landscape photos are finished entirely in a raw editor. Photoshop helps with layers, blending exposures, stacking frames and detailed clean-up, which is why those steps are optional here.
Why check sharpening and noise at 100 percent?
At a smaller zoom the software shows a downsized view that hides both noise and sharpening artefacts. At 100 percent each screen pixel matches an image pixel, so you see what you are changing.
More photography tools: Photo export settings helper, Sharpening and noise reduction starting points, 500 rule star trail calculator