We’re gonna walk through the three key adjustments to make when editing with the Phlow in Lightroom. These are the three main edits that we typically follow after applying a proset to get your image looking the way it was meant to. After the image is looking right, you can make further tweaks to colors, lighting, etc. as you'd like.
First things first, pick out and apply your chosen proset.
Next we are going to follow the 3 main adjustments, exposure, warmth/cool, and intensity. There is no specific order you need to follow for making these adjustments - whatever works best for your workflow. However this is typically the order that we go by.
1. Exposure.
After you’ve applied your proset, take a look at the image to see how the colors are looking. If it seems over-saturated, or the colors are looking too heavy, increasing the exposure by a few stops can soften and balance them out. On the other hand, if the image was already bright to begin with, taking down the exposure may be needed to help correctly expose the photo. For most edits, we typically find that we are increasing the exposure rather than decreasing, however it depends on the specific lighting conditions of your photo.
2. Warmth/Cool.
Tweaking the warmth (or cool) is crucial for these prosets. Head to the temperature slider bar (not the tint) to do so. If your image is looking blue, or a little flat, bumping up the temperature to the right will add warmth and life to your image. If your image is already looking orange, take the temperature down to the left, bringing back the warmth so the colors look more neutral. A good rule of thumb is to look at any whites in the image - you ideally want to adjust the temperature slider bar so the whites are the whitest they can be. Another good way to gauge this adjustment is to bring back the temperature slider all the way to the left (the cooler side) so you start with a very blue image. Then slowly bump it up to the right, adding more warmth until the image looks balanced.
Phlow edit before warmth has been added. (Notice how cool the image is) After warmth has been added (look at that glow!).
3. Intensity.
This is where the beauty of Phlow shines. Adjust how much of the proset will be applied with the intensity slider. Once you’ve applied a proset, the intensity will automatically be applied at 100. Bring it back for a more subtle look, or bump it up for a more intense image! This is totally up to you and what you’re going for. Some images may look better with less intensity if there is already a lot of contrast in the image, or if the photo needs more life, spice it up!
Once you’ve applied and tweaked all those three things, your image should be looking great. You can then add a magic touch to polish off your image, or add grain for a filmic texture. But despite those finishing touches, these three edits are usually the only things we are adjusting. We don’t recommend toggling with too many of the other adjustments (such as contrast, highlights etc.) as the proset is taking care of 90% of the work here. Happy phlowing!