
Haines, Alaska
One of my favorite sliders in PS and LR is the Dehaze slider. In an earlier post I mentioned how great this slider was for adding detail in an image, and improving contrast. The Dehaze slider does what is says it does, reduces haze. Try it on a northern lights image, it transforms these images with just a tiny adjustment. And right now with so much smoke in the air in Colorado I use the Dehaze slider on practically every image.
But what about pulling the Dehaze slider to the left? Is that the wrong way to use this slider? Remember, there are no rules! I ‘add’ Dehaze in a number of my images when I need more haze. Take a look at this Chilkat eagle photo. We had really lucky conditions photographing this eagle, a beautiful snowstorm was blowing through while we were shooting. The snow really made this image. If I pulled the Dehaze slider to the right, the snow was diminished. But if I pulled the slider to the left, a nice ethereal haze was added, along with less contrast. This was a great choice in editing this image to add a mystical effect.
Editing is very subjective. End use might dictate how you process an image, and other times you edit just for your own personal creative choice. In the end, what is important is to be open towards new ways of doing things both in the camera and on the computer. Snow season is quickly approaching. Try using Dehaze on these images to add a ‘hazy’ effect, you might just like what you see.