This shot had potential—soft fog, dramatic turbines, and a fading sunset—but it needed careful editing to balance the mood. Here’s how I teased out the magic without losing the atmosphere.

Starting Point: Lightroom Essentials

I began with my standard Lightroom prep—auto adjustments as a baseline—letting AI handle the heavy lifting—then cleaning up minor distractions and slight cropping. (For the full step-by-step, see my Lightroom Preparation Workflow).

I. Camera Raw

1. Warming Up the Scene

The raw file felt too cold for the golden-hour vibe I remembered. A subtle temperature bump (+8) and tint shift (+5) brought back the sunset’s warmth while preserving the fog’s softness.

2. Lifting the Fog (But Just Enough)

I wanted the turbines to emerge from the mist—not obliterate it. A tiny exposure boost (+0.2) and shadow lift (+20) revealed the reeds, while highlights (-25) saved the sky from blowing out. Finally whites +10  gave the sky and turbines a subtle glow, while blacks -15 enhanced depth in the foreground reeds.

3. Texture Tricks

Texture (+15) made the reeds and turbine blades ‘scratchable,’ while Dehaze (+5) acted like a gentle wind clearing the fog around the structures. Clarity +10 made the fog and turbines slightly more defined.
⚠️ Watch Out: Overdoing Dehaze kills the mystery.

4. Color Grading: Sunset Alchemy

The secret to that ‘golden hour glow’? Warm highlight (Hue 50) and cool shadows (Hue 220)—a contrast that makes the sky feel luminous.
🎨 Pro Tip: Use the color wheel visual to show the complementary hues.

5. Graduated Filters: Directing the Eye

I ‘painted’ the sky with a warm gradient (+10 Temp, -15 Highlights) and darkened the foreground reeds (+15 Shadows, +10 Texture & Clarity) to frame the turbines like a stage.

6. Radial Filter: Spotlight Effect

A soft vignette around the turbines (Clarity +10, Exposure +0.1, Whites +5) made them the heroes of the frame.
⚡ Pro Tip: Avoid stacking radial filters—it creates unnatural halos. One subtle adjustment is enough.

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II. Photoshop: The Magic Touch

7. Dodge & Burn – Sculpting Light

I ‘painted’ light onto the turbines (Dodge: Highlights, 10%) and deepened shadows in the reeds (Burn: Shadows, 8%) to mimic how sunlight slices through fog.

8. Fog Glow – Optional Atmosphere

For extra drama, I added a warm haze (#FFDAB9) around the turbines (Soft Light, 35% opacity). This trick replicates how light scatters in humid air—ideal for dreamy edits.
🎨 Color Hack: Sampling the sunset’s hue keeps the glow natural.

9. Sharpening – Precision Matters

High Pass sharpening (Radius 1.5 px, Overlay blend mode) crisped the turbines’ edges. I masked out the fog to avoid amplifying noise where softness was key.

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At this stage, the photo had a beautiful softness to it—all misty pastels and dreamy atmosphere—but needed just a touch more vitality. The challenge? Boosting contrast and vibrance strategically to add depth without sacrificing that ethereal quality.

III. Breathing Life into the Scene

10. Contrast: A Gentle Hand

I nudged global contrast (+10), brightening the highlights (+5 Whites) and deepening the shadows (-5 Blacks) just enough to carve out dimension. Then, with a targeted brush, I painted clarity (+20) and dehaze (+10) onto the turbines and reeds, letting them emerge from the mist.

2. Color: A Subtle Warm Embrace

Vibrance (+15) and saturation (+5) gently teased out the sunset’s blush. Then I boosted orange saturation (+10) to warm the turbines’ metallic tones, while increasing blue saturation (+10) deepened the sky. This created richer contrast but maintained the image’s soft atmosphere.

3. Fog Glow: The Final Enchantment

With a soft white brush (15% opacity), I dabbed haze around the turbines, set the blend mode to Soft Light (40%). It was the photo’s ‘halo effect’—subtle enough to feel real, like light scattering through morning mist.

4. Back to Lightroom and final steps—cropping and Vignette

I applied a subtle vignette (-10 Amount, 70 Feather) – just enough to gently frame the scene. For perfect balance, I cropped away excess empty sky and aligned the horizon along the lower third, letting the turbines command attention where they belonged.
⚠️ Warning: Over-vignetting screams ‘amateur.’ Keep it under -15.

Want to see how this misty morning shot came to life? Read the full story behind this photo in: Wind Turbines in the Morning Mist.

Would you edit this shot differently? Tell me in the comments!️