Editing aviation photography in Lightroom and Photoshop is where your images really take off. Whether you're fixing exposure, enhancing jet trails, or removing heat haze, here’s a detailed, step-by-step guide tailored for air show shots like those from RIAT.

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​ Step-by-Step Workflow: Editing Aviation Photos

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 1. Import & Organize (Lightroom)

• Import RAW files (always shoot RAW for maximum quality) 

• Create a folder/collection for RIAT or by aircraft type

• Use keywords like “F-35”, “RIAT 2025”, “Departure”, etc.

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 2. Basic Edits in Lightroom/Photoshop

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 Start with Global Adjustments

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 3. Colour Adjustments​

White Balance

• Set manually for accuracy: sky = neutral, aircraft = true to paint.

• Use eye dropper on neutral grey surface if needed (smoke trails, clouds).

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Vibrance vs Saturation

• Use Vibrance (+10–25) instead of Saturation to protect skin tones and metal surfaces.

• Avoid oversaturation, it makes military jets look cartoony.

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 4. Lens & Detail Corrections

         Lens Corrections Tab

• Enable Remove Chromatic Aberration and Profile Corrections

• Straightens warping from wide or tele lenses

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 Detail Tab

• Sharpening: Start at 40 / Radius 1.0 / Detail 25

• Use Masking (hold Alt/Option) to sharpen edges only, not sky

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5. Crop & Straighten

• Use Crop Tool (R) to level runway or horizon

• Consider 16:9 for cropping, I use this on all my photographs.

• For head-on aircraft: centre the frame for symmetry

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7. Advanced Touch-Up in Photoshop (Optional)

           Use when:

• You need complex removals (e.g., cones, ropes, crowds)

• There’s extreme heat haze

• You're doing composites (e.g., placing aircraft in different skies)

 

​ 8. Final Touches & Export

• Add a subtle vignette to focus on subject

• Export Settings for Web/Instagram:

  • Format: JPEG

  • Quality: 80–100

  • Resize to: 2048px (long edge)

  • Sharpen for: Screen

  • Colour Space: sRGB

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 Pro Tips for Editing Aviation Photography

•  Shoot with editing in mind: Slightly underexposed skies retain more detail

•  Use presets for different aircraft or light conditions

•  Don’t over-dehaze, it can introduce ugly colour artifacts

•  Experiment with split toning: Add blue to shadows, warmth to highlights

•  Don’t overdo clarity/sharpening, military jets should look sharp but realistic​

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