Digital Workflow – Exposure vs Brightness

The world of photography was forever changed with the introduction of digital workflow. It is simply amazing what can be done with post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop, but with these changes comes confusion and complexity.

What do all those sliders really do and more importantly which ones should you be using and when…

A critical step is my digital workflow is to ensure my photos are “light & bright”, typically using the Exposure slider in Lightroom. However the tutorial below has changed my thinking forever. I recommend everyone check it out.

What you should know:

• Exposure slider affects highlights more than shadows
• Exposure slider is great to darken/bring down highlights
• Brightness slider affects image tones evenly
• Brightness control lightens evenly (less risk of blowing out highlights)