Left: Before photo by Demas Rusli | Right: First Place, Editing Section, Tradition by Mikael Persson
Photo processing is a complex, creative operation that can change our perception of any image. Good editing can elevate an image, taking it to another level. To prove this, Adobe and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) teamed up to reward creative photo editing with the Explore Japan Lightroom Contest. Photographers were asked to either edit a photo of Japan taken by a top Instagram influencer or submit their own work for consideration.
The results are an incredible look at the transformation photographs undergo thanks to clever editing. By bringing out colors, eliminating distracting details, and even completely changing the lighting, photographers are able to change our perception of any scene.
To assist them in the competition, Adobe and JNTO called on some of Instagram's most well-known photographers—Emilie Ristevski, Jason Charles Hill, Callum Snape, Jordan Hammond, and Demas Rusli. Each provided photographs taken in Japan that were then put in the hands of the public for the Editing portion of the competition.
For the Shooting contest, photographers were asked to take their own photographs in Japan and post the pre- and post-editing versions to Instagram. About 2,500 entries flooded in, each demonstrating the power of Adobe Lightroom's editing capabilities.
Top photographers were asked to show off photos of Japan before and after editing.
Before, Art by Callum Snape
After, Art by Callum Snape
Before, Cuisine by Jordan Hammond
After, Cuisine by Jordan Hammond
Before, Outdoors by Emilie Ristevski and Jason Charles Hill
After, Outdoors by Emilie Ristevski and Jason Charles Hill
Before, Tradition by Demas Rusli
After, Tradition by Demas Rusli
Before, Nature by Jordan Hammond
After, Nature by Jordan Hammond
Before, Cities by Demas Rusli
After, Cities by Demas Rusli
Before, Relaxation by Emilie Ristevski and Jason Charles Hill
After, Relaxation by Emilie Ristevski and Jason Charles Hill
The public was then able to take a shot at editing the work of these professionals. Here are the winning images.
First Place, Editing Section, Art by Sandra St. Clair
First Place, Editing Section, Nature by Franklin Savala
First Place, Editing Section, Tradition by Henry Li
First Place, Editing Section, Outdoors by Radim Madarász
First Place, Editing Section, Relaxation by Foothill College Art
First Place, Editing Section, Cuisine by One Lost Traveller
For the Shooting section of the contest, photographers submitted their own pre- and post-produced images.
Before, First Place, Shooting Section, Tradition by Kevin Pramudya
After, First Place, Shooting Section, Tradition by Kevin Pramudya
Before, First Place, Shooting Section, Nature by Amit K Srivastava
After, First Place, Shooting Section, Nature by Amit K Srivastava
Before, Community Pick, Discover Tokyo by Yusei
After, Community Pick, Discover Tokyo by Yusei
Before, First Place, Shooting Section, Outdoors by GinYa
After, First Place, Shooting Section, Outdoors by GinYa
Before, Community Pick, Art of Japan by Kento
After, Community Pick, Art of Japan by Kento
Before, First Place, Shooting Section, Cities by Kurnia Wang
After, First Place, Shooting Section, Cities by Kurnia Wang
Before, Community Pick, Daily Photo Japan by Shogo
After, Community Pick, Daily Photo Japan by Shogo
Before, Community Pick, Japan Hirogari Domei by Bazooka Shutterbug
After, Community Pick, Japan Hirogari Domei by Bazooka Shutterbug
