Photo editing
Storm photo post-processing
A great storm photo needs great post. Here are practical Lightroom recipes for the classic storm subjects — with real slider values.
The storm photo philosophy
Storm photography is about DRAMA. But drama shouldn't become falsification. Modern audiences catch overprocessed images fast. Here are practical guidelines.
Aim for the emotion you felt when you saw it — not for maximum saturation.
Supercell structure (wide, clean)
- Exposure: 0 to +0.5.
- Contrast: +15 to +25.
- Highlights: -30 to -50 (recover sky).
- Shadows: +20 to +40 (open storm base).
- Whites: +5 to +15.
- Blacks: -10 to -20.
- Clarity: +15 (careful, avoid halos).
- Vibrance: +15 to +25.
- Saturation: 0 to +5.
- Temperature: warm slightly if golden hour.
- Tint: slight magenta helps supercells pop.
Lightning (long exposure)
- Exposure: -0.3 to 0.
- Contrast: +30 to +50.
- Highlights: -70 (bring bolt out).
- Shadows: +30.
- Whites: +20 to +40.
- Blacks: -30.
- Clarity: +30.
- Dehaze: +20 (for atmospheric shots).
- Noise reduction: +30 luminance (long exposures noisy).
- Sharpening: masking to protect sky.
- Split toning: cool shadows, warm highlights.
Tornado (mid-day, wedge)
- Exposure: 0 to +0.3.
- Contrast: +10 to +20.
- Highlights: -20.
- Shadows: +10 to +20.
- Whites: 0.
- Blacks: -5 to -10.
- Clarity: +10.
- Vibrance: +10.
- Saturation: 0.
- Green channel: reduce (over-green skies look fake).
- Blue channel: increase luminance slightly.
Mammatus at sunset
- Exposure: 0.
- Contrast: +25.
- Highlights: -60 (recover sunset).
- Shadows: +40.
- Whites: +10.
- Blacks: -20.
- Clarity: +25.
- Vibrance: +30.
- Saturation: +10.
- Temperature: warm slightly.
- Orange channel: increase luminance.
- Magenta channel: increase saturation slightly.
Damage / post-storm (documentary)
- Exposure: 0.
- Contrast: neutral.
- Highlights: -20.
- Shadows: +30.
- Whites: 0.
- Blacks: 0.
- Clarity: +15.
- Vibrance: 0.
- Saturation: -10 (desaturation for gravitas).
- Split toning: subtle blue in shadows.
- Do not over-process. Reality is dramatic enough.
Sky replacement — when NOT to
- Documentary work: never.
- Editorial: never.
- Contest submissions: check rules.
- Social media: acceptable if disclosed.
- Fine art print: acceptable if disclosed.
- Never present as documentary.
The "green sky" issue
Under HP supercells and hail storms, skies can genuinely be green. But over-processing pushes the green into unnatural saturation.
- Adjust green luminance, not saturation.
- Push blue channel slightly higher.
- Reduce magenta cast.
- Compare with reference photos.
The RAW workflow
- Shoot RAW always.
- Import to Lightroom (or Capture One).
- Apply lens correction and chromatic aberration removal.
- Set white balance visually.
- Adjust exposure.
- Adjust highlights and shadows.
- Adjust clarity/dehaze.
- Apply color-specific adjustments.
- Crop for composition (rule of thirds).
- Export at final resolution.
- Save preset for reuse.
The masking revolution
- Lightroom masking (2022+) is transformative for storm photos.
- Sky mask — auto-detects sky, apply adjustments separately.
- Subject mask — foreground buildings, plains, trees.
- Radial gradient over lightning bolt.
- Linear gradient for sky/ground.
- Combine masks with intersections.
- Individual raindrop / hail masks with brush.
Print vs screen
- Screen: sRGB.
- Print: Adobe RGB or ProPhoto.
- Soft proof before printing.
- Paper choice affects perceived saturation.
- Print sharpening: different from screen.
- Metadata: include location, date, camera settings.