How to Edit Aviation Photos in Lightroom: A Fast 5-Step Workflow That Actually Works

How to Edit Aviation Photos in Lightroom: A Fast 5-Step Workflow That Actually Works

Most of my clients shoot products or campaigns under controlled light. Aviation photographers get none of that luxury. They’re chasing fast-moving metal across unpredictable skies, handing off RAW files that are flat, noisy, and frequently lacking the contrast that makes a military jet look like it’s actually moving. When those files land in Lightroom, the edit has to work harder than usual — and it has to work fast. In this KelbyOne tutorial, photographer and educator Scott Kelby runs a blind edit on a reader-submitted A-10 Warthog photo, and the workflow he uses maps cleanly onto almost any aviation or airshow shot.

LUTs in Lightroom Are More Powerful Than You Think (Especially With a Profile Intensity Slider)

LUTs in Lightroom Are More Powerful Than You Think (Especially With a Profile Intensity Slider)

If you do any volume of editing, you have probably felt the friction of applying a LUT-based look to still photos. LUTs live comfortably in Premiere and DaVinci, but getting them to behave inside Lightroom has historically required workarounds that feel more like duct tape than a real system. That problem gets worse when you work with clients who want their product photography and video content to feel like they came from the same shoot.