Tuesday, 25 November 2025
On Tuesday, Kevin Hobbs lead a hands-on workshop on one of the most creative parts of modern photography: post-processing. Whether working with RAW files, building layer-based composites, or experimenting with blend modes, post-processing gives photographers enormous freedom — and our session was all about exploring that potential.
We began by revisiting the basics of RAW editing. Using histograms, exposure sliders, and core adjustment tools, members practised correcting under- and over-exposure, recovering shadow detail, recovering textures in bright highlights, and adjusting colour temperature to influence mood. Snapseed proved especially useful for quick practical exercises, including boosting contrast, experimenting with saturation, and using the Curves tool to create everything from punchy dynamic edits to soft, matte film-like looks.
From there, we moved into the world of layers and masks — the foundations of more advanced editing. After looking at examples from Man Ray, Erik Johansson, and other visual storytellers, members created simple composites on their phones using Snapseed’s “Multiple Exposure” tool. The exercise helped demystify masks by showing how painting “on” and “off” reveals or hides parts of an image with precision.
The final section of the workshop focused on blend modes, one of the most powerful — and often misunderstood — features of image editing software. Using real examples, we explored how each blend-mode group behaves:
- Darken group modes such as Darken and Multiply deepen tones for richer drama.
- Lighten group modes like Screen and Linear Dodge lift highlights and brighten scenes.
- Contrast group modes, including Overlay and Soft Light, add punch while preserving detail.
- Component modes — Hue, Saturation, Colour, and Luminosity — allow for precise, targeted adjustments.
- And of course, we touched on the “special eight” blend modes, which behave uniquely when Opacity or Opacity fill levels are adjusted.
Participants then experimented hands-on, blending two images using each mode to see its effect.
The workshop wrapped with questions and discussion, with the goal of stripping away some of the mystery surrounding editing.
Thank you to everyone who attended and got involved.
