Description
Most photographers who struggle with post-processing aren't struggling because they don't know which sliders to move.
They struggle because they don't know why they're moving them.
You open a RAW file. You adjust exposure, lift the shadows, pull back the highlights. Maybe you apply a preset. The image looks better than it did, but it still doesn't look the way it felt to stand there. Something is missing, and you're not sure what.
That gap between the image the camera captured and the image you experienced in the field is what post-processing is actually for. Not to fix technical problems. Not to apply a look. To finish what you started when you pressed the shutter.
Edit With Intent is a guide to doing that deliberately.
Quick Facts
Number of Pages: 58
Format: PDF – Instant Download as
Level: Intermediate, for photographers already familiar with their editing software
Software used: The workflow is demonstrated in Lightroom and Photoshop, but the principles apply in any editing software, like Capture One, DxO PhotoLab, Luminar, or anything else.
What's Inside
The guide is organized into five chapters, each building on the previous one.
Chapter 1: Workflow Overview Before touching a single slider, it helps to understand the full process from start to finish. This chapter breaks down each stage of the workflow, explains why the order matters, and gives you a clear structure to work from on every image.
Chapter 2: Editing Decisions This is the chapter most post-processing guides skip entirely. It’s not about tools or sliders. It’s about how to approach an image before you start editing. How to read the light, identify the mood, and decide what the photograph needs. The decisions you make here determine everything that follows.
Chapter 3: Start-to-Finish Edit A complete, real-world edit of two landscape photos, walked through step by step. You’ll see every adjustment, understand why it was made, and follow the image from a flat RAW file to a finished photograph. One image required extensive work. The other came together quickly. Both are useful for different reasons.
Chapter 4: Common Mistakes Seven editing mistakes that hold photographers back, explained clearly with examples. Not beginner mistakes. The specific habits that produce images that look technically correct but feel flat, overprocessed, or directionless.
Chapter 5: Final Thoughts What changes when editing becomes less about technique and more about expression. How to know when an image is finished. And why stepping away from an edit is one of the most useful things you can do.
Is This Guide Right for You?
This guide is for photographers who are already comfortable with their editing software and who want to develop a more structured, intentional approach to their editing.
It’s not a beginner’s introduction to Lightroom. It won’t walk you through where each slider is or how to import photos. It assumes you’re past that and picks up where most tutorials stop.
If your edits feel inconsistent, if you’re not sure why some images come out stronger than others, or if you find yourself adjusting things without a clear sense of direction, this guide was written for you.
The tools used throughout are DxO PureRAW, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, and Nik Color Efex. You don’t need all of them to benefit from the workflow. The principles apply regardless of your exact setup.
Why I Wrote It
I’ve been photographing landscapes professionally for over ten years, based in the Lofoten Islands of Northern Norway. I shoot in some of the most demanding light conditions: long polar nights, unpredictable weather, the aurora, and harsh winter storms.
The workflow in this guide isn’t theoretical. It’s what I actually use on my own images, refined over years of field work, teaching workshops, and leading photo tours across the world.
What I’ve found, teaching photographers at every level, is that the technical side of post-processing isn’t what holds most people back. It’s not knowing what they’re trying to achieve before they start. This guide is my attempt to address that directly.
The Instructor
Christian Hoiberg is a landscape photographer based in the Lofoten Islands of Northern Norway. He has been photographing and teaching landscape photography for over ten years, leading workshops and photo tours internationally. The workflow in this guide is what he uses on his own images, not a framework assembled for a course, but a real process refined over years of shooting in demanding conditions.
Instant download - pdf format
Doug (verified owner) –
I found this book to be quite helpful in increasing the enjoyment of photo editing.
Prior to reading this book, my editing was haphazard. I’d move this slider or that one, checking to see if the photo looked better or worse as a result. Because so many YouTube videos focus on the tools themselves, my editing was sort of “look what I can do”.
However, Christian’s book changed my perspective. Now I think first and move sliders and pens around afterwards. The results have improved quite a bit.
I should note, though, that this book does not discuss the tools themselves in much detail. He discusses why he made various edits, not how. At first I found this confusing, but now I see how the approach forces me to think instead of just trying to duplicate his steps.
Overall, highly recommended.
Mark Bonham (verified owner) –
This is a breath of fresh air on the post-processing workflow. It’s a logical, well structured and written in a very comprehensive way.
I have used this as a template for my own workflow and will continue to use it as a reference point.
Crister Berg (verified owner) –
Hi Christian,
I became curious when you sent out a notice about this book regarding what parts it would cover in the developing work.
I immediately felt that this could be something for me as I sometimes have difficulty determining what kind of post-processing my images needed to recreate the feeling I had at that moment when taking the photo.
I think the book is pedagogically structured.
• Before, what decisions should I make before I start.
• During, examples
• After, the final touch
For me, chapter 1 and especially chapter 2 are the parts I became most curious about and will delve into!
Best regards, /Crister
Keith (verified owner) –
Excellent book! It focuses on “what” and “why” and not the details of “how”. It’s particularly useful for experienced photographers who know the mechanics and are trying to improve their art. Because the focus is on “why”, it helps to fine tune your own post processing workflow. Thank you for such an excellent and useful book.
Martin (verified owner) –
Thank you very much Mr. Hoiberg,
Post-processing is still a little difficult, but I know it will get better over time. At this moment, I am searching even GPT to get a better look for Lightroom. Of course it works but not pro. I really need to learn post-processing as my photography is getting better and I think this is the correct stage that I got your book. I don’t want to plug in numbers to soften waterfalls and bring out the rocks. I want to understand this better.
Thank you very much!
Martin