See How These Photos of Japan Transform During Expert Post-Production

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

Explore Japan Lightroom Contest: Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by JNTO.

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