How To Edit Painterly Wave Photos (Lightroom Secrets)

Paul Farace Photography
6 hours ago
7 min read

Abstract wave background with large text PHOTO into PAINTING and subtitle WAVE PHOTO SECRETS in gold and white — Capturing painterly wave photos

Capturing painterly wave photos is only half the battle.

Person filming on a beach at sunset with large white text Capturing WAVES across the sky. — Watch Linked Video: How To Take Painterly Ocean Photos Anywhere

To make your painterly fine art wave images really stand out you have to learn the right editing techniques.

In this Lightroom. tutorial, learn how to edit painterly wave photos using the real secrets to taking your fine art wave photography to the next level.

We break down the exact editing steps in Lightroom Classic to transform a raw file into a stunning, painterly masterpiece.

Grab a drink, grab your favorite wave image (or the one below!), and let's jump in!

First, I will show you exactly what to look for to find the best raw images for this effect. Then, we will dive deep into the full editing process including basics, balance, masks and color.

Download this RAW file to follow along: Grab the file right here (Google Drive Link)

Blurry golden ocean wave cresting under soft light, with frothy spray and a calm, misty seascape background. — RAW File.

Golden-lit ocean wave curls and sprays in a blurred seascape, glowing amber against gray water. — Final Image.

Alright let's dive in!

Black screen with Culling text and a blue play icon beside Find The Gem in a white box

Choosing The Perfect Painterly Wave Photo

It takes many, many attempts to dial in the right combination of shutter speed, body movement, wave movement, framing of your subject, focusing and firing off the shutter button all in one artistic dance.

But after you capture so many images how do you find the best wave to edit? What should you look for exactly?

Photo editing software shows eight beige ocean wave shots in a grid, with histogram and metadata panels on the right.

Photo editing software displays a soft abstract seascape, with a man in an inset video and the text Find the perfect combination

Well, first chose the images you are drawn to artistically, but here is exactly what i am looking for beyond shape and form.

I want that painterly soft feel throughout the photo, but I need to find sharpness in the wave crest and spray too. This combination of blurry painterly and sharp brush stroke type pieces all combine while the, longer than usual shutter, is open to create a perfect balance.

Golden ocean wave crest with misty spray and blurred motion, creating a calm, dreamy seascape — Slight blur and sharp water spray.

Editing Painterly Wave Photos in Lightroom

Black title screen with Editing and a white Make It Shine button beside a blue play arrow on a plain black background

Now that we have our chosen wave photo it's time to transform it into a masterpiece with these editing techniques.

But first we have to get our base exposure and balance correct.

Set Your White Balance

Set your starting White Balance first. Select AUTO, adjust manually or leave it as you photographed it. I matched the colors I was seeing the day of the photo for now. We will cover color adjustments shortly. but first...

Global Balance: Exposure, Highlights and Shadows.

Adjust your image to get a good base exposure. Adjust exposure, bring down highlights and boost shadows. What you want is a mostly even image to work with.

Lightroom editing screen showing a blurred wave photo, with a man at a desk inset and text Exposure, highlights and shadows

Check your histogram to ensure everything is properly in range with no clipping.

Clean Up Your Image: Sensor Dust & Debris

Now is the time when you want to clean up your image of any sensor dust or debris.

Lightroom editing screen with a black-and-white wave photo, inset man at a desk, and text Remove dust & clean up — Use the 'Visualize Spots" check box to see sensor dust easier.

With this type of image stay away from the spot healing tool which can be hard to get right with these wave curves and tones. Instead use the newer AI healing tool. It takes a bit longer, but the results are much cleaner.

Lightroom editing screen with a crashing wave photo, crop grid, and inset man in a home office; text says Consider cropping last too

This is when I cropped my image, but consider cropping last to save if you need to at all. That will ensure you save the most data and can make that choice once everything is further edited. For this image I already knew my final crop so I went ahead.

Ok so we have our image balanced with a great bas exposure. Let's get into the good stuff.

Using Lightroom Masks (Gradient, Brush & Intersecting Masks)

Adobe Lightroom interface shows a blurred wave edit, with a man speaking in a webcam inset and text These masks give more control

Linear gradient masks

First thing I want to do is darken the tops and bottom of the image with linear gradient masks. The top is a bit more tricky and I will show you that next, but I use these to darken instead of a usual vignette. This is to avoid dark corners and have more control over the adjustments for this specific image.

The top gradient mask is a bit more tricky because we have the bright water spray over the background. So how do we address that?

Intersecting Mask with Luminance Range

Lightroom Develop panel with mask menu open, Luminance Range highlighted, histogram visible, and inset of man at desk.

Once you have your linear gradient mask set for the top go to the mask menu...

Click the three dots next to your mask

Hover over "Intersect Mask With"

Choose Luminance Range near the bottom of the menu.

Ocean wave with inset of man at a desk and editing panel labeled Luminance Range; text says Intersect with Luminance Range

Once you have that selected, adjust the highlights slider of the range SLIGHTLY down until only the brightest spray starts showing through.

Now we can darken the top without affecting the water spray off the top of our wave,

Our main goal is to direct the viewers eye exactly where we would like it to go.

Photo editing screen showing a wave with mask points, plus inset man at desk; text reads Direct the eye with intention

People naturally gravitate to the brightest parts of an image first and we want that to be our main subject, not the background!

So now that we have our wave elevated on the image we can really start to target the masks, but which ones do you use?

Brush Masks to Target The Main Subject

Lightroom editing screen with a blurred wave photo, presenter inset, and text Brighten the main wave on a dark interface.

Add another mask and select 'Brush' type.

Always keep your feathering high for a more natural look.

Flow is just like opacity. Sometimes it can be better looking to set one of those lower and do several passes, again more control.

The more subtle and natural each edit the better end result.

Once I have my wave selected how I like I bring up the exposure, but just a little. These types of masks can look very unnatural if you go even a little bit too far.

Side note: You can also try using a Radial Gradient as an oval over your wave section for a natural look on this section.

Clarity & De-Haze

Photo-editing software interface with a man at a desk inset and the instruction Add subtle contrast on a gray image background.

With that same mask I add a bit of Clarity and De-haze to the wave. Keep this very subtle because we will target sections of the wave next. We just want to make it pop by adding a little bit of contrast through these controls.

Adobe Lightroom editing screen with a blurred wave photo, sliders and histogram; inset man at desk, text says Enhance the natural light

Target the natural light.

Using another brush mask I paint over the wave crest and light in the center of my wave to enhance that specific section. I add a very subtle exposure boost to bring them out and draw focus.

Photo editing software shows a blurred landscape image, a man speaking at a desk, and the caption Using several subtle masks is key

Use continuously smaller brush or other types of masks to target the sections you want to enhance.

Screenshot of photo editor with a blurred landscape and brush cursor; inset man at desk, text reads More masks to enhance smaller parts

Continue refining and try your best to only do subtle adjustments. Here I am targeting only the wave crest and adding contrast, clarity and sharpening.

A good rule of thumb I like to use from my music production years is adjust it until you like it, then back it down 25-50%.

Now the fun part....

Black slide with the word Color above a white box reading Creative freedom, accented by a blue arrow icon

Tweaking colors in Lightroom

This is the type of image where I think you have a full creative liusence to take the final image where you want.

Some like a natural look to the day and some like to go crazy. Here is how to tweak the colors of your wave image with control.

Global Color Adjustment: Color Calibration Panel

Blurred green wave on water beside a photo editor interface; inset of man at desk. Text reads Color calibration panel

First try out the Color Calibration panel at the very bottom of your Lightroom tool panel. This will adjust all of your colors simultaneously. Try bringing the green slightly over to the right.

Another good color grade is to bring the red and blue channels slightly left. This will give you the classic orange and teal Hollywood style colors.

But these controls adjust everything at once in relation to the other colors. To really take control you need to target each color individually.

HSL in Lightroom: Hue, Saturation and Luminance

Photo editing interface showing a blurred wave image, HSL color mixer sliders, and a small inset of a man at a computer with HSL text

The HSL, or Hue, Saturation and Luminance sliders, give you precise control over each color.

In my image the strongest color is yellow due to the sunlight back lighting the wave.

Grab the Yellow Hue Slider and adjust to see the changes you can make. Or if you are using your own image, whatever color is dominant. Expiramentation is key here. Have fun, push it way too far just to see how it affects the image.

Adobe Lightroom editing a blurred green wave, with a presenter inset and HSL Hue, Saturation, Luminance text.

Grab the Yellow Luminance Slider and push it up a bit to brighten the section and draw the eye to the light falling on and through the wave.

Photo editing screen with blurred green wave, inset man at desk, and text: Again, experimentation is key!

But while the blue green was cool in this image, I ended pushing the image towards yellow to emphasize the sunrise light shining through. After a bit more tweaking, darkening and emphasizing the light we came to a good place with the edit.

And don't forget to de-noise if you need to, my image benefitted from it because I pushed the the edit pretty far.

Lightroom editing screen shows a golden wave photo with AI De-Noise processing message and a man on webcam in the corner.

And here is my final painterly wave edit.

Golden wave crest rolling across the sea, backlit by warm sunlight with misty spray and blurred motion in a calm seascape — Painted Wave. Paul Farace Photography.

I hope you enjoyed this painterly wave editing tutorial! I'd love to see your images or your version of this one! Drop a comment and let me know!

If you would like to check out the video on YouTube where I walk you through each step right here: How To Edit Painterly Wave Photos (The Real Secrets)

If you enjoyed this here is a sunset editing video to check out!

Lightroom and Photoshop icons over a sunset beach, with a white arrow to a vivid edited sky; inset man points at his desk. — Simple Landscape Photo Editing: Dramatic & Natural Sunset

All images and words by Paul Farace Photography

Paul Farace is an award winning Florida based landscape photographer and author with 20 years of experience, specializing in capturing the state's coastlines and waterways. Operating out of St. Augustine, he shares his expertise through fine art prints, adventure videos, educational workshops, and digital content. Explore his work and bio details at Paul Farace Photography.

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