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As I have said in another thread I am in the process of trialling a probable switch from C1Pro to Lightroom. I just need a quick tip as I have to recover some lost time due to the C1 problems.

 

My usual approach with C1 is to tweak the exposure to roughly centralise the histogram (especially if it is short) and then adjiust the black and whiote points to spread it out across the full tonal range. I then go on to fine tune adjustments, mid-point, contrast and lift shadows/highlights with white/blackpoint adjustment if necessary before noise reduction etc. Usually takes me no longer than it takes to read this.

 

How do I stretch out the histogram in LR? At this stage I just want to quickly get the image in the right area tonally before doing detailed adjustments. All I have found so far is how to stretch the shadows, highliughts, midtones etc separately which is not what I want at the start (may go one to do that once the images is somewhere near).

 

Thanks

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As I have said in another thread I am in the process of trialling a probable switch from C1Pro to Lightroom. I just need a quick tip as I have to recover some lost time due to the C1 problems.

 

My usual approach with C1 is to tweak the exposure to roughly centralise the histogram (especially if it is short) and then adjiust the black and whiote points to spread it out across the full tonal range. I then go on to fine tune adjustments, mid-point, contrast and lift shadows/highlights with white/blackpoint adjustment if necessary before noise reduction etc. Usually takes me no longer than it takes to read this.

 

How do I stretch out the histogram in LR? At this stage I just want to quickly get the image in the right area tonally before doing detailed adjustments. All I have found so far is how to stretch the shadows, highliughts, midtones etc separately which is not what I want at the start (may go one to do that once the images is somewhere near).

 

Thanks

 

Combining increases in Whites slider, decreases in Blacks slider and movements of the Exposure slider should get you into the right area. The Tone Curve can do much the same, combined with the Exposure slider if you like curves (which I do although I greatly prefer the Curves in Photoshop to those in LR). Also you might like to hold down the option (alt for Mac users) key as you move the Blacks and Whites sliders to see if you are going too far and risk losing detail in highlights and shadows.

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As MDM says. I would adjust exposure to centralise histogram then pull out black and white sliders.

 

Have to say though that I have never carried out that exercise myself or had the need to.

 

Allan

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As MDM says. I would adjust exposure to centralise histogram then pull out black and white sliders.

 

Have to say though that I have never carried out that exercise myself or had the need to.

 

Allan

 

Thanks guys, is that the regional slider on the histogram at top of the develop tool panel?

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As MDM says. I would adjust exposure to centralise histogram then pull out black and white sliders.

 

Have to say though that I have never carried out that exercise myself or had the need to.

 

Allan

 

Thanks guys, is that the regional slider on the histogram at top of the develop tool panel?

 

 

I was referring to the exposure slider under the Basic panel but sliding the histogram itself does the same thing. You can also grab various parts of the histogram and it does the same as using the sliders (I didn't actually realise any of this until now so it's amazing what one can learn trying to answer a query). My preferred method for stretching the histogram (in other words increasing the tonal range of a flat low-contrast image) is to get the exposure broadly right by adjusting the exposure slider  (or dragging the entire histogram if you prefer) and then using an s-curve to increase the contrast but the highlights, whites, shadows and blacks sliders used together do something very similar.

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As MDM says. I would adjust exposure to centralise histogram then pull out black and white sliders.

 

Have to say though that I have never carried out that exercise myself or had the need to.

 

Allan

 

Thanks guys, is that the regional slider on the histogram at top of the develop tool panel?

 

 

I was referring to the exposure slider under the Basic panel but sliding the histogram itself does the same thing. You can also grab various parts of the histogram and it does the same as using the sliders (I didn't actually realise any of this until now so it's amazing what one can learn trying to answer a query). My preferred method for stretching the histogram (in other words increasing the tonal range of a flat low-contrast image) is to get the exposure broadly right by adjusting the exposure slider  (or dragging the entire histogram if you prefer) and then using an s-curve to increase the contrast but the highlights, whites, shadows and blacks sliders used together do something very similar.

 

 

I have used curves in the past but it is much more time consuming than using exposure, black/mid/white point sliders and then tweaking with brightness and/or the shadow slider. I can usually get an image somewhere near in C1 with just adjusting exposure (usually does not need much if any) and then setting the end and mid points - takes about as long as reading this sentence. Important when I might have dozens (100s on some occasions) of images from a sports or news event and need them to get them sent (I try to use OOC jpgs for urgent stuff  but in awkard lighting not always possible to achieve in camera), and no I can't  use a preset as they vary so much because of many factors.

 

My concern for the histogram is the sliders  do not seem to stretch the whole histogram, just the each of the shadow/highlight /middle regions separately. Probably just about getting to understand what they are doing.

 

Thanks for the ideas, they should help. I had found the slider on the histogram, need to try it on some real images to see what works for me.

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The LR develop interface is somewhat less visual,  less point and click, depends on analogue sliders and numbers so much more than C1. However what I have found on a variety of images from flat, misty ones to harshly lit with deep shadows is that the LR Auto option seems to do a very good job of getting to a starting point that is very close to a usable result.

 

I have a batch of 140 images that I urgently need to prepare for my new web site so by the end of that I should have very good impression of how to use it.

 

The advantage with LR as an industry leader is the extensive support (plugins etc) and that it apprently should play nicely with the other softeware that I use.

 

I am going to use LR exclusively for the next 3 weeks and then make a decision whether to upgradeto 5  from the old version 4 licence I have. I suspect I know what the choice is likely to be ...

 

Thanks for the  help

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Like MDM I much prefer to use the tools in PS, to get the results that I want. I will change the exposure slider a bit if necessary, and maybe also the shadows/highlights, in LR but the real work is done later.

 

Many photos are improved using different adjustment layers for two or occasionally more zones in the image, and I just don't find the LR tools to be sufficiently user friendly.

 

Probably demonstrating my considerable ignorance here, but I also make quite a bit of use (although employing only very slight adjustments) of the Shadow/Highlight tool in PS; the equivalent controls in LR are feeble in comparison.

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Like MDM I much prefer to use the tools in PS, to get the results that I want. I will change the exposure slider a bit if necessary, and maybe also the shadows/highlights, in LR but the real work is done later.

 

Many photos are improved using different adjustment layers for two or occasionally more zones in the image, and I just don't find the LR tools to be sufficiently user friendly.

 

Probably demonstrating my considerable ignorance here, but I also make quite a bit of use (although employing only very slight adjustments) of the Shadow/Highlight tool in PS; the equivalent controls in LR are feeble in comparison.

 

I don't like the curves tool in LR so much because of the way it responds to mouse movements. It's something to do with the way it is programmed. I learned how to use the curves in Photoshop many years ago and it is the feature I use most (adjustment curves layers) as it allows very fine control over contrast variations both local (by creating selections) and global. There are several other things I prefer about Photoshop over LR e.g. the selection tools, the graphics.

 

However, the highlight and shadow sliders in LR (and ACR using Process 2012) are actually indispensible tools in my opinion for working on raw files in terms of recovering highlights and/or shadows - in other words lowering contrast which is how I tend to use them rather than doing the opposite which is the subject of this topic. These tools allow the recovery of detail which would previously have been lost. They have to be used on the raw file before conversion or the detail will be left behind so they have to be in LR or ACR.

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As MDM says. I would adjust exposure to centralise histogram then pull out black and white sliders.

 

Have to say though that I have never carried out that exercise myself or had the need to.

 

Allan

 

Thanks guys, is that the regional slider on the histogram at top of the develop tool panel?

 

 

I was referring to the exposure slider under the Basic panel but sliding the histogram itself does the same thing. You can also grab various parts of the histogram and it does the same as using the sliders (I didn't actually realise any of this until now so it's amazing what one can learn trying to answer a query). My preferred method for stretching the histogram (in other words increasing the tonal range of a flat low-contrast image) is to get the exposure broadly right by adjusting the exposure slider  (or dragging the entire histogram if you prefer) and then using an s-curve to increase the contrast but the highlights, whites, shadows and blacks sliders used together do something very similar.

 

 

I have used curves in the past but it is much more time consuming than using exposure, black/mid/white point sliders and then tweaking with brightness and/or the shadow slider. I can usually get an image somewhere near in C1 with just adjusting exposure (usually does not need much if any) and then setting the end and mid points - takes about as long as reading this sentence. Important when I might have dozens (100s on some occasions) of images from a sports or news event and need them to get them sent (I try to use OOC jpgs for urgent stuff  but in awkard lighting not always possible to achieve in camera), and no I can't  use a preset as they vary so much because of many factors.

 

My concern for the histogram is the sliders  do not seem to stretch the whole histogram, just the each of the shadow/highlight /middle regions separately. Probably just about getting to understand what they are doing.

 

Thanks for the ideas, they should help. I had found the slider on the histogram, need to try it on some real images to see what works for me

 

 

 

I think curves take a bit of getting used to but once mastered there is no looking back and it can be done very quickly.

 

For stretching the histogram without curves, best to use the exposure slider in conjunction with the blacks and white sliders. The shadow/highlights seems to have only a minor effect when going this way. Use them to refine the histogram when you've got the exposure and black and white points right. However, they are the sliders of choice in recovering detail in contrasty images.

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I also think that it's worth spending a little time setting up some presets going in Lightroom. My Monochrom produces pretty consistently flat photographs - day and night shots (no flash) each require fairly consistent treatment and then a minor tweak. You can do all the auto-upright stuff and make sure that sharpening is off with a single click if you want to. I find that and the pre-programmed export for Alamy invaluable (and my website/blog too). 

 

Take a little care when going from LR to exit in Photoshop. You lose the ability to undo the LR changes in the new version of the file that comes back from PS (although the PS changes can still be undone in PS).  I only use PS when I want to touch up areas, add text, remove logos or some such (using my tablet).  But then I don't have any colour, even in the RAW files.

 

I can't claim to be an expert (I'm sure others here are much more so) but I do find that the results I get are quick and consistent, following my personal style of finish.

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Thanaks everybody.

 

I spent several hours preparing around 150 images for my new web site and I quickly got pretty comfortable with it. The AUTO option generally got me close and then I used the shadow/highlight sliders to fine tune. I found auto tended to overdo the exposure on well lit subjects and burn out the highlights - especially for example on cricket whites. Easy to pull it back a bit.

 

As my main interest is news and reportage photography I try to do as little post processing as possible. I used to use curves when I did my processing in PS but I only go into PS now for adding text etc like Mike; I used to use it for healing but that is in LR now. The only thing I will use PS for is a one-off cleaning up scans from film (16bit tif) - LR gets very slow with dozens of spot cleans - once done I won't want to reverse those and go back to the original dirty scan! I will then do all the other processing non-destructively in LR.

 

Like Mike I find I need to tweak contrast for B&W especially but then I also did in C1.

 

The main thing I find awkard is not being able to do the editing (crops, spotting, etc) on my secondary monitor - I seem to have to do it all in the small window on the main screen which has all the tool panels etc. I would prefer the tool panels on my main screen and do the work on a much larger image on the uncluttered secondary screen - how I work in PS and C1. As it stands it also makes the secondary screen redundant. Of course I may have missed something - I have only spent about 5 hours with LR mostl;y catching up on the web site job.

 

When I am caught up with my work and more familar with LR I will certainly set up presets. As I will be doing more B&W this year I may also look at the Nik plugins - I tried them with Bibble some years ago.

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The main thing I find awkard is not being able to do the editing (crops, spotting, etc) on my secondary monitor - I seem to have to do it all in the small window on the main screen which has all the tool panels etc. I would prefer the tool panels on my main screen and do the work on a much larger image on the uncluttered secondary screen - how I work in PS and C1. As it stands it also makes the secondary screen redundant. Of course I may have missed something - I have only spent about 5 hours with LR mostl;y catching up on the web site job.

 

When I am caught up with my work and more familar with LR I will certainly set up presets. As I will be doing more B&W this year I may also look at the Nik plugins - I tried them with Bibble some years ago.

Have you looked at the secondary display options (Windows menu)? Not sure it does what you want but...

 

[Edit] Meant to say as well that Silver Efex Pro comes from Google now and is bundled with a load of other packages (I got it free with my camera but rarely use it).

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This might be what you want. Personally I do all my intricate work in PS - spotting etc as you can use layers and a far better set of tools. Shortcut is the 2 icon in the bottom left of the LR UI.

 

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/using-a-secondary-display/

 

and she's a little better looking than the Image Professor...... whole series of often rather useful tutorials http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

 

Thanks Geoff, some useful tips, I had got some of that from my searches. The challenge I have is when I am editing - especially cropping and spotting I prefer to do it on my secondary monitor (both are same size)  as it gives a larger image to work on without the film strip and tool palettes. When spotting it means less scrolling. I was thinking of getting a new even larger, higher resolution,  secondary monitor for that purpose.

 

Is it possible? I have only found similar examples to those in the Image Professor video.

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Some tips I've picked up over the years (since v4 anyway) that also apply to ACR. I'm also assuming raw use (or TIFFs) and not JPEGs.

 

Global Adjustments

To maximise dynamic range whilst preserving highlight detail :: In general, it's best to increase values on the White Slider to increasing overall brightness, and reuse values on the Highlights Slider to recover blown highlights and reduce highlight brightness.
 
There are some photos where highlight detail doesn't matter or is not desirable, in which case consider doing the opposite of the above.
 
The Contrast Slider can also be used to reduce brightness & decompress highlights.
 
There are images which might need a negative adjustment on the Whites Slider ​but I've found these to be rare (and to be used as a last resort) since it reduces overall brightness (maybe useful for low contrast shots in fog or something). This can be compensated somewhat by increasing the Contrast Slider and to some extent, the Exposure Slider. Of course, if what you want is dullness, e.g. some foggy shots or something, it could be just what the doctor ordered. 
 
These adjustments are trade-offs and will vary from image to image (or between batches of similars but let's not go there again...) 
 
 
Local Adjustments
Don't forget the Local Adjustment Brush (LR v5 on; doesn't apply to ACR/CS6) which also has Highlights and Shadows Sliders, which means you can be a little more "adventurous" with Global Adjustments (i.e. Basic Module and Tone Curve Module) and then attenuate locally. The alternate also applies - you can go easy on Global Adjustments and be adventurous with Local Adjustments. And anything in between.
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Some useful ideas there Geoff. For me, if an image needs more healing than is possible in LR I will probably bin it :) or at least leave it for later (= never usually). I do not enjoy fiddling around in post production but I am not an art, or hard-core studio/stock photographer. My aim is to get it right (or very close) in camera and then tweak it as we did in film days with choice of paper grade (yes, I go back to when it was almost all B&W) and perhaps a little bit of dodging to lift shadows or burn in a sky. I never had the patience to be a great printer and the same is largely true with post production ;)

 

That said, I can see me using local adjustments, for example to lift faces that are in shadow (when I can't use fill-in flash).

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This might be what you want. Personally I do all my intricate work in PS - spotting etc as you can use layers and a far better set of tools. Shortcut is the 2 icon in the bottom left of the LR UI.

 

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/using-a-secondary-display/

 

and she's a little better looking than the Image Professor...... whole series of often rather useful tutorials http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

 

Thanks Geoff, some useful tips, I had got some of that from my searches. The challenge I have is when I am editing - especially cropping and spotting I prefer to do it on my secondary monitor (both are same size)  as it gives a larger image to work on without the film strip and tool palettes. When spotting it means less scrolling. I was thinking of getting a new even larger, higher resolution,  secondary monitor for that purpose.

 

Is it possible? I have only found similar examples to those in the Image Professor video.

 

Are you using the 'visualise spots' tick box and slider in LR ? it makes the image mono and it speeds up my processing of dusty (and birdy) skies immensely.

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This might be what you want. Personally I do all my intricate work in PS - spotting etc as you can use layers and a far better set of tools. Shortcut is the 2 icon in the bottom left of the LR UI.

 

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/using-a-secondary-display/

 

and she's a little better looking than the Image Professor...... whole series of often rather useful tutorials http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

 

Thanks Geoff, some useful tips, I had got some of that from my searches. The challenge I have is when I am editing - especially cropping and spotting I prefer to do it on my secondary monitor (both are same size)  as it gives a larger image to work on without the film strip and tool palettes. When spotting it means less scrolling. I was thinking of getting a new even larger, higher resolution,  secondary monitor for that purpose.

 

Is it possible? I have only found similar examples to those in the Image Professor video.

 

Are you using the 'visualise spots' tick box and slider in LR ? it makes the image mono and it speeds up my processing of dusty (and birdy) skies immensely.

 

 

No just Mk 1 eyeball but the images I was creating are small so dust is less of a problem. My new stuff is pretty clean - the Fuji X-T1 is MUCH better than my Canon 1Ds3 in that regard. However I will remember this tip for my main stuff going forward, thanks.

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