How to make Raw images pop in LR/PS

[User.82148]

I appreciate that there is no quick for all images but how to you get the best out of raw images without going over the top? There is so much conflicting advice on the internet, so is is best to just your own eyes assuming the monitor has been correctly set up.

 

[gramps]

A properly calibrated monitor is an important starting point, then it is using your minds-eye to recall what you saw!
Personally I like to open my images in Capture NX-D (Nikon) and adjust the Picture Control setting, then I import it into Photoshop for adjustments, which normally includes ACR, Levels & sharpening but that's the basics.

 

[User.82148]

Anybody else?

 

[sk66]

One of the biggest factors is properly setting the levels (White Point/Black Point/Gamma).

 

[Craig_85]

Without wanting to sound like I'm being obtuse because really I am not, so much of making pictures pop actually begins in camera. This is coming from someone who has spent years chasing good pictures through a computer...Light, composition, colour contrast and atmosphere at the point of capture make such a difference to how pictures pop. Exposure itself is key too, and is linked with processing. The knowledge of how to process and how to expose for what you are after are definitely linked.

To answer your question there could be a lot of methods and a lot of answers we could go into. You said LR/PS. Well the methods I use for just LR are different to what I use when including PS which opens up a load more possibilities. Have you got an example of the type/style of pictures you like and are trying to achieve? If you could post a link it would make explaining how to get there a lot easier...

 

[Alastair]

Get the light right, use the right equipment, get the exposure right. Getting the right data into the raw file in the first place is key to making it "pop" in processing.

Get it wrong and processing is only rolling a poor raw in glitter.

 

[Oliver Pohlmann]

+1 To what Alistair said. Crap lighting on location will kill a shot.

Regarding Lightroom, try these basic settings:
Hightlights -80
Shadows +30
Whites +20
Blacks -20
Contrast +20
Vibrance +15
Saturation +3
Adjust Exposure level as required.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

+1 To what Alistair said. Crap lighting on location will kill a shot.

Regarding Lightroom, try these basic settings:
Hightlights -80
Shadows +30
Whites +20
Blacks -20
Contrast +20
Vibrance +15
Saturation +3
Adjust Exposure level as required.

Surely these are pointless without seeing an image?

 

[Box Brownie]

Get the light right, use the right equipment, get the exposure right. Getting the right data into the raw file in the first place is key to making it "pop" in processing.

Get it wrong and processing is only rolling a poor raw in glitter.

+1 To what Alistair said. Crap lighting on location will kill a shot.

Regarding Lightroom, try these basic settings:
Hightlights -80
Shadows +30
Whites +20
Blacks -20
Contrast +20
Vibrance +15
Saturation +3
Adjust Exposure level as required.

Surely these are pointless without seeing an image?

To use a cooking analogy:-
Start with the best of raw ingredients
Cook to taste (of your palette)
Make sure to test the taste often
Serve it plated in an attractive and eye catching way (as part of the eating pleasure is does it actually look good to eat!)

IMO pp'ing an image can be seen in artistic(?) terms like the cooking analogy ~ are you happy with the product and will others (your customers if intended for sale/exhibition) be pleased/inspired/delighted by it.

I can only surmise that Oliver's post is ideal for his type/style as his starting point, with the emphasis on "his starting point".

 

[Oliver Pohlmann]

Surely these are pointless without seeing an image?

True. These settings are by no means definitive in any way. But they are base changes which should give a lift to flat images. A 'flat' image is flat partly because it's likely lacking contrast, vibrance plus white and black levels. These settings 'may' help introduce some of that back in to the image.

 

[BillN_33]

Take a RAW and a jpeg, (using the in camera default settings), and when you can get the RAW to look better than the jpeg you will start the learning curve

(the jpeg will effectively be your "control" image)

Obviously your camera settings will have to be "good" and the OOC images be "normal"

 

[KathG]

I mainly use Lightroom to process my raw images . I have used Lightroom for several years and still feel very much a novice, wondering if changing one setting is to much or should I have done this or that. Anyways my point is recently I bought what IMO is a good set of Presets. These presets give me a good starting point. All the presets can be adjusted to my liking and at the same time help me see quickly what is happening to my image and also see the amounts that are changed in the settings.
I know it is easy to push the sliders to change things like saturation vibrancy clarity exposure etc, but I have found these very helpful.
I know presets are a dirty word to some , but here is a link to what I use. Plus there are also tons of free presets out their that you can try.

http://seimeffects.com/pw/

Cheers

Kath

 

[juggler]

In Lightroom make sure you're using the correct (i.e. your preferred) profile in the camera calibration panel as a starting point. e.g. many people prefer Camera Standard to Adobe Standard. The various profiles have hugely varying amounts of contrast. That might be all you need to do.

Don't assume the monitor has been calibrated correctly. It'll probably be way off - and I find I need to recalibrate fairly often.

 

[Box Brownie]

I learned something in regard to LR last night that had been vexing me for ages.

When I pp I always want to map use of the dynamic range in the image and the most convenient way I did was to do all in LR but then transfer to PS for final output.....part of that was to check the levels and pull in the 'end stops' for highlights and shadows where needed.

But what I learned yesterday was that (and this assumes you are using Process 2012 not the earlier 2010) in develop mode you can make these corrections as follows:-

On both Highlights & Shadows press shift and double click on the word by the slider. It seems the algorithm analyses the histogram/file and adjusts the the setting to DRL setting ~ though in my quick tests depending on the image you have to keep an eye on and adjust to taste the clipping

Incidentally, the same 'trick' works for Exposure and Contrast sliders.

But as above in my other post, all images IMO need to be treated individually and to taste.....and obviously this method I surmise works best on raw files rather than JPEG.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

The mood of a photograph is set by the light in which it is taken.
No amount of PP can change that, though it can easily destroy it.
PP can be used to get the best out of, or enhance what is already captured.
But not much more.
silk purses and sows ears come to mind.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I learned something in regard to LR last night that had been vexing me for ages.

When I pp I always want to map use of the dynamic range in the image and the most convenient way I did was to do all in LR but then transfer to PS for final output.....part of that was to check the levels and pull in the 'end stops' for highlights and shadows where needed.

But what I learned yesterday was that (and this assumes you are using Process 2012 not the earlier 2010) in develop mode you can make these corrections as follows:-

On both Highlights & Shadows press shift and double click on the word by the slider. It seems the algorithm analyses the histogram/file and adjusts the the setting to DRL setting ~ though in my quick tests depending on the image you have to keep an eye on and adjust to taste the clipping

Incidentally, the same 'trick' works for Exposure and Contrast sliders.

But as above in my other post, all images IMO need to be treated individually and to taste.....and obviously this method I surmise works best on raw files rather than JPEG.

Not all shots have an Ideal Histogram. A misty shot might have no pure white nor a pure black. A low key work might be devoid of most middled and light tones but still have highlights. Few automatic settings work in these situations.

 

[Craig_85]

I learned something in regard to LR last night that had been vexing me for ages.

When I pp I always want to map use of the dynamic range in the image and the most convenient way I did was to do all in LR but then transfer to PS for final output.....part of that was to check the levels and pull in the 'end stops' for highlights and shadows where needed.

But what I learned yesterday was that (and this assumes you are using Process 2012 not the earlier 2010) in develop mode you can make these corrections as follows:-

On both Highlights & Shadows press shift and double click on the word by the slider. It seems the algorithm analyses the histogram/file and adjusts the the setting to DRL setting ~ though in my quick tests depending on the image you have to keep an eye on and adjust to taste the clipping

Incidentally, the same 'trick' works for Exposure and Contrast sliders.

But as above in my other post, all images IMO need to be treated individually and to taste.....and obviously this method I surmise works best on raw files rather than JPEG.

You can just hold the 'alt' slider down to see clipping.

The advantage of PS over LR for drl is you can use the black point colour picker for example and not just create the black point but colour balance the shadows whilst you are at it.

 

[Box Brownie]

Not all shots have an Ideal Histogram. A misty shot might have no pure white nor a pure black. A low key work might be devoid of most middled and light tones but still have highlights. Few automatic settings work in these situations.

Absolutely, and that is why I qualified my post But to see quickly what LR thinks(?) is a good interpretation by looking at its effects could be with some images a worthwhile shortcut.

You can just hold the 'alt' slider down to see clipping.

The advantage of PS over LR for drl is you can use the black point colour picker for example and not just create the black point but colour balance the shadows whilst you are at it.

Yes, IMO there is never quite 'one size fits all' of any program though KISS principle helps.

 

[redfan]

+1 To what Alistair said. Crap lighting on location will kill a shot.

Regarding Lightroom, try these basic settings:
Hightlights -80
Shadows +30
Whites +20
Blacks -20
Contrast +20
Vibrance +15
Saturation +3
Adjust Exposure level as required.

Forget Photoshop for the time being, keep it simple by doing your editing in Lightroom.

I would try out Oliver's suggestions and then adjust for each individual image. If you find yourself always doing the same (or similar) changes I would create a preset in Lightroom, lets call it 'Quick edit', which you can then apply to all images as a first step. After applying 'Quick edit' you can then tweak the settings for each individual image. Lightroom has presets so that you can do the bulk of an edit with one click, but you are always going to have to fine tune the settings.

 

[User.82148]

In Lightroom make sure you're using the correct (i.e. your preferred) profile in the camera calibration panel as a starting point. e.g. many people prefer Camera Standard to Adobe Standard. The various profiles have hugely varying amounts of contrast. That might be all you need to do.

Don't assume the monitor has been calibrated correctly. It'll probably be way off - and I find I need to recalibrate fairly often.

Many thanks. You learn something new every day!

In my workflow, I tend to start in the top panel and work down. Camera calibration is the last panel and is not something I have used very much in the past. As changing the profile can make such a big difference, do you start with the camera calibration panel?

 

[Craig_85]

Many thanks. You learn something new every day!

In my workflow, I tend to start in the top panel and work down. Camera calibration is the last panel and is not something I have used very much in the past. As changing the profile can make such a big difference, do you start with the camera calibration panel?

Personally I do the opposite. Work upwards through Camera calibration, lens corrections, sharpening then the basic tab.

 

[ashtennisguru]

Watch Scott Kelby's "From Flat to Fabulous" videos on youtube - that will give you a good heads up @Archie747

 

[redfan]

Many thanks. You learn something new every day!

In my workflow, I tend to start in the top panel and work down. Camera calibration is the last panel and is not something I have used very much in the past. As changing the profile can make such a big difference, do you start with the camera calibration panel?

Personally I do the opposite. Work upwards through Camera calibration, lens corrections, sharpening then the basic tab.

I jump around a bit. Camera calibration, lens correction, cropping, basic panel, details. Wish you could re-order the panels would save having to scroll down then up.

 

[Craig_85]

I jump around a bit. Camera calibration, lens correction, cropping, basic panel, details. Wish you could re-order the panels would save having to scroll down then up.

If you jump around a lot in the develop module make sure you have solo mode enabled. It will close the tab of the one you working on when you click on a different one rather than having to manually close them or scroll up and down a lot.

From memory right click on any tab in the develop module and set it to check solo mode. It's so much better that way.