Order of steps to adjust image

FireflyHeather

FireflyHeather

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Heather
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Hi helpful people,

I'd like to know how to do image adjustments in the right order - say if I've got a raw image and I need to adjust the saturation, contrast (they say Curves are best), lightness, and highlights/shadows.

Input is appreciated.
 
Curves adjustment layers plus layer masks is definitely the best tool I'd say. You can then adjust the histogram directly altering contrast etc and then by first inverting the mask to hide the adjustment, paint it in with a brush just where you want it. This potential for fine tuning your adjustments far surpasses most of the other tools in Photoshop.
 
Wow I did not know there was a specific order for editing images. Sound like I've been doing it wrong for the last 12 years. Pointless changing now I suppose.
 
For clarity, Graham (post 2) seems to be talking about Adobe Camera Raw / Lightroom, and Romney (post 3) seems to be discussing full Photoshop?

If indeed you are converting RAW files, then the layout of the basic adjustments in CR / LR is suggestive of the order in which they might be used. But every image is different & it's up to the user to divine what's needed, and you can skip between them. Learn by doing. For some images you might use a couple of tools, and for others a whole handful. The better your exposure in camera, the less fiddling later.

The tools are powerful but it's best to moderate their use if you want a natural-loooking image to result.
 
If you take the picture in RAW then you need to consider both initial and output sharpening too; the latter as the last part of the workflow.
 
Thanks for that - but when Graham said 'work from the top down', does he mean from the top of the image (usually sky) to the bottom, or from the top of the adjustments menu down?
 
shreds said:
If you take the picture in RAW then you need to consider both initial and output sharpening too; the latter as the last part of the workflow.
Click to expand...

I'm guilty of having a very lazy approach to sharpening. Must do some research on this area.

Cheers.
 
For me WB, exposure, crop, vibrance. That's to get my crappy looking RAWs back to life then it depends on the image where I take if from there.
 
FireflyHeather said:
…'work from the top down'…
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•
Experience showed me that, when one opens a tool box, the first one on top
is not necessarily the right one!

First thing is to be aware of the RAW recorded data and evaluate how far it is
from the final rendition, making the right "diagnostic" as to how to proceed (as
it may vary immensely from take to take) and come back to re-evaluate how
close these got you to your wished rendition even before considering applying
your artistic intent.

It is pretty much your own skills and good taste that will make decisions easier
and PP a joyful experience!
 
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I think the general rule of thumb for Lightroom is to start at the top of the panel on the left and work your way down.

For me I always apply the lens correction first, as this may affect the image such as removing vignetting which I might otherwise have to correct in other steps. Then I have a look at the Camera Calibration and pick a profile that suits the image - this is similar to the picture styles that you can select in camera. Only then do I work my way down the panel.
 
Start with the 'global' adjustments - crop, straighten, color casts (things that affect the whole image)
Then look at smaller adjustments - brightening shadows, cloning out stuff etc.
Finally, sharpen.
Save as a copy, so you don't overwrite the original.
 
FireflyHeather said:
Hi helpful people,

I'd like to know how to do image adjustments in the right order - say if I've got a raw image and I need to adjust the saturation, contrast (they say Curves are best), lightness, and highlights/shadows.

Input is appreciated.
Click to expand...


Not being funny here, but why not do whatever actually needs doing, which will be different for each image. Why assume that something even needs "doing" to it, and that there's a particular "order" or "series" of steps to take? After all, if exposure and lighting is good, why should anything "need" doing to it?
 
redfan said:
For me I always apply the lens correction first, as this may affect the image such as removing vignetting which I might otherwise have to correct in other steps. Then I have a look at the Camera Calibration and pick a profile that suits the image - this is similar to the picture styles that you can select in camera. Only then do I work my way down the panel.
Click to expand...


This is the way to do it, and for exactly this reason! Go to lens corrections first and, assuming you have your camera/lens set-up ready profiled, tick "enable lens correction". This should largely eliminate problems which are specific to your lens/body combo, like vignetting, as mentioned, and barrel/pincushion distortion.

I really don't understand why adobe don't put Lens corrections at the top, or at least allow users to arrange the order of the processing tools individually.

I agree that it is then a personal thing what order you do most of your processing in. Sharpen last and finally Crop. If you're outputting your image from Lightroom you will do a final sharpen at the export stage.
 
jerry12953 said:
This is the way to do it, and for exactly this reason! Go to lens corrections first and, assuming you have your camera/lens set-up ready profiled, tick "enable lens correction". This should largely eliminate problems which are specific to your lens/body combo, like vignetting, as mentioned, and barrel/pincushion distortion.

I really don't understand why adobe don't put Lens corrections at the top, or at least allow users to arrange the order of the processing tools individually.

I agree that it is then a personal thing what order you do most of your processing in. Sharpen last and finally Crop. If you're outputting your image from Lightroom you will do a final sharpen at the export stage.
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There's one thing I always do though, regardless. Apply lens profiles, and remove CA. I don't consider that "post-processing" though. It's something that I reckon Lightroom should just do automatically, as I can't imagine why anyone would chose NOT to do this.
 
Pookeyhead said:
There's one thing I always do though, regardless. Apply lens profiles, and remove CA. I don't consider that "post-processing" though. It's something that I reckon Lightroom should just do automatically, as I can't imagine why anyone would chose NOT to do this.
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You can set up Lightroom to apply lens corrections automatically as the images are imported.
 
Andy Taylor said:
You can set up Lightroom to apply lens corrections automatically as the images are imported.
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I didn't realise that. How do you go about it?

Pookeyhead said:
There's one thing I always do though, regardless. Apply lens profiles, and remove CA. I don't consider that "post-processing" though. It's something that I reckon Lightroom should just do automatically, as I can't imagine why anyone would chose NOT to do this.
Click to expand...

Agreed about lens corrections. I didn't realise LR could do this. But Chromatic aberration? Not every image needs it. I don't know how the process works but isn't there a risk of affecting the image in a negative way if you try to control CA when there isn't any?
 
Andy Taylor said:
You can set up Lightroom to apply lens corrections automatically as the images are imported.
Click to expand...


If there is one for the camera you're using, which is not always the case. It's also never the case if you shoot film.

jerry12953 said:
But Chromatic aberration? Not every image needs it. I don't know how the process works but isn't there a risk of affecting the image in a negative way if you try to control CA when there isn't any?
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None that I'ev seen, no. If it doesn't need it, it appears to do precisely nothing that I can see.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
Not being funny here, but why not do whatever actually needs doing, which will be different for each image. Why assume that something even needs "doing" to it, and that there's a particular "order" or "series" of steps to take? After all, if exposure and lighting is good, why should anything "need" doing to it?
Click to expand...
For those starting out it could be just the steps to go through to check that there are not any problems which may not have been noticed until they are more experienced. As you say later on, applying camera/lens profile and chromatic aberration should be applied by default, but it isn't, and unless you are told about it, it may be something that is missed. Few can see lens distortions unless they are very pronounced. For myself I also apply a camera profile I made with a Passport Checker for my camera by default.

The steps I go through are, check WB. Sometimes the WB set in camera is correct, but if not I will try a preset, or click on something white or grey in the scene to try and get closer to how I want it to be. Occasionally I may adjust the Temperature and Tint sliders.

I press Auto on the Basics settings to see if it gets anywhere close to looking how I envision it, then tweak. If it is not anywhere near I'll go through the sliders fixing any under or over exposure that are needed first. Make sure you have the Highlight and Shadow clipping buttons active. ;) I normally add a bit of Clarity and Vibrance, but very rarely Saturation.

I check to see if the image is level. Getting an image level is why I prefer Camera Raw over Lightroom. In Camera Raw you can zoom in to draw a straight line along something that should be horizontal or vertical in an image to make the correction, something I haven't been able to do in Lightroom.

Crop if needed. A quick check for any sensor spots, and if there is nothing else needs doing I will set the amount of sharpening before saving.

Others will be doing all other kinds of things with Curves, Dodging and Burning etc in Photoshop but get the good basic image first. I very rarely need to go into Photoshop any more, but I am glad that I learnt how to use that first all those years ago as it is a good bit of knowledge in the memory bank if needed. :-)

I hope the OP finds that of some use. :-)
 
I check to see if the image is level. Getting an image level is why I prefer Camera Raw over Lightroom. In Camera Raw you can zoom in to draw a straight line along something that should be horizontal or vertical in an image to make the correction, something I haven't been able to do in Lightroom.
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A good post, thanks. However in my version of Lightroom (v5) I can use the straight line method to level images. I select the Crop box then click on the spirit level icon that is displayed, click on an item that should be H or V, hold left mouse button down and drag along the line & release. Job done.
 
Giblets said:
A good post, thanks. However in my version of Lightroom (v5) I can use the straight line method to level images. I select the Crop box then click on the spirit level icon that is displayed, click on an item that should be H or V, hold left mouse button down and drag along the line & release. Job done.
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Yep, know about that in LR, but you can't zoom in to a small part of the scene in LR afaik. If anyone knows differently please say how.

It allows you to be very accurate, and maybe use just a very small part of the scene to determine levels. I always feel I'm trying to level images at arms length with Lightroom. Whatever works for you though. :-)
 
redhed17 said:
Yep, know about that in LR, but you can't zoom in to a small part of the scene in LR afaik. If anyone knows differently please say how.

It allows you to be very accurate, and maybe use just a very small part of the scene to determine levels. I always feel I'm trying to level images at arms length with Lightroom. Whatever works for you though. :)
Click to expand...

Do it in the <Lens Correction> panel instead of the crop tool.

In the Lens Correction Panel select the <Manual> tab.

Then zoom in the image to the desired level. Now click on the numbers <0.0> at the <Rotate> slider so that the number field is highlighted. With up-arrow (clockwise turn) or down-arrow (counter-clockwise) rotate the image until it is straight. Shift + arrow rotates in greater increments. Then use the crop tool.

If you check the box <Constrain crop> your image will be cropped to original side ratio and cutting away any grey areas at the sides that have been created by rotating.

But you don't have to to <Constrain crop>, you can directly go to the crop tool.
 
Giblets said:
Do it in the <Lens Correction> panel instead of the crop tool.

In the Lens Correction Panel select the <Manual> tab.

Then zoom in the image to the desired level. Now click on the numbers <0.0> at the <Rotate> slider so that the number field is highlighted. With up-arrow (clockwise turn) or down-arrow (counter-clockwise) rotate the image until it is straight. Shift + arrow rotates in greater increments. Then use the crop tool.

If you check the box <Constrain crop> your image will be cropped to original side ratio and cutting away any grey areas at the sides that have been created by rotating.

But you don't have to to <Constrain crop>, you can directly go to the crop tool.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Giblets. It is a bit of a faff, but you can straighten while zoomed in in Lightroom. :) You're the first one in many years of asking who has come up with n answer. :clap:
 
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