I noticed with newer canon sensors over exposing is better than under exposing. The highlight recovery is better than the shadow. So I over exposed by 1/3 of a stop
Editing photos is definitely a personal taste based thing, you can be sure that not every one will be pleased with your results. I personally find the boat in silhouette with the vibrant sunset much more pleasing.
One question. Why did you tone down the glorious red and orange tints in the original. It was the best part of the original raw, and all of the adjustments still give me the feeling the photo is washed out because it's lost all the depth of colours.
One reason is that the main subject is still the foreground boat not the background sunset. The richness of the sunset distracts from the focus on the main subject. I guess if you want to have the sunset as the main theme, this would be a very different composition (without the boat for example). Also, of course to simplify the colour.
Yeah I don't know about the result, really washed out - which is expected with raising the black levels so aggressively. There are better ways to go about this, while retaining the vibrance and depth even without plugins such as Lumenzia which is an absolute must-have to work with bracketed but also solo raws with demanding scenes.
I like the overall idea, but I think I would have left the boat a bit darker as it is backlit-- I would have looked at a pano crop to see how that looked. I do tend to like more intense and vibrant colors on the whole.
Mark, the key message here is to refrain from editing like an automaton. Several times in the presentation you said “I used to always…”. Most of us did that. As I matured and refined my vision, I take more time to get a proper exposure by using the histogram rather than just looking at the image on the back of the camera. That alone got me to a better starting point for editing. I also made sure I got the right aspect ratio in camera when shooting. That worked wonders. Many cameras have aspect ratio templates that enables the photographer to evaluate different compositions that can be changed later. Then, I didn’t start editing by “always __________”. Instead, I observe the image to evaluate the look, feel and emotion that I am trying to evoke. Editing now is a pleasant adventure rather than just pulling sliders in a predetermined order. Good video.😮
I absolutely love photos with vibrant and rich sunset colors! When there’s a human face in the shot, I’ll gently enhance it to make it clearer. But when it comes to boats or other objects, I prefer subtle adjustments that maintain the overall mood. After all, those gorgeous sunset hues are the heart of these images, and highlighting the boat too much might take away from their magic.
Loads of useful tips in here beyond the title method! I've always stretched and moved the histogram with white/black/shadows/highlights. I love the idea of the luminance slider to independently shift the mid point upwards.
Interesting. Beautiful photo by the way. You should apply also the linear gradient masks to the modified exposure sample to really compare the two processes.
Mark, thanks for an interesting video and I can understand where you're going with this approach. Personally I wouldn't have lifted the brightness of the boat as I prefer it in shadow more but that comes down to editing preferences and where you as the photographer want to go with the picture which I respect.
When you say you cannot directly adjust the mid-tones, are you aware that you can go over to the histogram, mouse-down in the mid-tone region (slightly above the histogram itself), and slide it left and right. You can do that in all five regions of the histogram. I guess that's why I never thought about using the mid-tone section of the Color Grading; that's also a good way.
Oh man, that's so awesome. I was pretty impressed with myself that I was editing my photos the same way originally that you had been. Just learning as I go and your videos are so helpful, thank you so much! I followed along with you on one of my own photos and wow, that is a great technique! Thanks!
While I prefer the more underexposed photo in this example, the techniques you showed are very welcome and I'm definitely gonna use them in some scenarios instead of the exposure slider. Thanks!
The take away is that in the editing on the original photo technique I personally learnt a lot and want a lot more of the stuff and I'm indebted to the ten advice on enhancing photography given by you in an other video I watched and learnt to the rot!
Super helpful! Quick question, do you ever use the histogram to adjust levels? It lets you target highlights, shadows, mids etc. I've been avoiding those Color Grading "wheels", along with Tone Curve, admittedly. I need to get more comfortable with these more-powerful controls. Thanks for the motivation!
Mark thank you for this little presentation. These are areas I have really touched. I will end up watching this a few times to try and get a better feeling of using them.
Man. I’ve been watching your videos for a while now and this is by far the best advice you’ve given. When you described your old way of editing underexposed photos is exactly how I’ve been doing it (and unhappy with my results but not sure why) so thank you.
Great video, I do a lot of sunset photography, this technique will help me a lot. I'll be revisiting this video frequently until I can merge it into my workflow.
Another top tip/video. I must confess that up to now I have rarely used the colour grading settings. Must give this method a try on some older images that have never quite looked right. Thanks Mark.
Thanks for a great timely video. I was struggling with processing a late afternoon Yosemite shot yesterday that I’ll be going back today with the mid tone technique in mind.
WWWWWOOOOOWWWW.... exactly what I was doing till now and I noticed it quite often that I started to use a gradient sky to try and arange the flat colours
Thanks for the usfull tips Mark. Still working on finding my own style, has improved a lot the last few month, and getting som difrent perspective, by following and wathcing different landscape photographer. Towh thing I thougth of while watching this video, was first expocure, Danish photographer Mads Peter Iversen, exposes for the Higlight, so I don't know where I land on this yet, need to get out at take som more photos. Another thing was the clarity slider, when you turned it down, I thougt of Scott Kelby, that turns it up, usualy on a brush mask, paintet on whater or metal, because it gives a extra shine, a process I have used to enhance some of my photos. So a lot of this is also about whati is your style of photo, and yes I am still looking for mine. Loved the tips about the point color, a tool i was not familiar with, and therfor did not use, now I have an idea how to use it.
In my opinion, your edited photo looks way better than the one with the exposure bump, but what a convoluted way to achieve it. As someone whose knowledge of Lr is limited, or more importantly, my patience level using it is very thin. I should try some of your courses That would probably negate the cursing and maybe increase my patience level should I become more proficient. Anyway, I have subscribed.
Thank you…I’m going to play with the luminance slider. I will say, I agree with those who question the significant reduction of the orange in the sky….leaving it adds so much depth to the photo. I view histograms as a guide to what can be done…can I move it to the right if that’s what looks good. Sometimes a historgram that leans left of ideal, especially at sunrise or sunset.
Great video and thanks for sahing. Will try it out on my underexposed landscape sunset shots. I also liked the way you used the masking tool to improve the boat itself, as I was not aware of that of creating a mask around an on´bject. Good stuff
Once again thank you. This technique brings that "little extra" to my photos. I've tried it on a few bird pics and much much more realistic results. Thanks!!!!
Being one who doesn’t really know the full power of Lightroom, I have always wondered if there was a way to bump up the midtones without washing out the entire image. This is an awesome tip that I will definitely be using! It took me years to learn about using the white and black points to adjust for exposure and contrast. I found the white point helped with color too, so that it wouldn’t look washed out (with maybe a little help from the black point). Great video. Great tip. Awesome image! Thank you!
Sorry Mark, but the end result of "fixing" the histogram definitely ends up with a nicer histogram, but the entire mood/feel of the photo has been altered, and in this case, for the worse - in my opinion. Anyway, some good Lr pointers along the way; I always learn something from your tutorials.
Gosh is this ever a helpful video. Welcome back from Bali - I am envious of those who could make it with you! Question as to an alternate of using the linear gradient - top and bottom. What are your ideas instead if you used a mask on the subject to lighten and then to duplicate and invert the mask and darken the background? Your thought and recommendations? Thank you for a fantastic video. Always great training and help!
Great tips Mark! Looks like you had a great time in Bali! Also looks like you medium format photographers have a new 500mm lens to work with! Awesome videos!
Great tip Mark using Color Grading to manage midtones. I too use the exposure slider as a last resort. I have both the Nikon D750 and the D500. The D750 matches the basic Highlight/Shadows range adjustments in LR, whereas the D500 was missing a little something. (I shoot birds and wildlife with the D500 and Landscapes with the D750) The D500 shots look muddy, especially if you boost the shadows to bring up the exposure. Your Color/Grading tip to add luminance to the midtones works wonderfully to correct the muddy effect. Thank you.
I never would have thought to use the mid tone luminance but I really like what you did here - it really targets what you need without affecting shadows and highlights. Other than that, I never start with the exposure sider, preferring to open shadows and highlights, and then find the black point and white point. Question - I wonder why you don't like to see a black point? I like to open up the shadows quite a bit and then go with a black point, but thats personal. Thanks for this informative post.
Thank you! I have been grappling with exposure since getting my camera and iMac and it always seems a little "off". This video could not have arrived at a better time!
Man, just when I thought I had my workflow all figured out...don't get me wrong I love this tutorial and can't wait to go back and try it out....Thanks so much Mark.
Contrary to other comments, I love the result, but I also reckon it is a matter of taste. However, what others probably missed is the core message if your video. Light needs massaging to get the best out of the exposure, even if it is a personal taste in the end, the measurable qualities of tone, colour, contrast and even textures come out way better with your method, ie, paying attention to the small increments in editing. Fantastic video mate.
I follow almost all your videos and they have personally help me in my editing process. Just one thing I would like if you can come up with a video is on how to get rid of halos. As I bring down the exposure in the skies selectively or reduce exposure in the background I get halos around the subject. I am sure you get what I am trying to say and would like to know on how to avoid halos and if you can come up with a video for the same . Thank you so much
I used to tend to underexpose landscapes, but just a little. These days, I tend to expose so that the whites/brights are not clipping but close to the right in the histogram, and use the exposure, other sliders to bring back the details in the brights, that are there. This tends to leave more useful dark details in the RAW file than underexposing leaves.
shot pic In St Joe,Mo. exposed for the sky not to blow it out against the massive murals. so pic really dark (1.5-2.5dark)But LITGHT, shadow, clarity, mid tone color bump worker great. The only time I touched the exposure slider is when it touched contrast. Those masks help the subject.I've used tone curve in PS but went ahead and used them here. Great to bring light in and darken the darks. the technique keep me out of PS and NIX at least for cityscapes. I'll se what is does for flowers lated, Thanks
Would you be so kind as to explain why you use the tone curve to edit the black point after you have already raised the black level slider in the basic panel? Thanks!
one reason why I prefer Capture One. Because using the Brightness slider there just affect the midtones and keep the color. (there is also a expose that just affects everthing) but that might be one simple reason why I always likes the Capture One results more. But good to know these tricks for Lightroom (which I dont use anymore currently) but good to know.
Yes, I typically do under expose my photos. Don't want to blow out the highlights. Good video, going to try it with my recent trip. Thank you for all your videos, very helpful.
I revisited some photos from 7 years ago, specifically a photo of the Bass Harbor Light. It was hard in the past to balance the scene but with Midtone grading in Lightroom it was way better..
Mark, nice work here. One fundamental concern I have with your approach is that most of the data from an image is in the brightest pixels, not the darkest pixels, so when you pull up your midtones luminance, darks, shadows…you are increasing noise and artifacts , which you will really notice when zooming in. I would encourage one to consider exposing to the right when in the field, and focus on all of that data in the brightest pixels, massaging it down into the midtones using gradient curves masks in LR….the real power and control is in using curves adjustment masks. Compare both of these approaches and zoom in, you will be shocked at how much cleaner and detailed the latter image is when zoomed in. A big deal if a person is adding layers of processing in PS, or eventually enlarging.
As an example….take 9 bracket shots and in LR exposure match them all to a neutral luminance. Zoom into 200-300 % and you will see the dark images that were brightened will have much greater noise signal and less micro detail. Add on typical PS/LR processing and these issues are only amplified. Whereas the brighter images that are pulled down in luminance to a neutral level will have a much cleaner RAW file to start from. I know this is pixel peeping 101, but there are good, better, and best approaches to photo editing, and it’s a matter of how deep down the rabbit hole we want to go.
My workflow is similar, except I start with adjusting the Black and White sliders until the information starts clipping, and then go to the first mode of the Tone Curve to nitpick what exactly is considered a mid tone, a shadow and a highlight in the image, and then I adjust those there. Over the last ~100 photos I reckon I've adjusted the Exposure slider with a value of more than half a stop less than 5 times.
I like this “lesson” and it opens up another way to edit my photos, however, if you had applied the similar gradient masks to the first technique, I’m sure the image would turn out quite nice as well.
Very interesting and useful points, but if you look at any sunrise or set, the background is always lighter than the foreground, thats where the light is afterall, in the sky.
Love the technique and for sure will give it a try.... I am just not sure I agree or like the example. In the first few seconds of showing the two images, if I had to guess which one is raw vs edit... I would have flipped it. The raw, was closer to my liking...
✅QUICK QUESTION: Do you typically under expose your landscape photos?
Yes but usually by accident 😅
I noticed with newer canon sensors over exposing is better than under exposing. The highlight recovery is better than the shadow. So I over exposed by 1/3 of a stop
Yes as it is usually easier to bring up the shadows than to bring down the highlights- especially for sunrises and sunsets
I try to expose properly but if I must either over or under expose, I will underexpose
No, I just try to not blow out my highlights and then just bring up the shadows.
Editing photos is definitely a personal taste based thing, you can be sure that not every one will be pleased with your results. I personally find the boat in silhouette with the vibrant sunset much more pleasing.
My sentiments precisely...
Me too - when the video started, I thought the silhouette version was the finished article!
Whenever I am in these kinds of situations, I usually take multiple exposure.
I like the un-edited better for sure
I feel the same because it gives a illusion of more dynamic range
One question. Why did you tone down the glorious red and orange tints in the original.
It was the best part of the original raw, and all of the adjustments still give me the feeling the photo is washed out because it's lost all the depth of colours.
One reason is that the main subject is still the foreground boat not the background sunset. The richness of the sunset distracts from the focus on the main subject. I guess if you want to have the sunset as the main theme, this would be a very different composition (without the boat for example). Also, of course to simplify the colour.
Yeah I don't know about the result, really washed out - which is expected with raising the black levels so aggressively. There are better ways to go about this, while retaining the vibrance and depth even without plugins such as Lumenzia which is an absolute must-have to work with bracketed but also solo raws with demanding scenes.
I like the overall idea, but I think I would have left the boat a bit darker as it is backlit-- I would have looked at a pano crop to see how that looked. I do tend to like more intense and vibrant colors on the whole.
I actually thought the raw looked better too
Mark, the key message here is to refrain from editing like an automaton. Several times in the presentation you said “I used to always…”. Most of us did that. As I matured and refined my vision, I take more time to get a proper exposure by using the histogram rather than just looking at the image on the back of the camera. That alone got me to a better starting point for editing. I also made sure I got the right aspect ratio in camera when shooting. That worked wonders. Many cameras have aspect ratio templates that enables the photographer to evaluate different compositions that can be changed later. Then, I didn’t start editing by “always __________”. Instead, I observe the image to evaluate the look, feel and emotion that I am trying to evoke. Editing now is a pleasant adventure rather than just pulling sliders in a predetermined order. Good video.😮
I absolutely love photos with vibrant and rich sunset colors! When there’s a human face in the shot, I’ll gently enhance it to make it clearer. But when it comes to boats or other objects, I prefer subtle adjustments that maintain the overall mood. After all, those gorgeous sunset hues are the heart of these images, and highlighting the boat too much might take away from their magic.
Such an instructive video again, Mark. I really love your channel!
Loads of useful tips in here beyond the title method! I've always stretched and moved the histogram with white/black/shadows/highlights. I love the idea of the luminance slider to independently shift the mid point upwards.
Glad it was helpful!
What's wrong with using the curve
A nice presentation that is easily understandable and well worth the time to view.
Interesting. Beautiful photo by the way. You should apply also the linear gradient masks to the modified exposure sample to really compare the two processes.
Thanks so much Eric!
A very helpful video. Thanks a lot!
Really useful advice and great demo!
Mark, thanks for an interesting video and I can understand where you're going with this approach. Personally I wouldn't have lifted the brightness of the boat as I prefer it in shadow more but that comes down to editing preferences and where you as the photographer want to go with the picture which I respect.
Great video with useful tips. Will definitely integrate them into my workflow to have greater control of my images. Thanks Mark!
When you say you cannot directly adjust the mid-tones, are you aware that you can go over to the histogram, mouse-down in the mid-tone region (slightly above the histogram itself), and slide it left and right. You can do that in all five regions of the histogram. I guess that's why I never thought about using the mid-tone section of the Color Grading; that's also a good way.
One of the reasons why I love the brightness slider in capture one... Great video!
Same here!
It took me a while to realize the difference when I moved to C1 years ago. But man, did it change my editing for the better!
Another great video mark. Have a lovely week.
Thanks my friend!
Oh man, that's so awesome. I was pretty impressed with myself that I was editing my photos the same way originally that you had been. Just learning as I go and your videos are so helpful, thank you so much! I followed along with you on one of my own photos and wow, that is a great technique! Thanks!
Great video. The mid-tone trick is something I need to try.
You got some great shots and a cracking tan out of that trip Mark, really appreciate your content as always.
Would bringing up the middle of your tone curve have a similar effect as increasing the luminance for the midtones?
Thank you for this fantastic video! I still have so much to learn from editing so I plan to incorporate this into my workflow.
While I prefer the more underexposed photo in this example, the techniques you showed are very welcome and I'm definitely gonna use them in some scenarios instead of the exposure slider. Thanks!
The take away is that in the editing on the original photo technique I personally learnt a lot and want a lot more of the stuff and I'm indebted to the ten advice on enhancing photography given by you in an other video I watched and learnt to the rot!
Super helpful! Quick question, do you ever use the histogram to adjust levels? It lets you target highlights, shadows, mids etc.
I've been avoiding those Color Grading "wheels", along with Tone Curve, admittedly. I need to get more comfortable with these more-powerful controls. Thanks for the motivation!
Wonderful technique. I learned a lot on this one. Thanks.
Mark thank you for this little presentation. These are areas I have really touched. I will end up watching this a few times to try and get a better feeling of using them.
You are the best tool I have in my camera bag!! As always, very helpful tips and techniques. Thanks Mark!
like it! Great demo of the wealth of editing tools. Do you prefer post processing in Lightroom Classic to Photoshop>Camera Raw?
Man. I’ve been watching your videos for a while now and this is by far the best advice you’ve given. When you described your old way of editing underexposed photos is exactly how I’ve been doing it (and unhappy with my results but not sure why) so thank you.
Great video, I do a lot of sunset photography, this technique will help me a lot. I'll be revisiting this video frequently until I can merge it into my workflow.
Thanks Richard!
Another top tip/video. I must confess that up to now I have rarely used the colour grading settings. Must give this method a try on some older images that have never quite looked right. Thanks Mark.
Glad to do it Roger!
Mark, I don;t use the buggy, slow, crash prone LR anymore. It's too frustrating. Can I use this technique in Photoshop?@@MarkDenneyPhoto
Good tips. I do use the exposure along with the other things and will try this right now.
Thank you! I've been messing about for years without having found instruction as clear as this. Great video.
Thanks so much!
Thanks for a great timely video. I was struggling with processing a late afternoon Yosemite shot yesterday that I’ll be going back today with the mid tone technique in mind.
Made the edit using mid tone technique. Much better.
WWWWWOOOOOWWWW.... exactly what I was doing till now and I noticed it quite often that I started to use a gradient sky to try and arange the flat colours
Thanks for the usfull tips Mark. Still working on finding my own style, has improved a lot the last few month, and getting som difrent perspective, by following and wathcing different landscape photographer. Towh thing I thougth of while watching this video, was first expocure, Danish photographer Mads Peter Iversen, exposes for the Higlight, so I don't know where I land on this yet, need to get out at take som more photos. Another thing was the clarity slider, when you turned it down, I thougt of Scott Kelby, that turns it up, usualy on a brush mask, paintet on whater or metal, because it gives a extra shine, a process I have used to enhance some of my photos. So a lot of this is also about whati is your style of photo, and yes I am still looking for mine. Loved the tips about the point color, a tool i was not familiar with, and therfor did not use, now I have an idea how to use it.
In my opinion, your edited photo looks way better than the one with the exposure bump, but what a convoluted way to achieve it. As someone whose knowledge of Lr is limited, or more importantly, my patience level using it is very thin. I should try some of your courses That would probably negate the cursing and maybe increase my patience level should I become more proficient. Anyway, I have subscribed.
Thank you…I’m going to play with the luminance slider. I will say, I agree with those who question the significant reduction of the orange in the sky….leaving it adds so much depth to the photo. I view histograms as a guide to what can be done…can I move it to the right if that’s what looks good. Sometimes a historgram that leans left of ideal, especially at sunrise or sunset.
Great video and thanks for sahing. Will try it out on my underexposed landscape sunset shots. I also liked the way you used the masking tool to improve the boat itself, as I was not aware of that of creating a mask around an on´bject. Good stuff
Once again thank you. This technique brings that "little extra" to my photos. I've tried it on a few bird pics and much much more realistic results. Thanks!!!!
Being one who doesn’t really know the full power of Lightroom, I have always wondered if there was a way to bump up the midtones without washing out the entire image. This is an awesome tip that I will definitely be using! It took me years to learn about using the white and black points to adjust for exposure and contrast. I found the white point helped with color too, so that it wouldn’t look washed out (with maybe a little help from the black point).
Great video. Great tip. Awesome image! Thank you!
Thank you Mark. Glad that you had a successful trip. Looking forward to more photos.
Sorry Mark, but the end result of "fixing" the histogram definitely ends up with a nicer histogram, but the entire mood/feel of the photo has been altered, and in this case, for the worse - in my opinion. Anyway, some good Lr pointers along the way; I always learn something from your tutorials.
Gosh is this ever a helpful video. Welcome back from Bali - I am envious of those who could make it with you! Question as to an alternate of using the linear gradient - top and bottom. What are your ideas instead if you used a mask on the subject to lighten and then to duplicate and invert the mask and darken the background? Your thought and recommendations?
Thank you for a fantastic video. Always great training and help!
As someone who has just upgraded from LR6 to LRC & only have touched a couple of photos, I appreciate this & last weeks vids.
Great tips Mark! Looks like you had a great time in Bali! Also looks like you medium format photographers have a new 500mm lens to work with! Awesome videos!
I am definitely going to try this new tip for midtone exposure! Thank you for sharing.
Great tip Mark using Color Grading to manage midtones. I too use the exposure slider as a last resort. I have both the Nikon D750 and the D500. The D750 matches the basic Highlight/Shadows range adjustments in LR, whereas the D500 was missing a little something. (I shoot birds and wildlife with the D500 and Landscapes with the D750) The D500 shots look muddy, especially if you boost the shadows to bring up the exposure. Your Color/Grading tip to add luminance to the midtones works wonderfully to correct the muddy effect. Thank you.
I never would have thought to use the mid tone luminance but I really like what you did here - it really targets what you need without affecting shadows and highlights. Other than that, I never start with the exposure sider, preferring to open shadows and highlights, and then find the black point and white point. Question - I wonder why you don't like to see a black point? I like to open up the shadows quite a bit and then go with a black point, but thats personal. Thanks for this informative post.
I like the exposure on your Bali RAW file. Did you consider a subject mask on the boat and bringing up the exposure just a little bit.
Thank you! I have been grappling with exposure since getting my camera and iMac and it always seems a little "off". This video could not have arrived at a better time!
New technique helped a lot, thanks mark once again for such informative video
Thanks Mark!
Super helpful, I am off to play with an image to see it in practice. Cheers
Great to hear!
Thanks for the video.. For this technique, will it increase the image noise?
I was definitely guilty of using the exposure slider too much. Will give this method a try, thanks
Man, just when I thought I had my workflow all figured out...don't get me wrong I love this tutorial and can't wait to go back and try it out....Thanks so much Mark.
Contrary to other comments, I love the result, but I also reckon it is a matter of taste. However, what others probably missed is the core message if your video. Light needs massaging to get the best out of the exposure, even if it is a personal taste in the end, the measurable qualities of tone, colour, contrast and even textures come out way better with your method, ie, paying attention to the small increments in editing. Fantastic video mate.
I follow almost all your videos and they have personally help me in my editing process. Just one thing I would like if you can come up with a video is on how to get rid of halos. As I bring down the exposure in the skies selectively or reduce exposure in the background I get halos around the subject. I am sure you get what I am trying to say and would like to know on how to avoid halos and if you can come up with a video for the same . Thank you so much
This would be awesome Mark
A brilliant video on technique to which I will return but I cannot agree with the final result
This video REALLY helps! Can't wait to give it a whirl this weekend!
Thanks for another great lesson Mark! Very useful!
My pleasure!
Best tutorial ever! Thank you so much.
I used to tend to underexpose landscapes, but just a little. These days, I tend to expose so that the whites/brights are not clipping but close to the right in the histogram, and use the exposure, other sliders to bring back the details in the brights, that are there. This tends to leave more useful dark details in the RAW file than underexposing leaves.
Interesting idea, to use the Color Grading Luminance slider(s) as an additional overall brightness refinement.
Selamat pagi terima kasih! Sanur? I love Bali. Such an amazing place and love the locals.
Do the edits you demonstrated increase noise in the image, thanks for the video
Thanks Mark. This is a great editing technique!
Glad you think so!
I can relate to your "original receipe " of editing quite a lot - thank you for such an enlightening lesson
Beautiful pic with richness. Using this technique at mo, not a professional but love learning❤❤
shot pic In St Joe,Mo. exposed for the sky not to blow it out against the massive murals. so pic really dark (1.5-2.5dark)But LITGHT, shadow, clarity, mid tone color bump worker great. The only time I touched the exposure slider is when it touched contrast. Those masks help the subject.I've used tone curve in PS but went ahead and used them here. Great to bring light in and darken the darks. the technique keep me out of PS and NIX at least for cityscapes. I'll se what is does for flowers lated, Thanks
Thanks, Truley a God sent. This is exactly where I am at in my studies. Beautyful shot Beautyful Edit. Mahalo Big time, Aloha
Would you be so kind as to explain why you use the tone curve to edit the black point after you have already raised the black level slider in the basic panel? Thanks!
one reason why I prefer Capture One. Because using the Brightness slider there just affect the midtones and keep the color. (there is also a expose that just affects everthing) but that might be one simple reason why I always likes the Capture One results more. But good to know these tricks for Lightroom (which I dont use anymore currently) but good to know.
Yes, I typically do under expose my photos. Don't want to blow out the highlights.
Good video, going to try it with my recent trip. Thank you for all your videos, very helpful.
Glad you enjoyed it Kathy!
Mark, thank you. Will try that.
Colors are still washed out. You loose all the vibrant orange or am I missing something?
I revisited some photos from 7 years ago, specifically a photo of the Bass Harbor Light. It was hard in the past to balance the scene but with Midtone grading in Lightroom it was way better..
Mark, nice work here. One fundamental concern I have with your approach is that most of the data from an image is in the brightest pixels, not the darkest pixels, so when you pull up your midtones luminance, darks, shadows…you are increasing noise and artifacts , which you will really notice when zooming in.
I would encourage one to consider exposing to the right when in the field, and focus on all of that data in the brightest pixels, massaging it down into the midtones using gradient curves masks in LR….the real power and control is in using curves adjustment masks.
Compare both of these approaches and zoom in, you will be shocked at how much cleaner and detailed the latter image is when zoomed in. A big deal if a person is adding layers of processing in PS, or eventually enlarging.
As an example….take 9 bracket shots and in LR exposure match them all to a neutral luminance. Zoom into 200-300 % and you will see the dark images that were brightened will have much greater noise signal and less micro detail. Add on typical PS/LR processing and these issues are only amplified.
Whereas the brighter images that are pulled down in luminance to a neutral level will have a much cleaner RAW file to start from.
I know this is pixel peeping 101, but there are good, better, and best approaches to photo editing, and it’s a matter of how deep down the rabbit hole we want to go.
Thanks for keeping me calibrated....great advice as always.
My workflow is similar, except I start with adjusting the Black and White sliders until the information starts clipping, and then go to the first mode of the Tone Curve to nitpick what exactly is considered a mid tone, a shadow and a highlight in the image, and then I adjust those there. Over the last ~100 photos I reckon I've adjusted the Exposure slider with a value of more than half a stop less than 5 times.
Great Tip Mark !!
Thanks Greg!
Another excellent video Mark, thank you ❤
Thanks Julie!
Thank you for such a great tutorial. I really appreciate it. Great video. I learned so much from you.
Love to hear this - thank you!
I like this “lesson” and it opens up another way to edit my photos, however, if you had applied the similar gradient masks to the first technique, I’m sure the image would turn out quite nice as well.
Very interesting and useful points, but if you look at any sunrise or set, the background is always lighter than the foreground, thats where the light is afterall, in the sky.
I've been using the midtone color grading since your last video!
Perfect!
Wow, such a great tip! Thanks a lot for sharing.
Why use luminance for color grading instead of the "curve adjustment" to adjust the midtones? Is it the result so different? Thanks
Why don't you increase the luminance of shadows and highlights in color grading tab? Why did you switch to the basic tab for that?
I like the mask - subtract - colour range technique. That's really powerful
Really useful Mark - thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Very useful advice… Thank you!
You're very welcome!
This is very helpful. Definitely going to try this method to edit my under exposed images. Huge impact. :D
Love the technique and for sure will give it a try.... I am just not sure I agree or like the example. In the first few seconds of showing the two images, if I had to guess which one is raw vs edit... I would have flipped it. The raw, was closer to my liking...
One of your best, Mark ! Easy to follow and, most importantly, extremely useful. Thanks so much. Slainte !
Thanks a million Bruce!
Could you not use masking>luminance range to just mess with the midtones? Im quite new so sort if thats not how that works 😅
Thanks!
Thanks so much!