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Home > TME Community > Features > Digital Darkroom > The Great Photo Finish: Rescaling and Exposure - July 8, 2010
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The Great Photo Finish: Rescaling and Exposure - July 8, 2010
Started July 8, 2010 @ 12:01am by Kel
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Kel
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| The Great Photo Finish: Rescaling and Exposure - July 8, 2010 | July 8, 2010 @ 12:01am | In this episode of The Great Photo Finish Craig shows you the most effective sliders in the Adobe Photoshop CS4 raw converter for changing exposure. Craig also discusses the basics of rescaling which is a potentially powerful technique for changing your composition after you take the picture.
Click here to view the video.
"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." ~Ansel Adams | My Blog |
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Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
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| July 8, 2010 @ 12:47pm | WOW, Craig, what a super duper tutorial! I'd rarely been successful with rescaling - and now I know why! I didn't know how to get rid of/blend in the edges of the rescaled part. So I hadn't tried to rescale anything for a long while.
You didn't mention it, but another benefit of rescaling that cloud is that now it rhymes in vertical reverse the curve of the lanterns. Plus works much better with the rest of those diagonals.
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
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| July 8, 2010 @ 1:18pm | A two part comment. The rescaling technique is quite instructive and one which I'll use in future.
Conversely, IMO, the raw converter portion less so. Without usurping your space with my workflow choices, I'll suggest one tip---hit the auto buttom as a start. Sometimes this version is much better than might be expected and becomes a useful place to start.
Paul |
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Craig
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| thank you | July 8, 2010 @ 1:44pm |
Hey Flo and Paul,
Thank you for being here. And thank you for the kind words of support.
And Paul....no need to apologize for offering an alternative approach or questioning mine....that is what the feedback area on the videos is for and we appreciate your input.
Having said that ...I personally do not use the auto exposure button (especially for scenics with a very wide range of possible tonal values) because it is designed to keep all of the pixels inside of the lines of the histogram which kills the black point in the image and leaves things way too flat for my tastes. I also don't like auto buttons as a starting point for much of anything. I want to look and ask myself the question...where do I want to push the image based on my feelings and intuitions. That way I push towards my own vision for each shot.
I know I am disagreeing strongly here and so I want to reiterate that the last thing I want on our forums is a bunch of people telling me I'm great all the time. We want honest feedback and alternative views so thank you again very much for offering yours.....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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| July 8, 2010 @ 2:32pm | Craig wrote:
"I also don't like auto buttons as a starting point for much of anything."
But yet you do accept the ACR defaults for brightness, contrast, exposure, and blacks.
Craig wrote:
"... lines of the histogram which kills the black point..."
I do know where the blacks slider is located and adjust it on almost every image.
Sorry to sound a little defensive, but I still think my modest tip would improve the images of many photographers. It's generally a better starting point than the ACR defaults.
Paul |
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Tim Gray
Posts: 112 |
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| July 8, 2010 @ 6:32pm | While I agree that using the raw exposure slider in this image isn't appropriate, it's my understanding (at least with the last couple of versions of PS) that there is some intelligence in the exposure slider in terms of not exacerbating blown highlights, or blocked shadows (certainly for the shadows). Ie. all pixels are not equally affected.
Also I'm curious, given the elements that were underexposed as to why you didn't zero out the blacks as a first step? It's a mystery to me why PS's default is 5 rather than zero. |
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Mook
Posts: 184 |
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| July 8, 2010 @ 6:58pm | Excellent as always! A man wiser then myself always said if you only learn one thing new from a book or listening to someone then it's always worthwhile. I have to say from your tutorials and critique I always learn more than one thing from each of them. On occasion they might push things further than my personal taste but I adapt them to fit my own style. I've learned plenty from this!
Having recently moved from GIMP to CS4, I have avoided using the recovery and fill light sliders whenever possible in favour of the exposure slider and smart objects, then blending the smart objects. This however does seem a more subtle approach more to my liking and the way I work. Thanks.
Can there be an explosion of change in people that is powerful enough to shift events? |
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Craig
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| thank you | July 8, 2010 @ 9:07pm | Hey Tim, Mook and Paul,
First...thank you for being here and for being a part of a lively thread!
To continue the thread......
ACR defaults give you a histogram that closely mimics the histogram you see on the back of the camera when you take the picture....or in other words.... to compare my acceptance of the ACR default to pushing an Auto Exposure function button could give someone visiting this thread a wrong idea..... so let me put a very fine point on it..... the ACR default is biased by my original choices at the level of the camera to say the least.
That is why I accept the ACR default...its biased by me as the photographer and not the other way around.
And to speak to Tim's question about black point and Paul's assertion that after you hit the Auto Exposure button you can just reset the black point...this kind of thinking is exactly why I almost never hit the auto exposure button in the first place for any reason....not even to be entertained by what it might choose to do.
The image in the video is a classic example of why I don't use Auto Exposure....if I do (and I did as a test) all of the pixels that are blacker than black will be raised to a luminosity level to fit inside of the histogram. To say that these pixels are low in bit depth would be an understatement for all time. Not only that...I shot this image at ISO 4000. The very last thing I want to do is move the blackest pixels from the original capture around in my editing of this image any more than I need to. This isn't some image that I am just going to post to my blog or email.....my client might want to print it very big to say the least......the proof of quality work in PS is in the printing.
I brought the low end of this image up in a slight and subtle way and only as far as I needed to because I know that the threshold for manipulation of those pixels to create noise and posterization is extremely low.
And Paul.... about your comment about the black slider..... I certainly don't believe you don't know where it is:)....I just have no idea why you would want to hit a button that requires you to reset it and which will also mean you will be pushing around pixels more than once that have almost no info/bit depth to begin with.
I can happily agree to disagree with your assertion that Auto Exposure in ACR is generally a great way to go for most photographers but let me say while I can agree to disagree my disagreement in this case (specific to this image) is sort of a strong one.....Ok its really strong
But please let me say one more time that I deeply appreciate the alternative view and appreciate your take on the matter. There are an infinite number of ways to solve problems. What works for one person may or may not work for another. And your pointing out the Auto Exposure button (since I wasn't going to ever mention it ) may seriously help someone develop a finishing style that works a lot better for them than what i am teaching.
A final thought....I generally disdain the RAW converter all together, if in fact Photoshop is in your workflow....that is because there are almost never any changes that I want to make globally to any image.....that includes white balance. Most of the time I come out of the RAW converter with multiple conversions at different white balance settings and then blend them at the beginning of my work to essentially apply white balance in a local, subject specific way. So why do I shoot RAW....mostly for the bit depth.
And Mook...thank you for the kind words of support...deeply appreciated....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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Last Edit: July 8, 2010 @ 9:14pm by Craig | |
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| July 9, 2010 @ 11:52am | I hesitate to continue this, but the fact that you are making several questionable statements pushes me on. First, however, let me reinforce the positive features of the exercise. Two valuable takeaways were the emphasis on work being a major contributor to "luck," and a useful approach to transforming an image to improve composition and fit ones vision. While the second is interesting technically, the first is the most valuable to me because I sometimes get substandard results by being in too big a rush to get the shot.
OTOH, you insist on characterizing the Auto buttom in ACR as "auto exposure," which in your description merely pushes the endpoints into a predetermined range. It's not. It's an "auto tone" button which frequently affects the midtones more than the endpoints.
Unfortunately you have mischaracterized my comments. I'm not suggesting that Auto is the "correct" starting point, merely that it's worth the very few seconds needed to have a look. Sometimes the result is awful, and it doesn't do a great job with night images.
Your distain for my use of the blacks slider is puzzling. I set a shadow point depending upon what I consider to be the darkest important detail in the image. Granted, this operation can be done equally well in PS. What CAN'T be done in PS is to rescue desired detail in apparently blown highlights. A wise combination of the exposure and recovery sliders can often yield one or two stops of range in the highlights, if that's what you want.
You wrote, "The image in the video is a classic example of why I don't use Auto Exposure....if I do (and I did as a test) all of the pixels that are blacker than black will be raised to a luminosity level to fit inside of the histogram." This is wrong. The auto tone button doesn't push all the blacks to "fit" within the histogram. To do that you need to push the black slider to zero. I've never seen auto do that, the lowest it ever goes is 3. However, I think I know where you're going. Auto generally tries to use fill to open up heavy shadows, not something you wanted in this image.
Clearly we approach image editing in different ways, but the exposure to different methods is one of the reasons I enjoy the community.
Paul |
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| thank you | July 9, 2010 @ 5:09pm |
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the feedback and further clarification of your position and understanding about the use of the auto button in ACR.....its all deeply appreciated..... Sincerely, Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
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| July 10, 2010 @ 7:29am | By "auto" button, I'm assuming that what you are referring to, Paul and Craig, is what in my PS CS3 is labeled the "exposure" slider. If this is not what you're referring to, please tell me where to find this "auto" button!
I rarely use the exposure slider, as most of the time I get poor results with it. But I do find the recovery, fill and blacks sliders to be very useful.
I also use Curves in ACR, in fact this is usually the first tool I use there, plus sometimes the hue/saturation tool.
Like everyone agrees, there is no one workflow that works for every image - but a particular workflow will work for many images in a series shot on the same day at the same time under the same conditions. So it's a good thing - for people like me - to make notes on what I did in pp for the first image in that series.
Thanks, Paul and Craig, for an interesting discussion. I did learn a few things, too.
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
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| July 10, 2010 @ 9:24am | Flo:
Immediately below the Tint slider in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) are two "live" words: Auto and Default. If you click on the Auto you will get ACR's best guess at toning. If you don't like it, click on Default and you're back where you started.
You say you don't generally like the effect of the exposure slider. I find it very powerful and so use a light hand, but it can be invaluable when recovering areas of overexposure. Underexposure responds less well because opened shadows, no matter how accomplished, tend to be noisy. Fortunately the latest versions of PS and Lightroom have quite good noise suppression available. The upgrade from CS3 is worth it in IMO for a variety of reasons.
Paul |
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Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
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| July 10, 2010 @ 10:29am | Thanks, Paul! For some reason, I never noticed those two buttons before!!! Probably because I usually start with ACR's Curves - and then usually go to Clarity before opening the image in PS!
I learn the most amazing stuff every day - amazing to me, because I don't understand why I never noticed those two buttons!
I'm waiting for the bugs to get worked out of CS5 before upgrading. But then one of the pros who writes an article in one of the camera magazines - don't remember now who - said that he didn't think CS5 was worth the upgrade from CS4.
So I can wait a month or two or three, lol.
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
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injust
Posts: 10 |
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| July 11, 2010 @ 11:13pm | Hi Craig,
I just wanted to say how happy I was to see this video, as it's an image that's very dear to my heart. I never would've guessed that you made such a big adjustment to that cloud- I look at our big print of it in our living room every day (it does look gorgeous printed large), and looking closely at it again after watching this video, could still never tell. I guess that means your re-scaling and blending techniques work pretty well! Thanks as always for a very informative video, and a special personal thanks from a very very happy client for a peek behind the curtain one of one of my very favorite photographs.
Justin |
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| thank you | July 11, 2010 @ 11:39pm |
Hey Justin,
Thank you for the very kind and generous words....very happy to hear you are still getting joy out of the image....thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this very special weekend...hope this finds you and Kate doing very well! .....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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Pixelle
Posts: 1,170 |
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| To Craig_ About calibration? | July 14, 2010 @ 3:06am | Thanks a lot to show us how you work on a picture and why you do so. That's the way I learn cooking from my mother. I think the Great Photo Finish is my favorite thread beside The Foundation Concepts.
I also appreciated the discussion between Paul, Mook and you.
Calibration
Hope it is not too late to ask a question. Do you factor in Calibration in your ACR workflow? (take into account)
White Balance
I do not remember if it was in one of your videos (or Versace's) that you show how you proceed to adjust local WB in a picture. If it is in one of your videos, would you be kind enough to indicate me in wich one. Thanks.
Micheline
"Finding and expressing your vision is a journey, not a destination". David Du Chemin
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| thank you | July 14, 2010 @ 12:10pm |
Hey Micheline,
Thank you for being here and thank you for the kind words of support.
Thank you also for the question.
I calibrate my Cinema Display and IMACS using the Greytag MacBeth Eye 1 system.
The vast majority of the time I white balance locally in the image using white balance tools in the RAW converter. My typical technique involves converting out several files from the RAW converter at different WB settings, copying all of those conversions as layers into one file and then combining them using layer masks to set the local white balance in the image. The last "The Great Photo Finish" episode referenced this technique.
Here is the link to that video
http://www.tmelive.com/index.php/articles/view/481/11.html
I will also use the "set black, gray, and white eyedroppers" in the curves adjustment layer dialogue bo to WB locally as well.
Hope this helps!.....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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Pixelle
Posts: 1,170 |
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| July 17, 2010 @ 2:45am | Thank you so much Craig for replying to my question.
Micheline
"Finding and expressing your vision is a journey, not a destination". David Du Chemin
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