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Blending Exposures – Lightroom to Photoshop and Back Again

Justin — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:43:02 +0000

By Justin Black

Today’s digital cameras have the ability to capture a tremendous tonal range, which in the case of the Nikon D800 is 14-stops, an incredible 1:16,000 brightness ratio. Even so, from time to time we find that we wish to optimize the exposure for different parts of an image, much the way we used to with graduated neutral-density filters when we were using color transparency film. These days, Photoshop has proven to be a better solution in most cases, so my grad-ND filters tend to languish in the closet. Here’s the technique that I use when I need to blend two exposures with distinct areas of widely differing brightness.

1) In the field, shoot two RAW exposures on a tripod and without changing camera position, zoom, focus point, or aperture between exposures (as these will affect the pixel-for-pixel registration of the image). One exposure should be exposed to just barely keep the highlights from clipping (exposed to the right, or ETTR). The other should be exposed even lighter to capture more shadow detail. The highlights will probably clip in this lighter exposure, but just make sure that the light mid-tones don’t clip. The judgment as to how light to make the second exposure is subjective and can only be made on the spot based on reviewing the camera histogram. It’s a good idea to shoot a few bracketed exposures to cover the bases.

2) Import images into Lightroom (LR).

3) Process each image as you normally would, paying attention primarily to the highlight values in the darker image, and the shadow and mid- tone values in the lighter image. You generally don’t need to worry about correcting clipped highlights in the lighter image or clipped shadows in the darker image, since you probably won’t be using them.

4) As a starting point, it’s a good idea to set identical values for the following settings:

• White Balance (Temp and Tint)

• Presence (Clarity, Vibrance, Saturation)

• HSL and Color sliders

• Detail (Sharpening, Noise Reduction)

• Lens Corrections

• Effects

• Camera Calibration

The easiest way to set these identically is to select both images and use the Sync Settings function. You can always depart from the synced settings if you wish.

5) Once you’ve made LR adjustments to each image, select them both. In the LR menu at the top of the screen, go to Photo > Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop.

6) In Photoshop (PS), you’ll see that both images are open as layers, one above the other.

7) Add a mask to the top image by going to the Layers window, clicking on the top image, and then clicking the mask icon, which looks like a grey box with a white circle on it.

8) In the Layers menu, click on the white mask symbol to the right of the top image layer. This will set you up to work on the mask.

9) Select the brush tool, and set the color to black, opacity to 100%, and hardness to zero.

10) Paint on the mask anywhere that you want to hide the top image and let the bottom image show through. You can vary brush size, hardness, and opacity, and switch back and forth between white and black to refine the mask.

11) You should now have two exposures blended into one. At this point, you can add adjustment layers above the original images and proceed with your normal PS workflow to finalize the image, or simply Save As the file back to the original folder that they came from. The composite image will be automatically added to your Lightroom catalog.

Ten Photoshop Tips

Justin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:42:06 +0000

by John Shaw

1. To tone down the whites in an image, select them using Color Range. Add any adjustment layer, and change the layer blending mode to either Multiply or the slightly stronger Linear Burn. Then drop the layer opacity to taste.

2. When shooting frames for a panoramic, manually setting camera exposure is more precise than using an autoexposure mode. Use the middle of the panoramic scene to set the base exposure. If you’re shooting RAW files, you can leave white balance (WB) set to Auto. When processing the files in Adobe Camera Raw, or Lightroom’s Develop module, select one image and drag the WB slider from the “as shot” position to a distinct number. Now sync all the other frames to that WB.

3. Make a preset to rename your files in Bridge or Lightroom based upon the capture date. When you travel, reset the clock in your camera to the local time zone. This way, all your image captures will match up with your itinerary and there will be no confusion as to location. Just remember to reset the clock when you get home.

4. Photoshop’s Ctrl/Command+Z undoes the last step you’ve taken. But using it immediately a second time simply undoes the undo you just made. To step backward more than once, use Alt/Option+Ctrl/Command+Z.

5. When preparing an image for printing, as the final step add a 3 pixel black hairline around the perimeter to define the edge. Three easy ways to do this:

Select the entire image, Ctrl/Command+A. Then do Edit > Stroke, and set pixels to 3, the color to black, and the location to Inside.
With the image layer unlocked, add a Layer Style, Layer > Layer Style > Stroke (or click on the fx icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette). Set pixels to 3, Position to Inside, and color to black.
Increase the canvas size, Image > Canvas Size. Select pixels for the unit of measurement, 3 for the number of pixels, black for the color, check the Relative box, and make sure the middle square is the anchor position.

6. Opening several similar images as layers in Photoshop (from either Bridge or Lightroom) aligns the outer dimensions of the images. To align the contents, select all the layers, and then do Edit > Auto-Align Layers.

7. Make a brush to add your name and copyright to images. Make a new white document no larger than 2500 pixels long dimension. Add the copyright symbol and your name. Then do Edit > Define Brush Preset. For a signature brush, write your name on white paper using a black marker, photograph it (jpeg, small, fine), and size the image to no larger than 2500 pixels. Using Image > Adjustments > Levels clip the image to pure white and pure black. Save as a brush, Edit > Define Brush Preset. If you use either of these brushes on a new layer, you can add Layer Styles (drop shadow, etc.) to that layer.

8. Caps Lock toggles the cursor display — for example, from standard to precise.

9. Use the often overlooked Image Processor (from Bridge: Tools > Photoshop > Image Processor) to quickly create new file types. Select the images, choose an output location, select the file type you want, specify the quality and size, and click Run.

10. When making selections, remember that the “marching ants” only show pixels that are at least 50% selected. Outside of the “ants” are pixels that are also selected, just at a lesser amount.

These tips originally appeared as part of an article John wrote for Photoshop World magazine. John co-leads our Vision Workshops series with Jack Dykinga and Justin Black, and in 2014 will lead trips to New Zealand, Iceland, and Patagonia for Visionary Wild.

Click here to learn more about John Shaw

John Shaw’s website is www.johnshawphoto.com

Tools and Techniques for Creating Fine Prints

Justin — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:58:12 +0000

Our friends at Hunt’s Photo Video and Ilford are sponsoring a free webinar on fine print making,

Join the Live Video Broadcast on March 29, 2013 at 1:00pm EDT

What are the aspects and qualities that make for a Gallery-Quality Fine Art Print? Exacting color, smooth tonal transitions, a well-balanced contrast range and the best paper choice for the image all come together to make a print worthy of hanging in most any venue or location. Color workflow, soft-proofing and what fine edits to make will all go a long way towards making your results both accurate and repeatable. In this presentation, we’ll explore the process, tools and techniques from edit to output that allow you to produce a print both you and your collectors will be proud of.

Eleven False Statements

Justin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:19:58 +0000

by John Shaw

Editor’s note: There’s a lot of photo-mythology floating around out there. Visionary Wild instructor John Shaw puts a few of his favorite myths to rest.

1. Images for the web should be sized at 72 dpi. First of all, “dpi” refers to dots per inch, and computer screens have pixels, not “dots.” But “72 ppi” is also false. Pixels dimensions are the only criteria for computer images. 1200 pixels are 1200 pixels, whether they be 1/inch or 1200/inch. You still have 1200 pixels. Say you have an image that’s 1000 x 500 pixels at 72 ppi. How many total pixels is that? 1000 x 500 = 500,000. Resize to 1000 x 500 pixels at 300 ppi. How many total pixels is that? 1000 x 500 = 500,000. Exactly the same. If you’re resizing web images to 72 ppi, you’re simple adding a useless step to your workflow.

2. Mac monitors use 72 ppi while Windows ones are 96 ppi. Sorry, this is a myth. If it were true, a monitor would have to change resolution depending on whether it was connected to a Mac or a PC. Want to know roughly what the resolution of your monitor is in ppi? Measure the horizontal width of the screen and divide this into the horizontal pixel dimension at the monitor’s native resolution. My laptop’s screen is 1920 pixels wide, and measures about 13.5 inches horizontally. 1920/13.5 = about 142 ppi.

3. You should set Adobe RGB in your camera if you’re shooting RAW files. While this might affect the image displayed on the camera’s LCD, it does not directly affect a RAW file. After all, if Adobe RGB were actually applied, the file would no longer be RAW data.

4. For the best RAW file results, set a specific white balance in the camera. Don’t use Auto White Balance. RAW files have no white balance. Just as I said above, if a white balance were applied the file would no longer be RAW. A specific white balance is only set when the file is processed into a standard graphic file format such as .psd or .tiff or .jpeg; that is, when it is no longer a RAW file.

5. This RAW image is how it appears right out of the camera. Not true. A RAW image has to be rendered in some way before you can even see it. Exactly how it is rendered depends on the default settings of the RAW conversion software you use.

6. You can evaluate exposure by looking at the image on the camera’s LCD. You can adjust the LCD’s brightness on almost all DSLRs, so exactly which level of brightness would be “correct?” Sorry, not true at all. For that matter, the camera LCD most certainly is not a color corrected and calibrated monitor. You can evaluate composition; you cannot evaluate color or exposure. You definitely should use the histograms for exposure information.

7. Always use a UV filter to protect your lens. From what? Dirt and fingerprints? Then you must take the filter off for every shot, otherwise you’re shooting through a dirty, fingerprinted filter. Use one for “protection” only if you can state from what it is you’re protecting the lens. Salt spray? Yes, this might be an answer, but I live about 100 miles from the ocean and on the other side of a mountain range, and if there is salt spray here, protecting my lens will be the least of my worries.

8. 12 frames/second is better than 10/frames per second. In what way? Neither one guarantees you’ve caught the peak moment. Consider this: let’s assume a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. 12 frames/second captures 12/1000 of the action, and misses 988/1000 of it. Holding down the shutter button at the highest frame rate yields lots of images, but not necessarily the one you wanted.

9. Always underexpose a half-stop to richen the colors. Intentional underexposure with digital cameras is one of the worst things you can do. It simply adds noise.

10. Professional photographers get all their equipment free from the camera manufacturers. Boy, do I ever wish this were true, but it isn’t. For that matter, I wish it were true for cars and houses also.

11. All information on photography forums is true. You might remember back when there was an actual discussion about using Scotch® tape to clean camera sensors. I’m fairly sure someone fell for this, and actually tried it. We all know that it’s not Scotch® tape you should use, but duct tape, right? (Well, I read about using duct tape on the Internet, so it must be true.)

CLICK HERE to check out John Shaw’s blog.

Exposing to the Right… the FAR Right.

Justin — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 04:35:59 +0000

By John Shaw

If you’re a RAW shooter you should already know about ETTR, Expose to the Right. The theory behind ETTR is that the best image capture for the most possible information is when the histogram is pushed to the right, to the “bright” side. Just keep adding exposure until that histogram is over to the right side of the graph.

OK, but how far to the right? You definitely don’t want to clip the highlights. DSLR cameras have a clipping warning display, the “blinking highlights,” or “blinkies” as they are commonly called, which shows up on the camera’s LCD. Many cameras will even display the blinkies for each individual color channel, besides the composite luminosity. But remember that the image displayed on the LCD is not the actual RAW file; it’s a jpeg thumbnail created on the fly by the camera. Camera manufacturers have coded in some headroom with the blinkies, as they don’t want customers to be angered at blown out highlights.

Fine. But I would suggest running a test to determine exactly what the correlation is between when the blinkies start, and the actual clipped highlights in the RAW file. You can easily run a test to determine this. Set your camera to Aprerture Priority, lock it firmly on a tripod, and aim at any scene. Increase exposure until the first blinkies appear. Note this frame (probably the easiest solution would be to delete any previous frame you shot to get to this point). Now shoot several more frames, using Auto Compensation to add 1/3 stop to each successive frame. Open this series in your RAW file software, such as Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, turn on the clipping warning in the software, and check each frame. I’ll bet that the starting frame, the one the camera blinkies said was clipped, is actually not clipped at all. In fact, you might be surprised at just how much headroom you have. With my particular Nikon D800E and a medium toned test subject, I have to add 1.3 stops beyond the blinkies before the RAW file has clipped highlights.

So what’s the point of doing this? Why worry? Well, with digital capture, noise lives in the dark exposures. If you want the best possible data, start with the best possible exposure. With my particular camera I’ll add some extra exposure whenever the subject is such that I can, especially when working at higher ISO values where noice is always a problem. Recently I shot a landscape at ISO 1600. I shot at both the metered ETTR exposure, and at my “extra 1.3 stop” ETTR settings. The difference was remarkable. The first image needed noise reduction. When I looked at the second shot, the one when I had added 1.3 stops, the image on the LCD appeared almost washed out. But when I reduced the exposure in Lightroom (my standard RAW file software), all the noise was gone. In fact, my tests suggest there is even a slight difference when the camera is set at base ISO 100, where I use the camera the most.

Does this really matter? The answer depends on how compulsive you are about quality, the realities faced in the field, and on how the photograph is to be used. Just remember, ETTR is for RAW capture only. And you don’t want to lose an image by blowing out the highlights. There are indeed some scenes with the highlights already maxed out.

Once you know how the blinkies in your camera correlate to the actual RAW histogram, a simple and safe solution — particular for static subjects such as landscapes – is to set your camera to bracket another frame that is 2/3 stop more exposure than the ETTR histogram on the LCD. When I shoot with my D800E, I know that I’ll be adding that extra bit of light whenever I can.

John Shaw is one of the most highly respected nature photographers in the world, and Visionary Wild is proud to include him among its instructors.

Click here to visit John Shaw’s website and blog

Visionary Wild supports the Sandy Hook School community

Justin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:28:09 +0000

In memory of the innocent lives lost at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut, Visionary Wild has pledged to donate 5% of all new workshop enrollment fees received between December 15, 2012 and January 31, 2013. Funds will go to support organizations providing counseling and other vital services to the children, families, and staff of Sandy Hook School. If you are looking for ways to help but aren’t able to join us for a workshop, Newtown Youth and Family Services is a worthy charity that is presently providing much needed services to that heartbroken community.

Jack Dykinga Interview

Justin — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:51:07 +0000

This Arizona Public Television interview with Jack Dykinga really captures what he’s all about.

John Shaw Interview

Justin — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:25:18 +0000

Visionary Wild instructor John Shaw talks about his forty year career in natural history photography, describing how he got hooked on photography, what keeps him inspired, and a little about his workflow.

Inside a Visionary Wild Workshop

Justin — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:49:43 +0000

In January 2012, photographers Jack Dykinga, John Shaw, and Justin Black collaborated on our first Vision Workshops at Santa Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, Arizona. Cinematographer Austin Andrews joined the group for a few field sessions in an attempt to capture the experience. Jack, John, and Justin are returning to Santa Catalina State Park for two more Vision Workshops in February 2013.

Special Trips: High Sierra and Africa

Justin — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:41:54 +0000

Moonset at sunrise over Moonlight Lake and Picture Peak, High Sierra, California, by Justin Black

On occasion, we offer special photo expeditions outside of the “regularly scheduled programming” listed in the Workshops section of this website.

High Sierra Mule Pack Trip

This September 20-26, we are offering a photo trip into the beautiful alpine High Sierra backcountry west of Bishop, California, for a small group of nine participants. The instructors on this trip are renowned Sierra Nevada landscape photographer Jim Stimson, and Visionary Wild’s Justin Black. Our good friends Mike and Tess Anne Morgan of Bishop Pack Outfitters will support the trip with expert mule packing service to carry all our gear into and out of the mountains, and guided riding mules to carry us! Our expert backcountry chef and camp manager will take care of meals so we can focus on photography. CLICK HERE for more information from our online newsletter.

“The Sierra Nevada has been my backyard and playground for over 35 years. There are few landscapes on the planet that are so gloriously appointed with soaring granite spires, crystal clear lakes, vibrant green meadows, rich beds of flowers, and autumn splashes of color, so I consider myself very fortunate to call the Range of Light my home. I enjoy the inspiring challenge of photographing the grand landscape or the intimate details at my feet. It’s one of the best places I can think of for an adventure with a camera.” –Jim Stimson

African Safari: Etosha – Chobe – Victoria Falls

June 3-20, 2013, we are offering a wildlife-oriented African Safari led by Justin Black for an even more intimate group of five photographers to visit Etosha National Park in Namibia, Chobe National Park in Botswana, Victoria Falls, and cheetah and white rhino preserves in South Africa. As of June 30th, 2012, only two spaces remain available. Our group will work with some of the best guides in the business and will use new, heavily customized safari vehicles at Etosha, and a highly specialized six-seat photo boat on the Chobe River. These platforms offer the best photographer positions available anywhere in Africa, with each photographer having his or her own 360-degree rotating photo chair with 360-degree revolving camera mounts that make working with big lenses a breeze. To top it off, we’re providing loan of big glass through Nikon South Africa, so you don’t have to lug it to Africa with you. CLICK HERE for more information.