Your Lightroom Classic Tips and Tricks...

PKM-UK

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Phil Moore
For users of this software who may not have picked these up already, some quick tips and tricks I find useful (including a recent find!).

Please feel free to add yours... :)

Phil

1. Use "Snapshots' to quickly compare different crops/ adjustments/ edits etc... I find this function a really effective way to compare/ demonstrate different options.

RF-S-1.jpg


2. Draw a Linear Gradient off an image to apply a mask evenly across it, then make 'global adjustments' and selectively modify them (Add/ Subtract/ Intersect). In the below example I set Saturation to -100 to produce a B&W style image, then 'Subtracted' from the mask using Objects to selectively add colour back. You can get quite creative using different permutations of adjustments/ modifications. (Other global masking options are available, but I find the Linear Gradient is easy).

RF-S-1-5.jpg


3. Bonus tip - In the below example I've used this method to apply a Curve adjustment (now available with the latest update) to the entire image and because it's a 'mask' I can also adjust the 'Amount' - something which would not be available using the normal Tone Curve tool in Lr C. I find this gives me fine control over the Curve adjustment without any frustrating fiddling about with points.

RF-S-2.jpg
 
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There are very 3rd party B&W apps out there but I like to mess around with it myself. I found a few videos and use a bit from each one. I've had up to 40 masks at times.




 
There are very 3rd party B&W apps out there but I like to mess around with it myself. I found a few videos and use a bit from each one. I've had up to 40 masks at times.




Hi Only RF,

Thanks for those links - I'll certainly be checking them out as time permits (Bookmarks added!). '40 masks' sounds like you had plenty of fun... :)

I've also been known to wander around in DxO FilmPack/ Nik Collection and Topaz Labs Studio 2 playing with various B&W tools (and Photoshop masking). There's so much terrific software available.

Phil
 
Not sure how much this will help these days but you never know. Before LrC's advanced masking I had to occasionally go into PS. It would send the file back to LrC as a TIFF but now I had two files, the TIFF and original RAW. I would only want to export the TIFF because it had advanced editing. If I had a few hundred files that messed up the number sequencing.

So I wouldn't forget I would immediately flag the RAW file once the TIFF came back. At the end of the edit I chose Edit - Select Flagged Photos. Then I chose Edit - Invert Selection. Now all the RAW files that didn't go to PS and the TIFFS were selected for export. The RAW files that were sent to PS were not selected.
 
Hi Only RF,

Thanks for those links - I'll certainly be checking them out as time permits (Bookmarks added!). '40 masks' sounds like you had plenty of fun... :)

I've also been known to wander around in DxO FilmPack/ Nik Collection and Topaz Labs Studio 2 playing with various B&W tools (and Photoshop masking). There's so much terrific software available.

Phil
Once Adobe fixed the memory leaks and improved performance it never even burps. Smooth sailing these days.
 
I've been watching this fellows videos about Adobe Denoise and I'm starting to like his presentations. I've added one things from this video. Solo for the panels.

 
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I wonder if there should be a sticky for these types of videos. I suspect there will be people thinking about getting LrC getting a good start goes a long way. I've read threads of years of not managing a few basic things and then the catalogue is a disaster. Even though people are aware and have good intent to re-link a folders sometimes forget and the same thing happens.

 
I've been watching this fellows videos about Adobe Denoise and I'm starting to like his presentations. I've added one things from this video. Solo for the panels.

Thanks for sharing this link. I will definitely have to watch it later.
 
This is indeed a very useful addition to Lightroom. Last November, I offered a method of using curves in LR masks knowing well that it would arrive one day soon. Here is how that worked with a trip to ACR and back.
 
This is indeed a very useful addition to Lightroom. Last November, I offered a method of using curves in LR masks knowing well that it would arrive one day soon. Here is how that worked with a trip to ACR and back.
Thanks. I'll check it out.
 
I spend a little time at the Lightroom Queen's site. To save time someone asked how to Denoise only files from ISO 3200 and higher. I messed around with it and came up with a procedure and one of experts refined it. You can also do this with collections but I like this approach.
  1. In Library Grid view select metadata
  2. Use the Library filter and select a column to set for ISO Speed
  3. Click on the entry for 3200
  4. Shift-click on the final entry in that column and it selects all the speeds from 3200 and upwards
  5. Go to the Develop module
  6. Edit > Select All (if required)
  7. Denoise
  8. Back to Library
  9. Select All ISO speeds
  10. Back to Develop
 

Attachments

  • Denoise-.jpg
    Denoise-.jpg
    18 KB · Views: 72
A while back, I was trying to select images in Lightroom by a variety of criteria, and mostly not working. Then, I stumbled on a very useful plugin for Lightroom, Any Filter. It makes selecting images on a variety of metadata a simple task. It is very affordable and highly useful.

 
I'm processing our raw files from a recent zoo trip - lots of subjects (creatures/ environments/ things) with various 'white bits' in danger of blowing out. I don't necessarily want to treat the image/ subject globally - just the problem areas.

I select the problem areas as an Object, or Subject and then 'Intersect With' Luminance Range - pushing the value to the right. This refines the selection to just the brightest bits of the Object/ Subject, allowing me to treat them selectively.

(This technique, if reversed, can also be used to select/ treat the dark bits and, if modified, could treat colours).

Phil

Example -

RF-S-PP-1.jpg
 
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For users of this software who may not have picked these up already, some quick tips and tricks I find useful (including a recent find!).

Please feel free to add yours... :)

Phil

1. Use "Snapshots' to quickly compare different crops/ adjustments/ edits etc... I find this function a really effective way to compare/ demonstrate different options.

View attachment 15412

2. Draw a Linear Gradient off an image to apply a mask evenly across it, then make 'global adjustments' and selectively modify them (Add/ Subtract/ Intersect). In the below example I set Saturation to -100 to produce a B&W style image, then 'Subtracted' from the mask using Objects to selectively add colour back. You can get quite creative using different permutations of adjustments/ modifications. (Other global masking options are available, but I find the Linear Gradient is easy).

View attachment 15415

3. Bonus tip - In the below example I've used this method to apply a Curve adjustment (now available with the latest update) to the entire image and because it's a 'mask' I can also adjust the 'Amount' - something which would not be available using the normal Tone Curve tool in Lr C. I find this gives me fine control over the Curve adjustment without any frustrating fiddling about with points.

View attachment 15407
Good grief - #2 makes it an absolutely quick piece-of-cake... THNX!
 
By way of a 'bump' -

Some neat sky selection refinement tips and tricks from Todd Dominey can be found Here (including 'subtracting the sky from the sky'! :) ).

Phil
 
Julieanne sure knows how to explain these things.

Looks like a very useful feature! Julieanne certainly knows her stuff, and explains it very well, but describes it at about double the speed of my brain. That is a downside to utube. I watched about a third of it, rewinding a couple of times, and that is enough for now.

Anyway, I know from experience that I won't retain anything from these instructions unless I do them hands-on. So I will do that!
 
I had to the same. Stop, try and review. I did the initial edit in Adobe Neutral and then applied Auto. I would have done more but just to show an example. I'm not sure how much I'm going to use it.

_G7A6676.jpg
  • Canon EOS R7
  • RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
  • 186.0 mm
  • ƒ/8
  • 1/2500 sec
  • ISO 640


The I used Point Color and put it on the beak. I reduced the range to as small as could get it and then adjusted, saturation and lum. It looks cartoonish which I did on purpose and as you can see the water in the right hand bottom corner was barely affected.

_G7A6676-2.jpg
  • Canon EOS R7
  • RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
  • 186.0 mm
  • ƒ/8
  • 1/2500 sec
  • ISO 640
 
I had quite the issue one time with a portrait with brownish speckles on the face - freckles or blemishes, can't remember. I wanted to minimize those. I found a method on the web for doing this in Photoshop, and that worked. Now I could do this in LR with this new tool.
 
I had quite the issue one time with a portrait with brownish speckles on the face - freckles or blemishes, can't remember. I wanted to minimize those. I found a method on the web for doing this in Photoshop, and that worked. Now I could do this in LR with this new tool.
Yes. I have not sent a file to PS since LrC 11. The Lightroom Queen shows a pretty good example of that. Scroll down to the cheeks.

 
We had some really overcast weather for shooting courthouse shots. I do a lot of the basic editing in Lightroom but swapped the sky in Photoshop and removed some of the handicapped parking signs.
 

Attachments

  • 2023-046-369 Texas Courthouse trip.jpg
    2023-046-369 Texas Courthouse trip.jpg
    538.8 KB · Views: 54
  • 2023-046-368 Texas Courthouse trip-Edit.jpg
    2023-046-368 Texas Courthouse trip-Edit.jpg
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