MtnMan Loc: ID

I have had and used two recommendations on processing RAW files with Lightroom. I'm interested in hearing what you do on these.

1. Set the shadows to +100% and highlights to -100% to start.

2. Adjust the whites and blacks to fill the histogram to start. You can do this with using Alt and the slider or, as I now do, by just watching the triangle indicators on the histogram as you move the slider.

I'm not fixed on which to do first. It does seem to matter.

I'm suspecting the highlights and shadows first because Lightroom is generally arranged to the workflow. Also because I have them set in presets...and you can't really do the whites and blacks adjustment with a preset...it changes with each image.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

I suppose your choice of workflow would depend greatly on your subject matter. High Key Portrature would demand a different approach, yes?

MtnMan Loc: ID

Yes. I do mostly Landscape and animals. I wonder if they demand different approaches?

doduce Loc: Holly Springs NC

Check out almost any of the Serge Ramelli LR workflow tutorials at http://www.Photoserge.com. He's the biggest proponent of what you're talking about.

MtnMan Loc: ID

He is the one I got the recommendation from to do the Highlights and Shadows to 100%. But I don't recall him addressing the whites and blacks and the order for them.

lightcatcher Loc: Farmington, NM (4 corners)

Sounds like replay time is in order. :thumbup: :thumbup:

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

Mine is somewhat different, but based on what I have learned from training classes from Laura Shoe, Ben Wilmore, and Jared Platt.

Adjust exposure - I usually need to lighten 1/4 to 1/2 a stop
Adjust contrast to help fill out the histogram (without blowing out highlights)
Holding down the Alt key (Windows) move the White slider to eliminate any blown spots (the image will be all black when finished); sometimes adjusting the Hightlights slider will also be needed to achieve this
Again, holding down the Alt key, adjust the Black slider to just get some true blacks (most of the image will be white)
Bring up shadows to taste
Add a little bit of Clarity
Sometimes increase Vibrance slightly.
Then adjust Detail as needed or desired.

There are obviously lots of ways to approach this, and I don't think any are right or wrong. What works best for you.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Thanks for your inputs.

I used to adjust exposure first. Now I usually don't. I do usually up contrast...which helps the histogram some.

I use the white and black sliders to adjust the histogram. I used the Alt key approach originally but now am satisfied with just watching the triangles on the histogram.

I also always increase clarity. Sometimes vibrance a little Not saturation because I use a lens-based preset that sets the camera picture control to Landscape which already increases saturation.

But I'm still not sure on whether to adjust the highlights and shadows before or after the white and black sliders.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I do almost exactly as you describe. However, I do all of the adjustments in "Experimental" mode, and if I don't like the look of what's happening, I'll reverse or moderate the adjustment.

For example, if putting Shadows to 100% made the shot too bright, I might ease off on it. Alternatively, what I do a lot is put Highlights to -100% and Shadows to 100%, and if it's too bright, use Brightness to reduce the brightness to an appropriate level. If that didn't work, I'd cut back on whatever was causing the problem in the first place (usually Shadows making the shot too bright).

I usually set Blacks to give a small amount of real black (although I would ease off on that if the shot started to look unnatural). Whites, on the other hand, I very rarely put all the way up to give real whites. I usually find the saturation point then back off from it by 5 or 10%. I find that going all the way up to real whites is usually too bright.

Occasionally I've gone positive with the Blacks slider and negative with the Whites slider (once or twice I've gone to -100%). I'm never slow to experiment, and my deciding factor is what looks right for that particular shot. For me, every adjustment is an experiment.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

I do Lens correction & CA first and level. Then move on to crop. After that do highlights, shadows whites, blacks, etc.

Don

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I use this process in architectural photography because I make longer exposures without additional lighting. It works quite well. I found it interesting that when HDR is used in Lightroom CC 2015 that when the files are processed that the highlights indicate -100% and shadows reflect +70%.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Thanks. I'm about to upgrade to Lightroom 6 which has the HDR feature.