Posted by bill meikle on June 19, 2006 at 11:03 AM
We arrived late and the sky was bright when I took this, so the exposure range is too great.
Anyone have a good workflow to reduce the effects of exposure variation on complex subjects such as the attached waterfall. I used layers to get this far.
thanks for any advice, I use photoshop CS2, the image was shot in RAW so has all the detail I need.
Bill
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 19, 2006 at 12:08 PM
One solution you can look at is HDR. You can convert a couple exposures from RAW and then use HDR to map them to what you want. An HDR tool I've been looking at (in addition to the Photoshop one) is Photomatix.
Another option that I've used is to create multiple exposures in the Raw conversion, then use layer masks to put it all together. I did not find that this worked very well in my pervious attempts with waterfalls, but it might work for you.
A third option is to use a tone mask. I've seen an example of this, but haven't used it myself and don't really know how to explain it.
Posted by Nat Coalson on June 19, 2006 at 12:09 PM
Bill-
I'd suggest doing (at least) two separate RAW conversions using different settings that give you what you're looking for. in specific areas of the image Them composite them together in PS using layers with masks.
You can bring Raw conversions into Photoshop as Smart Objects, too. Once they're placed in the file, you can go back and adjust the Raw settings, and without converting/placing again, the layers will be updated in your PS master file.
Russell Brown has a good script for doing this, called Place-A-Matic.
One other important point; in cases where you are pushing past the limits of dynamic range in an exposure, try using ProPhoto for the conversion, as it's the largest color space available in ACR.
Good luck!
Posted by Nat Coalson on June 19, 2006 at 12:12 PM
HDR doesn't work well with fewer than three separate captures, and they need to be bracketed shots with the same composition and subject matter.
In this case, because of the variation in the water flow, you need to use only one capture for multiple exposure settings, so HDR isn't the appropriate solution.
Posted by Roger Rouch on June 19, 2006 at 12:14 PM
I don't know that I have any specific recommendations, but have recently been reading Real World Camera Raw by Fraser. He makes a reasonable case for making some basic adjustments in RAW before going to PS to preserve the information in the image. I'm pretty new to digital camera files so take my advice accordingly, but I might suggest adjusting or centering the histogram using the temperature slider in the RAW dialog box and turning off all of the auto settings in the RAW dialog box by unchecking, such as shadow and contrast, and making some manual adjustments to please your eye and also to see how each of these work. Things often come to the point to use layers options to help bring things more in balance.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 19, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Photomatix will allow you to create an HDR file from multiple conversions of the same Raw file to utilize the full 12 bit range while bringing it back into a useable traditional range. It is probably the tone mapping component of the tool that is most useful in this, but it does work for this example.
Thanks Nat, Mel et al, I'll work on your suggestions. Hey Nat is Adobe going to produce an adjustable GND filter mode in photoshop anytime, would be fun! Doesn't help in this case though.
I don't really like those Photomatrix examples - the local contrast gets all weird. I say layers & masks & grab your eraser tool. Either that or just expose the scene a little more and tolerate some overexposure in the water.
Roger has a good point that I neglected to mention - you must take control over the processing settings in Adobe Camera Raw. Uncheck all the Auto boxes on the first panel, and then select "Save New Camera Raw Defaults..." under the flyout menu found under the little triangle at the bottom right of the histogram.
Bill: re: ND grad.... I know of no plans for Adobe to add this to the Photo Filter menu, but you can easily simulate this effect in Photoshop very easily:
1. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer, but don't make any adjustments to the curve. Click OK.
2. Change the Blending Mode of the Curve layer to Multiply (the Blending Mode menu usually says "Normal"; at the top of the layers palette)
3. Select the mask on the Curves layer, and use the Gradient tool to draw a gradient that splits the mask gradually. You can redraw the gradient several times to get the split you want.
4. Lower the opacity of the Curves layer to get the desired strength of the effect.
This tutorial illustrates several techniques that you can use in lots of ways and in limitless combinations. As you're working, pay attention the important procedures used: Adjustment Layers, Gradients, Layer Blending Modes, Layer Opacity. These are core Photoshop skills that will allow you to do most types of image adjustments.
A quick and dirty solution that has worked for me is to expose for the bright areas of the water; then use the shadow/highlight tool (judiciously) to bring out the shadows.
Thanks Nat, Mel et al, I'll work on your suggestions. Hey Nat is Adobe going to produce an adjustable GND filter mode in photoshop anytime, would be fun! Doesn't help in this case though.
I agree that the examples I've seen from Photomatix have been a little wacky on the local contrast. I did demo the product and I found that when doing the tone mapping, you had to brings the settings down from their defaults quite a bit to prevent weird halos and super saturation. However, I found when I backed the settings off a good amount that I was able to get pretty good results that take a long time to duplicate in PS by itself. Although I don't think the product is a fixall, I may end up purchasing it because it does some things that are really difficult to duplicate in CS2 HDR.
I don't make HDR images too much, but CS2 gives you a few methods to reduce the image to 8 or 16 bits. The goal of these various processes is not to make a high dynamic range image, but to take a high dynamic range scene and make a low dynamic range image from it. Personally I prefer to do this with grads but of course you can't find a waterfall shaped grad. That leaves you with 1) exposing for the rocks & tress 2) exposing for the water, and choosing one of the digital techniques to raise the level of the rocks & trees 3) waiting for better light.
Discussion
15 repliesAnyone have a good workflow to reduce the effects of exposure variation on complex subjects such as the attached waterfall. I used layers to get this far.
thanks for any advice, I use photoshop CS2, the image was shot in RAW so has all the detail I need.
Bill
Another option that I've used is to create multiple exposures in the Raw conversion, then use layer masks to put it all together. I did not find that this worked very well in my pervious attempts with waterfalls, but it might work for you.
A third option is to use a tone mask. I've seen an example of this, but haven't used it myself and don't really know how to explain it.
I'd suggest doing (at least) two separate RAW conversions using different settings that give you what you're looking for. in specific areas of the image Them composite them together in PS using layers with masks.
You can bring Raw conversions into Photoshop as Smart Objects, too. Once they're placed in the file, you can go back and adjust the Raw settings, and without converting/placing again, the layers will be updated in your PS master file.
Russell Brown has a good script for doing this, called Place-A-Matic.
http://www.russellbrown.com
One other important point; in cases where you are pushing past the limits of dynamic range in an exposure, try using ProPhoto for the conversion, as it's the largest color space available in ACR.
Good luck!
In this case, because of the variation in the water flow, you need to use only one capture for multiple exposure settings, so HDR isn't the appropriate solution.
example
Bill
Bill: re: ND grad.... I know of no plans for Adobe to add this to the Photo Filter menu, but you can easily simulate this effect in Photoshop very easily:
1. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer, but don't make any adjustments to the curve. Click OK.
2. Change the Blending Mode of the Curve layer to Multiply (the Blending Mode menu usually says "Normal"; at the top of the layers palette)
3. Select the mask on the Curves layer, and use the Gradient tool to draw a gradient that splits the mask gradually. You can redraw the gradient several times to get the split you want.
4. Lower the opacity of the Curves layer to get the desired strength of the effect.
This tutorial illustrates several techniques that you can use in lots of ways and in limitless combinations. As you're working, pay attention the important procedures used: Adjustment Layers, Gradients, Layer Blending Modes, Layer Opacity. These are core Photoshop skills that will allow you to do most types of image adjustments.
Good luck, and let me know if you have questions.
Ken
Bill
Attached is the resultng waterfall image, much better than the original. I owe you a large beer!
Bill
I agree that the examples I've seen from Photomatix have been a little wacky on the local contrast. I did demo the product and I found that when doing the tone mapping, you had to brings the settings down from their defaults quite a bit to prevent weird halos and super saturation. However, I found when I backed the settings off a good amount that I was able to get pretty good results that take a long time to duplicate in PS by itself. Although I don't think the product is a fixall, I may end up purchasing it because it does some things that are really difficult to duplicate in CS2 HDR.
So you cant view it and you cant print it, is that correct?
Bill
I'd choose 3