my PP process for lightroom

[jamesmartin]

Just thought id post my PP that I do for most of my pics in lightroom & see if anyone has any suggestions/comments


I start at the bottom of the develop panel at camera calibration & choose: Camera Standard

then up to effects I use dehaze (usually around +15)

then up to Lens Correction & click Enable Profile Correction

then to detail. under noise reduction: - luminance I go to 50. under sharpening: amount 50 & detail 50

then to Basic. saturation & vibrance I usually go up to 10 but rarely above that & clarity around 14

highlights etc is quite different to each pic

contrast usually around 15-20

exposure as needed

lastly I check the WB, usually the camera gets it right but sometimes I have to change it to either daylight or cloudy


each photo is different but this is generally what I do with each of my photos

[J.davis]

I have the camera settings and lens correction in a preset. I import my pics with these already actioned.

[Geoff79]

So you do nothing else outside of Lightroom? This sounds like how I prepare a RAW photo for photoshop before I do my final butchering oh whoops I mean editing.

But yeah, I enjoy the photos you post here, so not a bad process. I’d be the last to offer worthwhile PP advice, but I’m curious to see any replies. :)


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[John King]

James, I don't use LR.

I do use Photoshop and ACR. I consider Photoshop to be a minor adjunct to ACR, rather than the other way around.

It doesn't matter what order you do adjustments in ACR, the program automatically does them in the correct order when you hit the go button. However, I usually adjust WB and exposure first, just so I can see where I'm going. Even every JPEG is different! So are RAW files, just more so ...

If I'm going to print big, I do a small input sharpen in ACR as part of two/three stage sharpening prior to export to PS.

Be delicate!

My touchstone is that if anyone can tell that I've touched a file, I've gone too far!

IMO, working colour space and bit depth are at least as important as what one does in PP.

With RAWs, I use ProPhotoRGB and 16 bit.

[Glenda]

I rarely use lightroom but do use ACR which is the same as the develop module in Lr. I too have lens correction, chromatic aberration, sharpening and noise reduction values set as a default. With landscapes I find I do minimal adjustments in ACR nowadays, preferring the control I have in photoshop. I sometimes set white and black points in ACR and often use the auto straighten tool. I prefer to do selective adjustments rather than global and prefer to use luminosity masks in Ps to target the area I wish to affect with eg reducing highlights. Whilst the new range mask tool in Lr and ACR is a bonus, it is just a basic luminosity mask which I can't adjust as well as one in Ps. With output sharpening I also want the ability to mask it out of certain areas. I sometimes return to the camera raw filter to apply a radial filter.

With shots where I do less PP such as birds I often do more in ACR such as crop (but never delete the pixels so I can always change it), highlight/shadows and white/black point if necessary, WB adjustment and maybe contrast, although I still prefer the curves adjustment in Ps for this.

[Craig Zilko]

I generally import completely neutral and all settings zeroed, I’ll pick an image and make my global adjustments and sync across images taken under the same conditions WB, lens correction etc, etc. if an image need a little more tweaking I will use local targeted adjustments. If it is an image that I would consider printing it is exported to photoshop and further worked up if required.


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[Hawthy]

I shoot Camera Raw and typically follow the ACR filter from start to finish:



White Balance - Auto and then adjust as needed.
Exposure, Contrast, Highlights...Clarity, etc. - Auto and adjust as needed.
Tone Curve - I prefer the Auto feature in PS.
Sharpening - A great tool. Google how to use it especially the Masking.
Saturation - Great to use particularly in conjunction with the Targeted Adjustment Tool.
Split Toning - Don't generally use this.
Lens Correction - Generally a must because it corrects my cheap lenses.
Fx - I try to avoid dehaze because I think that it adds noise.
Camera Calibration - I just leave it set at current.



If I am doing a landscape I will use the Gradient Filter. It can bring life back to dull skies.


Back in Photoshop Ctrl J to create a copy of the image in a new layer before each adjustment:

Curves - Auto does a great job.
Image - Auto Tone, Auto Contrast are very good. Still undecided on Auto Colour.
Dodge & Burn tools are good for selectively enhancing areas.
Maybe additional sharpening. Check for dust bunnies and use the Spot Healing brush tool. Anything that needs tobe taken out of the picture use the Clone Stamp.
Check for noise. I really like the free Dfine2 to look after this. Topaz DeNoise is also pretty good.
Save as a high quality TIF. Look at it again in the morning.



That's it.