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$24.99 – XeL 2.0 – Black and White Toolkit

Brandon Oelling — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:43:59 +0000

All XeL Presets are 100% Lightroom 4 Compatible!

We’re so amped to bring you another innovative addition to the XeL Family!

Sample image from XeL: Black and White Cold Storage Films

XeL:Black and White is the culmination of a year’s worth or research, analysis, development and testing – representing a major milestone release in support of the innovative X-Equals XeL platform.

XeL:Black and White breaks free from the traditional approach to Lightroom presets – utilizing a modular approach that allows users to quickly and efficiently create stunning black and white images in a completely non-destructive RAW-based workflow.

“We noticed a overwhelming interest in black and white processing from the photographic community, and considering the popularity of some Photoshop plug-ins that created black and white images and emulated black and white film, we felt that there should be another option.”

… says Brandon Oelling, XeL Product Manager at X-Equals. “We started to push Lightroom’s capabilities – working to simulate the traditional black and white darkroom experience and approach using only Lightroom.”

“XeL was envisioned to shift the preset paradigm from disparate one click effects, to a set of well defined – targeted presets that can be combined strategically to make specific adjustments.”

… says Michael Gray, XeL Technical Director. “These tools, used in unison, allow you to quickly prototype your black and white image, focusing on the effect you desire rather than continually moving sliders around.”

Sample image from XeL: Black and White Solarize

The soul of the XeL platform, and XeL:Black and White, comes from Michael’s passion for traditional film and dark room techniques. By melding this passion with the capabilities of Lightroom, he created this collection of presets that allows users to quickly create stunning black and white images directly from within Lightroom.

What’s included in the download?

XeL: Black and White is a massive collection of over 300 presets, consisting of:

Antiquated process emulations
Over 50 classic film emulations
A selection of digital color filters, emulating the use of filters in film photography.
A full range of presets simulating variable contrast paper effects
A selection of toning presets, to add that special touch.
Solarization, custom tone curves, basic B&W color mixes, and ND filters
Special graphic arts effects, including 2-Tone and Reduced Tone images.

Unlike other black and white toolkits, XeL:Black and White is not a stand alone application or a plug-in, but rather a collection of finely tuned presets that support a completely nondestructive workflow, while retaining all the benefits and flexibility of working in RAW.

Sample image from XeL: Black and White Curve Kick

Grab the User Guide and take a peek.

Here’s a full copy of the XeL:Black and White User Guide, which includes installation details, some sample workflows, samples of the Presets included in the download, and tips on their usage!

Want to dig deep?

Here you go, all the details about each Preset family, their unique identifiers, and sample images!

XeL is the next logical extension of the X-Equals Preset Platform. We wanted to change the way people think about presets. It seems too many presets available are simple one-click fixes, adjusting a lot of the image and generally not playing well with other presets. Sometimes you want a specific effect, not a complete image style. Other times you want to combine aspects of multiple presets to create your vision. XeL makes this easy.

We at X-Equals feel presets should be modular tools that take the monotony out of making specific adjustments. So we have developed XeL to provide specific image adjustments and effects that you can combine to create the exact effect you desire.

XeL is modular, each group of presets in XeL focus on adjusting a specific set of adjustments in an effort to recreate specific photographic effects. Every XeL preset is designed to be used in unison with other XeL presets, used much like building blocks to create the desired effect.

This takes preset use from a simple stylistic choice to a collection of actual tools. By making modular presets, each application alters a specific part of the image, without altering any existing adjustments. Often you will find presets will adjust just about every slider in Lightroom. We strive for each preset to only change a few items.

So let us break down what XeL: Black and White has to offer, what each preset family adjusts and how to use these tools to bend your images to your will.

First, every preset in the XeL platform has a preset ID. This is a 6-7 character long alphanumeric ID, along the lines of XBA03C. The first 3 character denote the family in which the preset belongs. XBA means this preset belongs in the Antiquated Processes family. The following 2-3 numeric digits denoted the actual preset. 03 means this is the Ambrotype preset. If an ID ends in a letter, it denotes it is a single component of a preset. C in this id means it is the Toning preset for the Ambrotype emulation.

These ID’s are primarily used to facilitate in preset organization. When a preset is an emulation, it will usually have multiple components, and the letters at the end keep them in the desired order. You can also use the ID’s to help you note what presets were used, without writing down the full preset name.

Also, as we add presets to XeL, either as free downloads from the blog or digests or released in new collections, these ID’s will help you properly place the preset into the proper families.

Now let’s look at each group of presets in XeL. Below we list the preset family folder and family ID abbreviation, followed by details.

XeL-BW Antiquated Processes [XBA]

This family of presets attempts to emulate 4 different archaic photographic processes. The emulations consists of 4 unique presets; one for the color mix, one for image tone, one for image toning and one for lens effect.

The Antiquated Processes family currently consists of a Tintype, a Daguerreotype, a Cyanotype and Ambrotype emulation. The preset components break down as such:

-A- Mix: This preset sets the B&W Mixer settings in the Develop Module, allowing for the proper emulation of color response in the black and white conversion.

-B- Tone: This preset sets the Clarity and Tone Curve needed to produce the proper image tone and density required for the emulation.

-C- Toning: This preset sets the Split Tone settings required to produce the proper toning or color cast over the black and white image to facilitate emulation.

-D- Lens: This preset completes the emulation of the archaic style. It first applies Grain and Post-Crop Vignette settings to add some depth to the image and follows up by applying a dual Graduated Filters, creating an adjustment layer over the image allowing alteration of Local Settings, completing the overall appearance of the emulation.

Using all 4 presets from a single emulation will create a complete emulation on your image.

What’s included in the download?

XeL-BW Cold Storage Films [XFB]

This family of presets features 54 presets emulating different black and white film stocks. These are all fresh emulations create using my current emulation process and feature grain presets. There is some variation from the original Cold Storage releases, and this is due to the change in my emulation process and the fact these are emulated from rolls I have recently shot.

Each of the 54 emulations consist of 3 presets; Mix, Tone and Grain. The Kodak HIE pseudo-infrared preset includes a 4^th preset that uses local adjustments to produce a glowing halation effect. The component presets break down as such:

-A- Mix: This preset sets the B&W Mixer settings in the Develop Module, allowing for the proper emulation of color response of the original film.

-B- Tone: This preset sets the Clarity and Tone Curve needed to produce the proper image tone and density required for the emulation.

-C- Grain: This preset adjusts the Grain settings to simulate the grain structure of the original film stock. The accuracy here is not as precise as I would like, as the tools in Lightroom are rather limited, but it closely approximates the grain results I received in my test rolls.

-D- Halation: This is a special preset, just for the Kodak HIE emulation. It utilizes a dual Gradient Filter to apply a Local Adjustment across the entire image, attempting to simulate the glowing halation effect of the original film stock.

The use of all the components from a single emulation will produce a close approximation to the appearance of my test roll. However, feel free to mix and match between emulations to create your own look, by swapping a B for another B and so on.

XeL-BW Color Filters [XBL]

The Color Filter family of presets uses a hack to simulate the use of a Colored Filter in traditional B&W film photography. By adjusting White Balance to generate a specific color cast to the overall image, we can duplicate the function of a colored filter fairly reasonably.

The Color Filter family consists of 13 presets, which will provide a given color cast to an image. To fine tune the effect, simply adjust the two White Balance sliders, but be warned, you will quickly change the shade.

XeL-BW Color Mixes [XBM]

This family of presets allows you to generate a generic color mix, based on basic film concepts or upon some of our more popular past presets, Straight Muggin and Stark Raging Black.

7 presets are in this family, 5 of which emulate generic film styles and 2 duplicate the color response from prior presets.

Each of these presets adjusts only the B&W Mixer, to generate the desire color response.

XeL-BW Contrast Papers [XBP]

This family of presets is designed to simulate the effect of printing out on differing grades of traditional printing papers. The effect is created by hacking Lightrooom’s Graduated Filter tool, over laying two grad filters across the entire image, one from the top and one from the bottom (or left and right in portrait orientation).

By laying the two filters, we create a virtual Adjustment Layer, which provides a consistent amount of alteration to the image. Where one filter is weakening, the other is growing stronger, averaging out to a constant level of adjustment. This technology is also utilized in the Archaic Process Lens presets and The HIE Halation preset.

Once the layer is created, these presets proceed to alter Local Clarity, Local Contrast and Local Sharpness to simulate the effect of printing in the darkroom. There are 14 levels of effect from very soft, low contrast to very sharp high contrast.

While these presets are based off of actual paper prints I have made, I did not attempt to properly emulate the effect of different paper stocks. That is a project of greater scope, and I am still working on a process to simulate each paper’s tendencies. These presets are essentially an average of about 30 different prints I made. I need to develop a more refined process to call them proper paper emulations.

XeL-BW Curve Kick [XBC]

The Curve Kick family of presets consists of 30 unique, custom Tone Curves. Nothing else is modified besides the Tone Curve.

The family offers a wide selection of High and Low Contrast curves, as well as some defined S-Curves, Darkening and Brightening curves and a few designed to pop Shadows or Highlights.

XeL-BW Grad ND Filters [XBN]

This family of presets offers you a quick option for dropping in a Neutral Density Graduated Filter on your image. The preset will lower Local Exposure in the area covered by the filter, darkening that section of the image whilst leaving the lower portion of the frame alone.

There are 24 presets in this family, 12 for Portrait images and 12 for Landscape images. There are 3 coverage levels of application, 2/3 frames, 1/2 frame and 1/3 frame coverage. Each level of coverage offers 4 presets adjusting the Local Exposure; -0.5, -1, -1.5, and -2.

While adding a Graduated Filter to an image is not difficult, these presets allow you to add it with one click whilst prototyping you image, leaving you only needing to further tweak placement and Local Exposure.

XeL-BW Solarize [XBS]

Solarization is the partial reversal of image tone created from white light of a partly developed sheet of film or paper. The effect causes highlights to go dark and shadows to go bright, often with thick black or white lines between solid areas.

This family of presets alters the Tone Curve drastically, simulating this effect. No other adjustments are made. This process is done for graphic effect, and can be heightened by adding subtle colors with the Local Adjustment Brush, simulating the Sabbatier Chromoskedasic effect, where the image is reversed and color is artificially introduced to the image.

There are a total of 11 Solorize curve presets in this family.

What’s included in the download?

XeL-BW Special Effects [XBX]

The Special Effects family of presets is more varied in its application of adjustments. Currently, the Special effects family contains Detail Enhancement presets, 2 Color High Contrast presets, Tonal Cutoff Presets and Negative presets. There is a total of 14 special effect presets in this family.

The Detail Enhancement presets alter Clarity, Contrast, Fill, Recovery and Blacks in unison to enhance detail. There are 4 presets that vary the level of enhancement. These presets directly affect the Basic Tone adjustments and create an effect much like an HDR image or work by Dave Hill.

The 2 Color High Contrast presets utilize a hard cutoff Tone Curve, in concert with Clarity, Contrast, Fill, Recovery and Blacks to create a stark black and white image, using only black and white in varying levels of detail. This is hard core graphic art stuff here.

The Tonal Cutoff presets are much like the 2 Color High Contrast presets, but allow for a moderate level of tonality between black and white. Again, the preset uses a highly modified Tone Curve, in concert with Clarity, Contrast, Fill, Recovery and Blacks to create images with an almost line art feel, with varying levels of tonality.

Finally, the Negative presets invert the Tone Curve, creating a negative image within Lightroom. One is a flat negative curve; the other is an S-Curve. The negative image can be used for graphic art needs or if you wish to print negative on transparency to print in a traditional darkroom. But keep in mind, the Lightroom adjustment sliders respond in the opposite manner you are used to when working with a negative tone curve.

XeL-BW Toning [XBT]

This family of presets presents 17 options for toning of your black and white images. By using the Split Toning adjustment in Lightroom to simulate the appearance of classic darkroom print toning.

This XeL family offers differing renditions of the following classical toning methods: Sepia, Selenium, Copper, Palladium, Cyan, Polysulphide and Uranium.

Using XeL: Black and White

Now that we covered XeL’s current offerings, let’s have a quick detail on getting results quickly. I am going to share with you my XeL workflow, but you may find a differing process that works best for your needs.

Phase 1: Black and White Mix

My first step in perfecting a Black and White image in Lightroom is to find the color mix that best suits my needs. I would start with the Cold Storage Films applying the Mix presets until I find one that fits my image. You can also use the Color Mix or Archaic Process Mix presets.

Once I find what I like I move on.

Phase 2: Tone and Grain

The next step is tone and grain. If I chose a Cold Storage Film, I will go ahead and apply the Tone and Grain presets at this time. If I like the mix, but not the toning, I will try other film tones or try the Curve Kick tone curves. With the Grain presets, I may try a few others as well, especially if I desire coarse grain.

Phase 3: Toning and Detail

Now that I have the basis for my image ready, I will start considering its further enhancement. First, I will apply a color tone, if I need one, by selecting one from the Toning family.

Now, I will apply any special effects I desire from the Special Effects family. Often this will be a simple Detail Enhance, but I often find myself using a Tonal Cutoff as well.

Phase 4: Paper

Finally, to complete my image, I will try a few presets from the Contrast Papers to find my final look.

If I am looking for an archaic look, I will simply apply only the 4 presets from a given Archaic Process preset. You can mix them up, or switch out their Mix or Tone with that of another process or film stock as well. Throw in a Solarize curve or a 2 Color High Contrast preset for that unique look.

Once you get the look about where you want it, then its time to do your final tweaks. Adjust the tone curve, basic tone adjustments sharpen and so forth.

As you play around with the XeL presets, you will start to get a feel for what you can do with these tools and how you can utilize them to expedite your workflow. When you find a combination that really works for you, you may want to consider saving that combination as a new preset to further speed your editing.

We really hope these tools will unlock your creativity and get you away from simply presets and basic black and white conversions. We believe that XeL will change the way you think about presets and possibly the functionality of Lightroom itself.

Thank You!

All of us at X-Equals welcome your feedback and comments as we continue to focus on delivering no-nonsense advice and innovative products to keep you inspired!

My personal thanks goes out to you for taking the journey with us.

|Brandon Oelling – Editor in Chief
X-Equals – image, workflow, technology, business

This fine shopping experience is brought to you by E-Junkie. They rock, and are the only group we trust to deliver you quality X-Equals goods!

Lightroom’s Ultimate Plug-in – Photoshop

mgray — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:40:15 +0000

We all know of the litany of plug-ins available to Lightroom. There are export plug-ins, Metadata plug-ins and external editor plug-ins. All of these tools extend the capabilities of Lightroom, allowing more control over your images and pertinent metadata. Many times they can be time saving tools, other times they are veritable life-savers.

However, there is one application that was Lightroom was designed around, one that Lightroom is made to work with. Lightroom is so tied to this product; Lightroom’s official name even bears the weight of the relationship… Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Photoshop is quite simply Lightroom’s greatest plug-in. Although in actuality, Lightroom is really a front end for Photoshop, Lightroom is just so good at what it does that often times one can neglect Photoshop in their workflow. But just because it can be neglected, it shouldn’t be forgotten.

The first thing to remember in the Lightroom/Photoshop paradigm is the role of each of the editors. Lightroom is a metadata editor; it non-destructively applies metadata edits to an image that a rendered on export. Lightroom is designed to edit the whole image; local adjustments aside, most edits are applied globally.

Photoshop on the other hand, is a raster editor, altering actual pixels in a destructive manner. All adjustments in Photoshop are pixel edits, actually altering the image. There are non-destructive tools available in Photoshop, but in general it is designed to edit pixels.

Photoshop is quite simply Lightroom’s greatest plug-in.

These core differences make each tool incredibly useful in their own unique way. Lightroom lets you rapidly perfect your images, but is limited in its ability to actually retouch an image. Photoshop on the other hand is the definitive tool when it comes to creatively altering images. You can do almost anything with Photoshop, with enough know-how.

Now back to the crux of this discussion. Photoshop, with all of its power, is available for you to use from Lightroom in a variety of ways. While you may have many specialized products tied into Lightroom, none will offer the sheer power and versatility of Photoshop.

Let us take a quick look at the Edit In contextual menu.

Letting the call out guide your eye, notice the options that are available in this menu for a single, selected image. First is Edit in Adobe Photoshop CS5, which is the basic edit in Photoshop mode. Next, is the Edit in External Editor option, which is labeled on my screen as Edit in Photoshop.exe. This option will change based on what external editor you choose to use. I have it configured for Photoshop CS4.

The section below lists your Edit in External Editor presets. On the sample we have Drop Test, Edit in Photoshop CS4 and Exposure 3. These presets contain custom configurations for the Edit in External Editor feature. By creating these presets, you have all your different external editors ready at a moment’s notice. We will discuss this shortly.

Finally, we have Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. This option allows you to open your image into a Smart Object layer in Photoshop. Smart Objects allow you a non-destructive editing option right from within Photoshop, with a little help from Adobe Camera Raw.

We will look at these options throughout the rest of this article. You will also notice a few unavailable selections as well. Merge to Panorama in Photoshop, Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop and Open as Layers in Photoshop. These options are out of the scope of this article, but we will cover them here on X-Equals in the near future as well.

For now though, let us proceed.

Edit in Photoshop

The first and most obvious method by which to hop over to Photoshop from Lightroom is to utilize the Edit in Photoshop… option from the contextual menu. This option allows you to bring your current image from Lightroom and open it directly in Photoshop.

Before we move further, I must point out, that this feature is dependent upon Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw being at the same version. Currently, for Lightroom and Photoshop CS 5, you should have Lightroom at version 3.3 and Adobe Camera Raw at version 6.3.

ACR is always three major revisions larger than the equivalent Lightroom version. The minor revision must be the same for compatibility between Lightroom and Photoshop for the Edit in Photoshop… feature to function correctly. If you do not have ACR updated, Lightroom will show you an error message alerting you to upgrade ACR from Photoshop’s update option.

With that out of the way, we next need to be sure that your External Editing Preferences are properly configured for your needs. Press Ctrl/Cmd + , to bring up your Lightroom options menu. From here, select the External Editing Tab.

As indicated by the callout arrow, we want to pay attention to the upper half of the pane for now. I have the settings configured here as I like for transferring images into Photoshop. I prefer File Format to be set to PSD instead of TIFF, as I have ACR configured to open when any TIFF file is opened in Photoshop. When using Lightroom, I find this to be a needless and redundant step. However, be sure to use the Maximize Compatibility option in Photoshop when saving PSD files, Lightroom requires that option to fully read PSD files.

Set Color Space to your preferred expanded Color Space; ProPhoto RGB or Adobe RGB. Bit depth should always be 16 bit, why downsample for Photoshop? Resolution rarely matters, but I set it to 300 for some reason unknown to myself.

Once you have these settings configured, Lightroom will pass on these options every time you use Edit in Photoshop.

Now, we will go ahead and use the Edit in Photoshop option on one of our images. Once you select Edit in Photoshop from the contextual menu, you will be presented with the following dialog.

This dialog presents you with 3 options by which you can bring your current image into Photoshop. Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments allows you to bring all of your Lightroom adjustments along with your image into Photoshop. The image is not rendered in Lightroom and passed on to Photoshop, instead all the metadata edits are pushed with the RAW data and rendered in Photoshop by ACR. A copy of the image in either TIFF or PSD is created and visible withing your Lightroom filmstrip. If and when you Save in Photoshop, the edits from Photoshop will be sent back upstream to Lightroom.

Edit a Copy simply makes a copy of the original RAW file and passes it along to Photoshop, rendering with no further adjustments. This option is rarely useful, unless you wish to make an iteration of the original file utilizing tools in Photoshop. Edit Original is just what is states, you are manipulating the actual file from Lightroom, directly within Photoshop, with no Lightroom edits.

The Stack with Original option is for Lightroom itself. Any new images created in the process of Edit in Photoshop… will be stacked in the Lightroom filmstrip with the original, source image.

For a Lightroom based workflow, you will almost always use the Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments. If you do not use this option, no Lightroom edits will be transferred to Photoshop. To me, this is the only option worth using, unless you use Lightroom more for the organization purposes and less for the editing capabilities. I guess that works, but then Lightroom is essentially an expensive version of Adobe Bridge.

Once the file is open in Photoshop, carry out whatever edits you desire. If you exit Photoshop or close the image without saving, you will still have a copy in Lightroom, but it will only have Lightroom adjustments present. If you want your Photoshop edits to be visible in Lightroom, use the Save function. Save will update the copy in Lightroom. Save As will allow you to create a derivative file that will not be in Lightroom unless you add it manually.

Edit in Photoshop is the 10 pound hammer of using Photoshop within Lightroom. It throws you in Photoshop and lets you use your old school image editing skills again, but there are methods to use Photoshop’s power with a bit more finesse.

Photoshop Droplets at Export

Droplets are tools that let you wrap Photoshop actions up into a self executable file. Droplets were originally designed to be used in the operating system explorer or finder, allowing you to drop image files directly onto the Droplet, automating the processing of the files without having to actually dirty your hands with Photoshop. Droplets are great for automation, but aside from using them within Adobe Bridge, they were rather unwieldy.

Lightroom, however offers two unique ways to leverage Droplets in your workflow. The easiest method is to apply droplets as post-processing upon export in Lightroom. For actions that you apply last to an image, such as final sharpening, Droplets at time of export are excellent.

I would go more into this method, but we have already covered this particular facet of droplets at length. Check out Good to the Last Drop – Photoshop Droplets here on the blog for more information on export Droplets.

We will look a bit more in depth at the second method of utilizing Droplets from within Lightroom…

Photoshop Droplets as an External Editor

Utilizing Droplets as an External Editor bring the functionality of droplets more in-line with any other Lightroom Plug-In. You can easily round trip an image into Photoshop and have the copy created by Lightroom updated by the droplet, with all adjustments visible from within Lightroom. Export Droplets are only applied to exported files, and the benefit of the actions are only preset in the output files. External Editor Droplets allow your Photoshop actions to manipulate your images and drop them right back into Lightroom, much like Alien Skin and Noise Ninja Plug-Ins allow for.

If you followed the instruction on creating Droplets from Good to the Last Drop – Photoshop Droplets, you already have a few droplets made for the purpose of use during Export. Since you have already made them, you may as well hook them up into Lightroom as External Editors as well. Just make sure that the action you wrapped into a droplet uses a Save command, and that you configured the Droplet to overwrite the original file if you want it to automatically round trip back into Lightroom.

To set up a Droplet as an External Editor, hit Ctrl/Cmd + , again to bring up the Preference dialog and flip over to the External Editor tab.

First, click on the Choose button as indicated on the Additional External Editor section of the dialog. Browse to the folder in which you have saved your Droplets. If you have set up your Droplets for Export Droplet use, the Droplets should be stored in the Export Actions folder in your Lightroom folder, where all your preset folders are located. Browse to the droplet you wish to configure and select it.

The Droplet you chose should have its file name appear by the Application header in the dialog. Now, be sure to set up your File Format, Color Space, Bit Depth and Resolution to fit your workflow needs. Do not click OK yet, we need to make a preset first.

Click the Preset dropbox that is at the top of the Addition External Editor options.

Select the Save Current Settings as New Preset… option.

Give it a name you will recognize. Click Create. Then click OK in the External Editing tab of the Preferences dialog. With that click of OK you have configured the droplet to be used as an External Editor from within Lightroom, without having to invoke and Export to apply the effect.

To use your new bit of handy work, bring up the contextual menu and select Edit In…

As you can see, our new Droplet External Editor is now preset in the External Editor preset section. Just click this option and Lightroom will present you with the following dialog.

As you can see, your options here are limited, you pretty much have to choose Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments. You can change your File Options, if you so desire, but they should be set to your defaults. Click on Edit and Lightroom makes a copy and shoots it off to Photoshop which automagically processes your image with the Photoshop Actions you wrapped up into the Droplet. Be aware, if any steps of the Action require user intervention, you will have to man the keyboard to make those vital decisions, but aside from that, Phtoshop does all the heavy lifting, and if your Droplet was properly created, it will drop your output right back into Lightroom.

Edit as Smart Object

Our final stop is Edit as Smart Object in Photoshop… which allows you to open the actual RAW file, with Lightroom adjustments in a layer in Photoshop with all RAW information intact. Smart Objects are tools offered in Photoshop that allow you to edit layers in their native application, be it Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Camera Raw. Once you open your image as a Smart Object, you need only to double click on the layer in the layer panel of Photoshop and it will fire up Adobe Camera Raw to allow you to refine your RAW adjustments.

Smart Objects does not allow the layer to be reopened in Lightroom, but instead utilizes ACR, which has all of the image processing capabilities of Lightroom in a much less intuitive environment. However, you can make lossless adjustments to the Smart Object layer at whim, while at the same time allowing Smart Object compatible filters to operate and allows you to blend layers via masking and transparency. Certain Photoshop tools, filters and plug-ins are not available to you when editing a Smart Object, but you will find it is still very versatile.

I could go on, but we already have before. To learn about Smart Objects in depth check out the Keeping it Raw in Photoshop series we did a while back. It covers all the major points, pains and advantages of the Smart Object workflow.

So, as you can see, there are a multitude of ways to integrate Photoshop into your Lightroom workflow. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses, but as you use each one, you will get a better understanding of how you can leverage Photoshop into your Lightroom workflow.

Photoshop has so many capabilities and options that it is almost beyond comprehension. Actions, Scripts, Filters, Plug-Ins; These are all at your disposal with a few clicks. By leveraging Droplets, you can even pack up these tools into handy one click fixes. By combining the ease of use and finesse of Lightroom with the raw power and options available in Photoshop, these two applications offer you everything you could ever need to master your images and you can do it all in one cohesive environment.

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

Join Us – Show us what you got …

Brandon Oelling — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:28:44 +0000

None of this happens without you

I know I’ve said this before, but it’s so true …

Your comments, questions, ideas, and feedback are what have made X-Equals what is today! Without you, we’d be nowhere.

We’re now looking to get more involved with our community to help bring your ideas to life, and we’re reaching out for your continued involvement.

What we are looking for

We’re currently looking for guest bloggers to develop content for the following topics:

Photoshop (tips, shortcuts, tutorials, videos, workflows)
Lightroom (tips, shortcuts, tutorials, videos, workflows)
Digital Asset Management (file management, storage, archiving, exporting, etc.)
Lightroom and Photoshop add-on product reviews
Hardware reviews (data storage, scanners, cameras, lenses, best practices, etc.)
Photography business related tips, advice, and products
Marketing and Social Networking

We’re also looking for simple, easy to implement ideas to support our X=101 section as well as multi-part posts to support our X=Series section.

Working for free sucks

One thing is for certain, pouring your time and effort into a topic, generating the screenshots, proofing the content, and preparing to publish isn’t easy, so we will continue to make working with us worth your while.

We offer payment for your work, and always toss in a lifetime supply of all our products in the shop – including all future releases.

Working for free sucks, and we’re not going to ask you to do that.

Getting started is easy

We’d love to hear from you, discuss your ideas, and collaborate with you to develop top-notch content for our community.

We’re always open to discussing possible topic ideas and approaches so feel free to reach out for whatever reason to help get the gears moving!

Please use this form as a first step in getting onboard with X=. Please place the words “Guest Blogger” in the subject line below so we can respond to you quickly.

[contact-form-7]

Let’s Rock!

|Brandon Oelling
X-Equals – image, workflow, technology, business

Link Party – Grab a drink and dig in …

Brandon Oelling — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:28:46 +0000

I was cleaning up my laptop the other day in anticipation of my Lightroom 3 upgrade and I ran across a big hunkin’ list of bookmarks so let’s have a good old fashion Link Party!

There’s a good mix of Photoshop, Lightroom, and shooting tips in here along with a bunch of free downloads and inspirational images to gawk at – but just like a rummage sale, you have to dig a bit.

Enjoy!

|Brandon Oelling – @xequals
X-Equals – image, workflow, technology, business

Link Party

Got some links you want to add to this list?

Drop them in the comments below!

High Pass Sharpening in Photoshop

Brandon Oelling — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:43:21 +0000

In Lightroom, sharpening is a rather simple endeavor. While Lightroom’s built-in sharpening tool is excellent, it is a bit lacking when it comes to fine control of sharpening. Photoshop is a much better tool for doing fine sharpening, as it offers a myriad of sharpening option and the ability to use layers and masks to selectively sharpen parts of your image.

Many of the sharpening tools in Photoshop are simple affairs. the regular Sharpen filter is essentially a one-click ordeal that quickly applies a sharpening to your photo. Not much control there. Unsharp Mask proves a much finer level of control, with three options you can set to customize your sharpening even more.

However, Unsharp Mask can be finicky to use, especially if you are unaccustomed to its use, and unless you apply sharpening to a new layer, it applies the effect to the entire image.

Another option that is common to most Photoshop pros, but may be new to many photographers who developed their skills in Lightroom is High Pass Sharpening. Unlike the other sharpening methods in Photoshop, it is a multi-step process.

In fact there is no High Pass Sharpening filter in Photoshop at all, you are applying the High Pass filter from the Other sub-menu in the Filter menu. While High Pass sharpening is a multi-step process, it is really simply and gives you an amazing level of control over an image’s sharpness.

So jumping right in, start by duplicating your image into a new layer by highlighting the current layer and hitting Ctrl/Cmd + J. This duplicate layer will eventually become your sharpening layer, with all sharpening effects carried out upon it.

The next step is to change the new layer’s Blending Mode. For now we want to change it to Overlay.

Now, the actually sharpening begins. We need to apply the High Pass filter to the new overlay layer. Apply the filter by selecting it from the Filter menu, Filter >> Other >> High Pass.

In the High Pass dialog you will find a single slider and your preview window. The slider is labeled Radius, and refers the the maximum allowable pixel range to apply the filter to. The filter essentially brings out any edges that fall within the radius threshold, while ignoring and edges that are wider than the radius threshold.

This is great since the effect will only be applied to “hard” edges whilst leaving the rest of the image alone

Now, we want to increase the Radius level until the preview seems just a bit too sharp. Don’t go for perfect sharpening at this point, make sure you over sharpen a bit. Usually you will find you need a Radius between 0.5 and 10, depending on the resolution of your image. The bigger your image, the higher Radius you will need for effective sharpening.

Once you got the High Pass filter adjusted to your need (remember, over sharpen) go ahead and apply the filter to the layer.

Once the filter is done, your image should now appear overly sharp. This is exactly what we desire, as we are going to fine tune the sharpening from here. To lower the amount of sharpening applied, simply start to lower the layer’s Opacity level.

Normally a value between 40% and 70% is what you will find you need, but it can be changed to any level you desire.

But wait! There’s more! To further fine tune your sharpening effect, you can change the Blending Mode from Overlay to Hard Light or Soft Light. Changing the mode will alter the level of effect. Overlay is a nice, middle of the road default to use for High Pass Sharpening.

Hard Light, as the name suggests makes for harder, sharper edges. Soft Light, on the other hand, softens the edges slightly, whilst retaining the sharpening effect. Other blend modes can also create pleasing effects, depending on subject matter, but Overlay, Soft Light and Hard Light are the best options for most sharpening applications.

The changes are subtle and hard to convey in a resized image, but be sure to try them all when applying sharpening until you know what you are looking for.

As an added bonus, High Pass sharpening can also be modified to apply softening to an image. Carry out the procedure as normal, but at the end, simply Invert (Ctrl/Cmd + I) the high pass layer. This will soften detail in your image just as the process normally sharpens detail.

You will need to adjust your Opacity and Blending Mode to suit your needs, but the process for sharpening and softening is identical asides from the inversion required for softening.

Finally, since all sharpening is done on a semi-transparent layer over the original, untouched image, you can selectively apply sharpening. Simply apply a Layer Mask to your image and mask out the areas you do not want sharpened. High Pass sharpening makes it easy to do selective sharpening in Ph0toshop with just two layers.

If you’ve never ventured into the waters of High Pass sharpening in Photoshop, you now have yet another powerful tool at you disposal1

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

Taking a byte out of bit depth – Jpeg vs. RAW

mgray — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:37:22 +0000

Should I shoot RAW or should I shoot JPEG? That is the eternal question digital photographers struggle with day after day. Take a look at any photography message board or Flickr group and you will likely find a heated discussion weighing both sides of the issue.

Proponents of each file type have strong arguments in their favor, but there are some major technical differences between RAW and JPEG that can help you make a decision for yourself.

To me, the biggest technical difference between JPEG and RAW is bit depth. JPEG is standardized as an 8-bit image file. This means that each color channel of a pixel has 8-bits of data allocated to reproduce color.

Sometimes you will find 8-bit color referred to as 24-bit color, which simply combines the bit-depth of the Red, Green and Blue channels (8 bits + 8 bits +8 bits = 24 bits). Photoshop and Lightroom use the single channel nomenclature, meaning an 8-bit file can address 8 bits of data per color channel per pixel.

An 8-bit file can address up to 256 levels of luminosity per color channel. This is represented in Photoshop as a numeric value between 0 and 255. 0 is the lowest luminance level, while 255 is the highest. A color with all 3 color channels registering 0 is black whilst one with all 3 channels registering as 255 is white.

By multiplying the three channels together we can get the total color depth available in an 8-bit file (256 x 256 x 256 = 256³ = 16,777,216). An 8-bit file is capable of representing up to 16.7 million colors at any given pixel.

That number seems massive, but it simply is not as big as you might wish it to be if you plan on manipulating your image much.

On the other hand, a RAW file is output at the native bit-depth of a DSLR’s image processing chip. Common bit-depths are 12, 14 and 16 bits output from the sensor into the RAW file. Let’s consider a 12-bit RAW file, which is common on many existing entry level DSLR’s. A 12-bit file can address up to 4,096 levels of luminance per color channel as opposed to 256 levels possible in an 8-bit file.

Multiplied across the RGB spectrum that allows for 4096³ colors, which is 68,719,476,736 possible colors for any given pixel. 68.7 billion colors possible versus 16.7 million, that is over four thousand times the amount of possible colors.

At this point the exercise is simply mathematical and theoretical. Since the human eye can only distinguish between 7 and 10 million colors, an 8-bit file is all we really need, right? Well for output that is more or less an accurate statement, but for editing and processing purposes we are cutting awful close to the limit. In Photoshop, limiting the bit depth to 8-bits can cause color banding in gradients, also known as posterization.

The more processes and filters applied to the image magnifies the chances of color integrity degradation.

By working with an image as a 16-bit file you can eliminate the color degradation in the image, as Photoshop can address more than 16.7 million colors, allowing for better control of the color data. A real world example of this is an image that has been processed through multiple filter passes by AlienSkin Exposure 2 and Nik Color Efex Pro 3.

I started out with this image right from Lightroom.

I edited this photo in Photosop CS4 from Lightroom twice. This first iteration remained a 16-bit file, created from my 12-bit RAW file. The second iteration was downsampled to 8-bit upon arrival in Photoshop. Both files were subject to 4 conversions in Exposure 2 and 4 conversions in Color Efex Pro 3.

Each filter was applied to both samples with the same filter settings. After the 8 filter passes, the color degradation could be seen.

The above image was the file that remained 16-bit through the filtering process. The added grain from the film filters is noticeable, but colors transition well. Also note the color dots on the shirt in the bright region on the left side of the image.

The above image was the file initially converted to 8-bit in Photoshop before processing. Compared to the prior sample the grain is even more noticeable, even though the same filters were used. This is due to the last of smooth graduations from the color of the grain to the color of the photo. When looking at the colored dots in the bright region on the left side of the frame, notice how the yellow and orange dot visible in the top image are drastically faded out and that the other dots in the area are less “smooth” than they were in the prior image.

Now, since some crazy filters were applied, many of which adding in grain both images are drastically altered from the original and appear similar. However you can notice a definitive color shift between the two images and the 8-bit image became quite noisy with some loss of detail. The 16-bit file held up to the stresses of the test much better than the 8-bit file, even with a final conversion to 8-bit to save the image to JPEG for the web.

Starting out with more bits of color data helps the process immensely, and remaining in an expanded bit-depth during processing allows Photoshop much more room to manipulate colors. Even though the human eye has a limited color response and 8-bit files allow for 16.7 million colors, the effects of multiple editing passes are evident in the file that was rendered and processed in 8-bits more than the image that was rendered in 16-bits and processed before a final downsample to 8-bits.

Even when you downsample at the end to 8-bit, you are then limiting the image to 16.7 million colors. But you are putting off Photoshop having to make hard color decisions to the very end. Photoshop can make its best guesses for downsampling from a wide range of colors, allowing for a smooth downsampling.

However, if you work the file in 8-bits the whole time, Photoshop has to make its color guesses on every pass, leading to more color errors and artifacts.

So far we have only really considered working in 8 or 16-bits in Photoshop, but when working in Lightroom it is even more important. First, Lightroom is developed to manipulate RAW data, so it can do wonderful things with a 12-bit RAW file that you cannot do to a 16-bit file in Photoshop. But even when editing a 16-bit TIFF in Lightroom, such as a film scan, a 16-bit file allows Lightroom to operate on the image much more smoothly than on an 8-bit file.

Have you ever tried to edit a JPEG in Lightroom? It is not a fun endeavor, as you will quickly discover the sliders are not as responsive as they are on a RAW file, or even as responsive as working on a 16-bit TIFF. This is due to the limited color range of the 8-bit image. Anything more than a few quick fixes to a JPEG in Lightroom results in a mangled image.

To put it in the simplest terms imaginable, Lightroom is designed to be used with RAW files, so if you use Lightroom shoot RAW. You will get so much more out of the software. Even if you are working with raster images, such as scans, give Lightroom the most data possible to further manipulate your image, give it 16-bit files.

A 16-bit file will contain all the color information most any scanner on the market can produce, and if you have to convert a RAW file to a raster image for editing for some reason, a 16-bit TIFF will retain all the color data possible from a 12 or 14-bit RAW file as can be managed.

Another point to consider, outside of bit-depth but still pertaining to it, is in-camera processing. When you shoot JPEG, you are entrusting your camera to make the best decisions as to the color and tone of your images. Usually it does a pretty decent job, and many people compare the JPEG experience to shooting Slide Film.

The problem is, the camera is throwing away massive amounts of image information while processing the JPEG. As we discussed there is a big difference in the data carried in a 12-bit image and an 8-bit image. That data cannot be recovered, but it is data Lightroom and Photoshop can use to help you create the image you desire.

In the simplest terms imaginable, Lightroom is designed to be used with RAW files, so if you use Lightroom shoot RAW.

JPEG is not like shooting film at all. In the film world you can make prints or scan the film to get what you need from it. There is a lot more color data in that negative or slide than there can be rendered by a scanner or even a DSLR sensor. Simply put, you can manipulate a negative or slide more before final output than you can a JPEG. A JPEG is really much more like a Polaroid. You can do a bit to it, but not much before quality starts to suffer.

Hopefully, this lays out another convincing argument for shooting RAW as opposed to JPEG. Sure, JPEG is quicker and saves space, and you may feel that your skills can get the most out of JPEG and you don’t need RAW. But simple math doesn’t lie. 68 billion colors is more than 16 million.

When you consider that a camera sensor or a scanner sensor is simply measuring levels of luminance of Red, Green and Blue in an image and uses that data to recreate a full color image, color bit-depth has a massive impact on your images, from color to clarity, sharpness to contrast. Color data is all that is recorded since a camera captures light.

When you really think about how a camera works, be it digital or film, you can see more color data is important to image quality all around.

In the end we are all here to make the best images we can that fulfill our personal vision. Don’t try to save a few megabytes and a few minutes by shooting JPEG. You may find that the JPEG you shot needs further editing, and if you shot it in RAW you would have a much easier time of persuading the image to your will.

Don’t be lazy; take control of your images.

If it was the old days once again, would Polaroids be enough to satisfy your clients? JPEG is the digital equivalent of a Polaroid, not slide film; what you shoot is what you get. The real money back in the day was shooting slide and negative film, something that you could work with in the darkroom. RAW is the same thing, just for the Lightroom.

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

Adobe DNG – the future is NOW

mgray — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:01:31 +0000

To the modern digital photographer, the Raw data from the camera is the modern day equivalent of the traditional photographer’s negatives or slides. Everything we need to create stunning final images is provided by the single simple file, regardless of its format – be it .NEF, .CRW, .CR2, .PEF; the list goes on and on. All major DSLR’s can export your images as Raw sensor data, otherwise known as a Raw file.

Shooting Raw benefits both the photographer and the final image, as all recorded information at the time of the shutter release is held as is, with minimal processing. However, the success of the Raw format has engendered a few problems, primarily being that every camera manufacturer has its own propriety format incompatible with other cameras, not to mention their other models.

Luckily, Adobe stays on top of new camera releases and enables Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw with the data needed to process each of these differing formats. However, if you own more than one camera, you will be inundated with differing Raw files that you have to wrangle into some form of organization. Thoughts also linger on what may happen to the propriety formats if something happens to the manufacturer or they simply cut support. Heck, I have files from an old Kodak DC25 point and shoot that can no longer be decoded easily as the Kodak provided software is no longer available, so I know that this situation can occur.

The good news is that Adobe has offered to the public a great solution that anyone can use; software developers, camera manufacturers and photographers. This solution is Adobe’s DNG format, also referred to as the Digital Negative format. DNG is a wrapper file that can contain either mosaic (Raw) or linear (Tiff or Jpeg), include extensive metadata, and function with Lightroom or ACR as a normal Raw file. Once a Raw file has been converted to DNG, any Adobe product that can render Raw files can handle it as well as many other products, including Apple’s Aperture.

Once you convert a file to DNG, you know that it will work well into the future, regardless of changes in the software and hardware landscapes. Adobe has opened the DNG specification to all other manufacturers and developers, so DNG is not a proprietary format, it is an open format. DNG is even included in the TIFF-EP ISO 12234-2 Standard, as DNG was originally based on and compatible with the TIFF-EP spec. DNG’s status as an open will ensure DNG’s use well into the future, hopefully even allowing the format to break the third wall and become natively available from Nikon and Canon (Pentax and others are already there).

But enough waxing poetic about DNG, you can clearly see I like it. Let’s really get into why you should be using DNG if you are not already and how you can include DNG in your image workflow.

DNG can help make the incompatible, compatible.

Previously I mentioned that a Raw file is analogous to a film negative. In many ways that is true, but the differing formats of Raw files precludes Raw data from truly being the digital equivalent of a film negative. Imagine if you had to treat a Kodak negative differently than a Fuji negative to get a print made, it is a ludicrous concept. Converting your images from differing camera bodies to DNG will standardize your Raw data. Once converted, you know that your images will open right in a litany of applications.

Another benefit of DNG, by using the DNG Converter as covered previously here, is that you can use the Raw data from the latest cameras before Lightroom or ACR are updated to include native conversions. Every hot, new camera has a time period between release and when Lightroom natively handles the Raw files, but almost always DNG converter can reprocess these incompatible Raw files into DNG’s that are readily usable in your current version of your software. DNG can help make the incompatible, compatible.

Since the DNG specification is openly available, support for this format is only going to grow. Sure the big names may hold out, but eventually as more software and cameras use DNG it will slowly become a standard. From my point of view, it is best to join the bandwagon now and convert my Raw files now, so I am ready for the future as DNG becomes more prevalent. As it is, DNG capable software is on every computing platform from Windows and Mac to Linux and BSD.

No matter which platform you use now, or may use in the future, you will be able to utilize your DNG files. With DNG’s open nature support is only going to increase. Anyone can get the DNG specification for free and use it as they deem worthy, want to see for yourself? Its right here for you. DNG is an open file format and mainstream use is only going to increase in the future.

DNG has support from 3^rd parties, both large and small.

Further considering DNG’s open nature, it is amazing the software that can now natively support DNG. Obviously Adobe supports DNG, but a growing list of 3^rd party manufacturers and applications have products that can use or create DNG files. Apple’s Aperture 2 and iPhoto both support DNG. Corel’s Paint Shop Pro can do DNG as well. The open source program dcraw supports DNG, bringing DNG capabilities to a vast array of applications that utilize dcraw as their rendering engine, including the illustrious GIMP. Lightroom competitors LightZone and Capture One support DNG natively. Even Picasa supports DNG.

Considering the vast array of 3^rd party support, you will always be able to use your DNG files, even if you were to suddenly wake up and say “I am never using an Adobe product again.” The list of software that currently manages DNG is huge, but if you are interested, Barry Pearson has compiled an exceptional listing of software and hardware that supports DNG. The bottom line here is simple. DNG has support from 3^rd parties, both large and small.

So far we have only looked at big picture reasons to use DNG. Maybe that is not enough to convince you to integrate this great tool into your workflow. So let’s look at some local reasons to use DNG. I will start with file size. Raw files have a way of just eating up your hard disk space. As megapixels grow, so does file size. DNG can help to tame the file bloat beast. Inside the DNG specification, and in turn DNG applications, lossless compression is introduced.

As it is, some camera manufacturers include lossless compression in their native format, but many do not. DNG conversion will normally shrink your Raw files a bit. On my Canon 400D’s 10 megapixel files, I usually get about 5-10% compression. That little bit adds up across many photo sessions. DNG will shrink your Raw files down, without compromising your data.

Speaking of disk clutter, when working with normal Raw files in Lightroom or ACR, you will discover that you quickly litter your disk with a multitude of annoying little .XMP files. Every image you edit, when metadata is written to disk, will have a corresponding .XMP sidecar file created to carry that image’s metadata and develop settings. Not a huge deal normally, but annoying. DNG eliminates the need for .XMP sidecars, as DNG is designed to contain all metadata directly within the file itself.

DNG eliminates the need for sidecars, and keeps your image and edits in one place.

This is great for backing up, as you don’t have to worry about all the .XMP files. It is also great when you have to shoot a raw file over to a client or employer. If you send a DNG, all your edits are built right into the file. If you send a regular Raw file with an .XMP, the recipient may not even copy over the .XMP, leading their view of your work to vary greatly from you own vision. DNG eliminates the need for sidecars, and keeps your image and edits in one place.

Of great importance to me, DNG also allows me to bring my film scans into a Raw workflow easily. If you ever read my blog LifeInDigitalFilm you know I am heavily into shooting film still. I do a lot of scanning, but my goal is to treat my scans much the same as I would a Raw file. I edit all my scans in Lightroom and ACR. Converting TIFF and JPEG files to DNG offers me three benefits.

First, my original scans that I convert to DNG will stand out from all other TIFF and JPEG files on my hard disk. Since my originals are converted to DNG, the difference is readily visible in the file manager and Photoshop will automatically fire up ACR when I am opening a scan DNG. Second, DNG protects my original scan data. I cannot accidentally overwrite a DNG like I can a normal TIFF. My original TIFF from the scan is safely embedded in the DNG file and treated much like Raw data from then on.

Finally, the compression present in DNG makes a huge difference in my scan size. Even compared to the standard TIFF compressions available, DNG squeezes my scans into a smaller footprint, while enabling all the metadata features inherent in DNG. DNG can protect your TIFF and JPEG files when editing in other applications, a layer of protection to prevent accidental file damage by treating regular images like Raw files.

Finally, one of the best features of utilizing DNG is seamless integration between Photoshop, Bridge and Lightroom. Regardless of if the DNG is made from Raw data or a TIFF, the file will move smoothly between these core Adobe applications and carry your develop settings and metadata between each application. DNG can help you stay organized and get the most out of your investment in Adobe software.

Hopefully, I have given you a few compelling reasons to make the switch from closed, propriety Raw files to the open and flexible DNG format. Now to actually carry out the process.

If you have a lot of Raw files about, and they are not in Lightroom already, you can choose to use the Adobe DNG Converter or convert on import into Lightroom. X-Equals already has you covered for those needs.

If you already have your propriety Raw files imported into Lightroom, you can convert them right from within Lightroom. Simply click on Library from the toolbar and select Convert Photos to DNG…

This will bring up the conversion dialog where you can choose your DNG settings.

If you want to trash your propriety Raw files upon conversion, you can check the box by Delete original after successful conversion. If you are panicky about getting rid of your original Raw files, you can choose to embed the original Raw file into the DNG as well by selecting Embed Original Raw File, although you will increase you file size drastically. Click OK and Lightroom goes to work.

You can also use this method to convert TIFF and JPEG files to DNG. Simply make sure Only convert Raw files is not checked. Lightroom will then wrap up all your linear raster images into the friendly confines of DNG.

You can also convert single files from their proprietary Raw format right from Adobe Camera Raw. Lightroom and DNG Converter work much better however, as they can do entire folders and libraries at once. ACR is a bit limiting as it can do one at a time.

Simply open you Raw file in ACR. Once it is open, select Save Image…

This opens the Save dialog from within ACR.

At the bottom of the dialog, simply change the Format to Digital Negative. This will change the window to show the DNG options.

Make your selections and click Save.

If ACR is configured to open TIFF or JPEG files, you can then save them to DNG from ACR.

There are other ways to convert to Raw files to DNG, but these are the basics. If you are interested in making DNG files directly from image scans from you scanner, definitely check out VueScan, as it is the only scanning software I have found that supports output to DNG.

Again, hopefully I have either opened your eyes to the benefits of DNG or have reinforced your decision to have done so already. If you have any questions or comments about DNG, the use of or conversion to, feel free to sound off in the comments.

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

Good to the last Drop – Photoshop Droplets

Brandon Oelling — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:02:08 +0000

I always loved Photoshop for its ability to create Actions, and in turn automate a LOT of my work by leveraging those actions to create Photoshop Droplets for batch processing.

And, the best part is I can access these Actions from directly within Lightroom.

By leveraging Droplets within your Lightroom workflow, you can take advantage of Photoshop’s powerful batch processing engine to do all sorts of things with your images beyond what is available in Lightroom, or to enhance work done in Lightroom to add some final touches.

I’ll be honest with you, this is not a new feature, but it’s one that I rarely see folks use. I think Adobe could have done a better job at the integration of Droplets into Lightroom, because it’s not as straightforward as one would expect – but that shouldn’t stop you from taking advantage of a super cool feature!

Get ready to rumble

In this example, we’re going to take a selection of images and fire off a droplet which we will access via the Export dialog.

But, before we start throwing Droplets around, let’s set the stage for preparing a Droplet in Photoshop for later use in Lightroom.

In this example, I’m going to use one of my favorite Photoshop Actions from Kevin Kubota’s Image Tools Collection called KPD Magic Sharp. I’m in no way on Kevin’s payroll or making affiliate commissions off his product(s) – I just LOVE the quality and flexibility of this action for export sharpening.

Yes, you can do some extensive sharpening in Lightroom, and we’ve written about that as well, but I prefer to use a fine tuned sharpening Action like KPD Magic Sharp on select projects like this one. Whatever Action you want to use, this workflow will be the same.

Next, let’s fire up Photoshop and prepare our Action for use as a Droplet in Lightroom. Here in Photoshop, you can see my particular KPD Magic Sharp Action I want to use in our example:

{note: If you want to avoid having to save each image one-by-one as they are batch processed in Photoshop, make sure your Action includes a Save command in it’s final step. Since this is not a tutorial on how to create Actions, if you have questions regarding this sound off in the comments below and we can assist you.}

Creating a Droplet from this Action begins by heading up to the menubar and selecting File >> Automate >> Create Droplet …

You will be presented with the Create Droplet dialog:

I generally concern myself with 3 items:

Save Droplet In: This is where many people get confused. Lightroom will look for the Droplet in a particular location, but we can concern ourselves with that later. For now, save this to the Desktop or a place where you can reach it easily.
Set: I have my Actions separated into sets. If you are using the standard Photoshop Actions you will select Default Actions.
Action: Just as it says, select your particular Action you want to fire off – in my case Sharpen KPD Magic Sharp.

Select OK

Here’s our Droplet on the Desktop:

Time to throw down

Now, let’s go back to our original selection in Lightroom and select from the menu bar File >> Export or shortcut key {mac} Command+ Shift + e {pc} Ctrl + Shift + e to bring up the Export dialog:

… and we’ll focus on the Post-Processing panel – specifically the After Export: drop-down:

Select the Go to Export Actions Folder Now option and you will be presented with the folder where Lightroom wants to look for any Droplets you may have created:

Simply go to your Desktop or wherever you previously saved your Droplet from Photoshop and just move it to this folder. If you’re just dying to know where this folder is located so that you save your Droplets directly to this location it’s in the Application directly for Lightroom (mac or pc).

And there we are:

Now when you go back to Lightroom, you should see that your Droplet has now magically appeared in the Post-Processing panel:

Select Export once these updates are complete and Lightroom will Export your images, and send them over to Photoshop for the final processing based on your Actions settings.

Yeah, I know I gave you this note twice, but it makes all the difference when processing multitudes of images – trust me!

I like to keep things simple, and this is as simple as it gets when it comes to using a Droplet in your workflow. Once you get the concept down, the possibilities are endless!

As always, questions, comments, and sharing are all welcome below!

|Brandon Oelling
x=photography+consulting – image+workflow+technology+business

Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 2 of 3

Brandon Oelling — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:50:38 +0000

Alright, so Part 1 of this series is fully digested, right? Well it is time to build on that procedure and really flex this workflows muscle. If you recall, I asked you to think about what presets you really like in Lightroom and to convert then to Adobe Camera Raw profiles using the past tutorial. Hopefully you did that, because we are going to use them.

If you haven’t gotten your presets ready, no worries. I have included at the end of this post a download containing all the LifeInDigitalFilm presets I utilize in making this tutorial. Obviously they are film emulation presets, but each one has a Lightroom and ACR preset ready to go. Figured it would help if you had the tools, you know.

The biggest and most interesting application of the Layered Smart Object workflow is the ability to composite from the same image with differing presets applied to each layer. I know this sounds strange, but when you play with the process, it will make sense and make a lot of corrections easier.

So first, let’s bring some pop to an image. We are going to take a single image and process it with three different presets for different parts of the image, enhancing its overall appearance. The idea here will be to have a heavily saturated background, mildly saturated foreground and a neutral, skin-tone friendly saturation on the subject.

So, starting in Lightroom, let us choose an image, create three virtual copies and apply presets to them. Here is my original, untouched Raw file.

I then applied my Fuji Velvia preset, for rich, saturated leaves.

Next came my Fuji Sensia 100 preset, to richen the vehicle and ground in the background.

Finally, I applied the neutral toned Fuji 160S preset to create even skin tones.

Applying these presets to each Virtual Copy creates 3 different interpretations of the same image. Now to leverage those 3 images to create 1 image that blends the desired qualities of each version.

So, using the techniques learned in part one, bring the Virtual Copies in Photoshop as Smart Objects and layer them up. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

So now you have your Smart Objects ready to go in Photoshop. I layered mine in order so that the Fuji 160S image with the subject is on top, The Fuji Sensia 100 image with the primary background behind it and the Fuji Velvia image with the tree line as the emphasis. I also included a flat black layer at the bottom to serve as a proofing tool while masking. It helps show where the layer mask is applied easily.

Now the masking begins. I am going to start by masking out just the subject on the first layer.

Then mask out the tree line from the second layer.

With those two masks complete, the three iterations are blended, combining the unique look each preset provides to specific parts of the image. Although when comparing the original layers to one another there shows to be a large difference between them in tone, combined it looks natural.

Now that I look at my sample image, I feel that the tree line is too bright. I need to darken it. However it is only the uppermost part of the tree line that offends my sensibilities, so I don’t want to jump over to ACR and drop the exposure of the Velvia layer. I need to use a Graduated Filter.

So I will double click on the Smart Object icon in the Layers pallet as we did in the last article. This launches us into Adobe Camera Raw.

Now in the ACR window, I will click on the Graduated Filter icon {G}.

Next, I apply the graduated filter across the top half of the image, then I drop the Exposure to -0.60 and bump the Saturation a touch more to bring some more pop to the leaves.

I am not concerned with applying the filter over the subject, as he is already masked out of this layer, replaced with the subject from the 160S subject layer.

In the same vein, I feel that the truck from the second, Sensia, layer is blown out a bit too much. Again, I don’t want to adjust the entire layer in ACR. This time I will use the Adjustment Brush to brush over the vehicle. Click on the Adjustment Brush icon {K}.

I will set the Exposure to -0.70 and proceed to paint over the truck, applying the adjustment.

This time, I am a little more cognizant of the area of the image affected, as I can darken the ground if not careful. With the Adjustment Brush however, this is not too difficult to avoid.

Now that the local adjustments are complete, the image feels complete.

Although the image seems good to me, let’s not call it quits yet. The skin tones look good on the subject, however I feel there could be a nicer skin tone applied. Adjusting only skin tone can be a hassle in Photoshop, but utilizing Smart Objects, Layer Masking and Presets; we can change it in a few clicks.

So I will now double click on the Smart Object icon again, this time on the subject layer. As said, the Fuji 160S look was nice, but I would like to warm the skin tone. So once ACR opens, I proceed to click on the Presets button.

From this menu I will select my Fuji Velvia 100 @ 80 preset. This will darken the skin tones a touch and bring some more saturation into the skin, but not much. I went ahead and tweaked the Exposure a touch and strengthened the Tone Curve, just to bring about some more pop.

Once back into the main image, it is nice to see how much progress was made so quickly. Now to take it to another level. Utilizing the same preset methodology, we can easily take this blended image from a saturated, full color image, easily to a selective color composition.

For this, I am going to select the far background, Velvia, layer. Then I will open it up into ACR. From here I select the Presets button again and I am going to select the Kodak Tri-X preset.

This applies a nice monochrome conversion to the image. When applied, this will only affect the tree line in the background.

Next, I need to take care of the background, Sensia, layer. Again, I hop over to ACR, select the Presets button and this time I apply the Kodak T-Max preset.

This presents a different monochrome conversion, but blends nicely with the Tri-X layer.

There, in about one minute I converted a full color image to a selective color piece.

That’s all for today folks, easy enough lesson to apply. As mentioned earlier, I have included a download featuring the presets you have seen used here today. All the presets in the download are courtesy of LifeInDigitalFilm (in other words, me).

Have fun with all the masking and image tweaking now made available to you. Make quick and easy image alterations with presets and local adjustments in ACR. There is nothing like having a little piece of Lightroom right in Photoshop.

In the series finale, we will expose some more advance techniques made available to you in Photoshop when using a Smart Object, Layered workflow. We’ll look at Smart Filters and some other crazy trickery that is commonplace for Photoshop, but made amazing with Smart Objects.

Next, let’s move on to Part 3.

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 1 of 3

Brandon Oelling — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:19:07 +0000

Previously I introduced X-Equals readers to Smart Objects in Photoshop as a method by which you can maintain the capabilities and quality of RAW, but still utilize many of the stellar features of Photoshop. In this series I am going to outline my RAW workflow within Photoshop, leveraging Smart Objects and Adobe Camera Raw to maintain RAW images while performing tasks upon the images that cannot be done in Lightroom or ACR.

Here in Part 1, I am going to cover blending multiple renditions of an image, of varying exposures created in Lightroom, into one image with excellent range. Since this exercise is primarily focusing on exposure, I will be working with monochrome images. In part two and three of this series we will work with color images, but monochrome makes it easier to focus on the basics.

This exercise will effectively simulate dodging and burning the image in Photoshop without using any of the traditional techniques provided. The goal is to maintain a RAW workflow as far into the image processing as possible, allowing you to make subtle exposure changes on the fly in ACR to individual Smart Objects. We will be operating on an array of smart objects derived from the same raw file. I know the same general effect can be created in Photoshop without utilizing Smart Objects and their inherent system overhead.

This workflow is designed to keep you image as close to the original RAW file as possible for as long as possible, keeping all the tools you utilize in Lightroom at your disposal.

This is by no means the quickest method to utilize, but this workflow combines raw abilities and image quality with Photoshop’s image mastering prowess. You do no damage to your pixels in this workflow, whereas Photoshop usually take quite a few liberties with your image. This workflow just gives you more control.

So, starting in Lightroom, go ahead and select an image that you are going to give the Photoshop Raw treatment.

The first step is to take the image monochrome, to do this I am using one of my LifeInDigitalFilm presets, but you can convert however. Next, you are going to correct the image for a proper exposure on the subject and do my basic image sharpening and tweaking. At this we are going to create two virtual copies {Ctrl/Cmd + ‘}.

With the first one we are going to focus on bringing out shadow detail, the other focus on highlight detail.

You can make as many Virtual Copies as you need to properly expose all parts of your image, I am sticking with three for article length considerations, by more virtual exposures will allow you even more depth, but will take considerably more time to do.

Also, do not get too hung up on making “perfect” exposures, the strength of this workflow is being able to utilize ACR at any time to redo your RAW processing. Once your set of exposures is complete you are ready to bring them into Photoshop as Smart Objects.

Now I will select all three of my processed iterations of my image in the filmstrip together. Right-click {cmd+click} the selected photos to bring up the contextual menu, and select Edit In and then proceed to click on the Open as Smart Object in Photoshop…

Now Lightroom hands off the images to Photoshop, which opens each Smart Object in their own image.

This next part is a pain; you have to pull all the smart objects into one image inside Photoshop. There is surely an automated method by which to do this, but I have not uncovered it of yet.

First you tear down one of the images from Photoshop’s tab bar,

by clicking and holding on the images tab and pulling it off the tab.

This places that single image inside its own child window.

Now, with that image on top of the other two, click and hold the Smart Object shown in the Layers palette.

Now simply drag that Smart Object to the image that is present behind the current child window. Close the child window to get it out of your way.

Now you have to line up the Smart Object you just dropped into the other image. When you transfer it, it kind of drops where it may, you need it perfectly aligned. You need to enable Snap from the View menu {or use Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + ;}, then select the Move tool {V} from the toolbox.

Click on the Smart object you just dropped in and move it until it snaps into the image canvas.

Repeat this process for the other Smart Object in the remaining image. Just do not close that last child window; we may need to add another Smart Object layer later so it is handy to keep one around just in case.

Once all three Smart objects are layered together, arrange the layers in the Layers palette as you see fit. I generally prefer to order my layers from the Lightest on the top, to the darkest on the bottom, with my subject layer in the middle. Do what works best for you; it may take some experimenting to get it down to what best suits your taste. You may also want to take the time to rename the layers if you like to be organized.

Now that everything is lined up, we need to add in layer masks. Select the top layer in the Layer palette, and then select the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layer palette.

This creates a layer mask on the top layer. Repeat this for the second layer and any other layers you may have, except for the bottom layer.

Now, with all the Smart Objects and layer masks in place, the Photoshop image is ready to be further edited upon. At this stage, you may want to save the file. I recommend you to select Save As…{Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + S}. When saving, make sure to save as a Photoshop PSD file.

Make sure you check off the Layers option in the save dialog, to keep everything nicely saved together. The save takes a while and eats up a lot of disk space, but it keeps your layers safe and links to the images RAW data intact. If you are working on a large, complicated file, you will want to save.

Now that all the preliminary setup is complete, let us start digging into the real editing of the image.

Since I layered my Smart Objects from lightest to darkest, we are going to start our masking out on the light layer.

In the Layers palette, click on the mask next to the top layer and then select your Brush tool {B} from the toolbox.

You can use whatever masking selector you want, but I have a preference for a brush since it feathers out a bit. Make sure your active color in the color palette is black which punches through the current layer, exposing the layer beneath. If you need to undo a masking selection, just switch the color to white and paint over your erroneous selection.

In my image, the toy my son is climbing on is the part of the image I want the lightest exposure on. So I am going to mask off the rest of the image, both my son and the background. All that should be left showing of the top layer is what you want to be very light, which is the toy in my image, to keep it from being virtually black and to bring out the texture of the peeling paint.

Remember to zoom in to do fine detail work, otherwise you could end up creating a halo effect on lines of high contrast.

After you have masked out the first layer, simply click on the mask on the second layer to start bringing out the darker layer. Remember here that you will only see the back layer in the final image where both prior layers are masked out. In my example, I am going to mask out the rest of the background, bringing a darker exposure to the back ground.

Again, pay attention to fine edges, undo mistakes with a white brush and feel free to jump back to the other mask if you see you missed an area.

If you can’t tell, I am really skimming over layer masks here as it is pretty basic Photoshop. If you have not dealt with layer masks before, just follow what I have done and you will figure it out with ease. Masks are not a hard tool to use, in fact they are insanely easy, but you will spend years mastering their use, I’m still trying to.

Now that all the layer masking is complete, the image is done. Sort of. I am really not happy with how dark the background is. If this was a normal Photoshop file, I would be utilizing a multitude of tools to brighten that portion of the image, consuming much time. However, since we are using Smart Objects and layer masks delineate what is visible there is a better option for such a simple adjustment. Adobe Camera Raw.

So to fix the bottom layer in ACR, all we must do is double click on the Smart Object icon showing in the Layer palette.

ACR is automatically launched, and the controls are oh so familiar to a Lightroom user.

To make my fixes, I am going to bump up the Exposure a shade and kick the white balance Temperature up a bit towards the yellow zone. Notice that the image you view in ACR is not of your layered masked image, but of the original RAW file.

Once you click OK the RAW file is interpreted and the image in Photoshop is updated. And only the parts of the layer that have been masked to be visible will show the alteration.

Now, I am not happy with the skin tone. So again I double click, but this time on the icon for the middle layer, which controls the appearance of the skin in the image. I click over to theHSL/Grayscale tab in ACR and I’m going to drop the Orange saturation down until the brightness of the skin fades a bit and starts showing a little texture.

I click OK and it is applied.

And that is what all the work setting up in the image is for. We want quick easy fixes in ACR that would otherwise require selection and adjustments that smear and distort pixels when utilizing Photoshop’s normal pixel editing tools. Smart Objects and layers used together give use those quick, on the fly adjustments. All the effort is place at the front end of this workflow, after the masking is complete a world of opportunities open up before you.

As I said earlier, today was about basic layers and masking to blend multiple renditions of a file together. It is fairly simple and straight forward and it can be argued that this can be done more easily without the added complication of Smart Objects. However, this is just the introductory piece of this series. The next time we discuss this particular workflow, we will be dealing with color, presets and local adjustments in ACR. This brings a slew of new options to the table, and it cannot be done as easily otherwise.

So in preparation for the next article in this series, think about preset you utilize in Lightroom. You will need them for the next session, but you will need to convert your Lightroom Presets to Adobe Camera Raw presets. To do so, please refer to Presets and Adobe Camera Raw – A Match Made in Heaven, where we cover the process of migrating Lightroom presets to ACR.

Next, let’s move on to Part 2.

Michael W. Gray – LifeInDigitalFilm

X-Equals - Click. Download. Smile. » Photoshop

$24.99 – XeL 2.0 – Black and White Toolkit

“We noticed a overwhelming interest in black and white processing from the photographic community, and considering the popularity of some Photoshop plug-ins that created black and white images and emulated black and white film, we felt that there should be another option.”

“XeL was envisioned to shift the preset paradigm from disparate one click effects, to a set of well defined – targeted presets that can be combined strategically to make specific adjustments.”

Lightroom’s Ultimate Plug-in – Photoshop

Photoshop is quite simply Lightroom’s greatest plug-in.

Join Us – Show us what you got …

Link Party – Grab a drink and dig in …

High Pass Sharpening in Photoshop

Taking a byte out of bit depth – Jpeg vs. RAW

In the simplest terms imaginable, Lightroom is designed to be used with RAW files, so if you use Lightroom shoot RAW.

Adobe DNG – the future is NOW

DNG can help make the incompatible, compatible.

DNG has support from 3rd parties, both large and small.

DNG eliminates the need for sidecars, and keeps your image and edits in one place.

Good to the last Drop – Photoshop Droplets

Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 2 of 3

Keeping it Raw in Photoshop – Part 1 of 3

DNG has support from 3^rd parties, both large and small.