It’s easily done. You view a RAW image in Lightroom, it applies the default Adobe Color profile and you don’t even bother to question it. You can see what you don’t like, you do some editing – sometimes it takes a while – and you fix it. But often you’re fixing an issue introduced by the default Lightroom profile, and not something that actually needs fixing!
Tutorials
Can you create digital bokeh, and is it as good as the real thing?
If you want the short answer, it’s yes and no. Yes, you can create digital bokeh, and no, it’s not as good as the real thing. You can, however, create a reasonably convincing bokeh ‘look’.
How to use DxO PureRAW in Lightroom Classic
DxO PureRAW 2’s processing is better than Lightroom’s, but it can also be used from WITHIN Lightroom. So how does that work, and are the results (a) really worth the effort and (b) as good as regular RAW files to edit?
How I use merged HDR stacks as ’super-negatives’
Lightroom and Capture One offer HDR tools with a difference. They don’t create wild and exaggerated HDR effects. Instead, they create what I would call DNG ‘super-negatives’ with extended dynamic range that you can then exploit however you like.
Is luminance masking all it’s cracked up to be? I’m not convinced
Luminance masks sound like the perfect solution to a perennial problem – restricting masks to specific brightness ranges. But how useful are they really?
Preset picks: Analog Efex Pro Double Exposures
Analog Efex Pro’s double exposure tool is one of the features that makes this program unique. Here’s a breakdown of how its Double Exposure presets work and how they combine double exposures with other effects.
Recreating Kodak HIE black and white infra-red film digitally
Kodak HIE infra-red film was one of my favorite films, delivering dense black skies, dreamy soft highlights and heavy grain. Can I get the same effect digitally?
Lightroom Color Grading tool: how does it work and is it useful?
I have to admit I wasn’t massively impressed by the Color Grading panel when it was added to Lightroom. It looked like it was replacing the Split Toning panel with something less focused and more complicated. I was wrong!
Dramatic skies and silhouettes with Silver Efex Pro
I love Silver Efex Pro. It’s a black and white photography plug-in developed by Nik Software and now part of the DxO Nik Collection. What makes it great is that it recaptures the look and feel of traditional darkroom black and white in a way that other plug-ins don’t. The preset effects down the left […]
Color Efex Pro’s B/W Conversion filter is surprisingly good
Color Efex Pro might not be your first choice for black and white conversions when the Nik Collection also has Silver Efex Pro and Analog Efex Pro, but if you want strong results fast, it might be just what you need.