Thanks for all of the advice. Tim I enjoyed your thread and if I had found it I would not have started this one. At the moment I have recalibrated my monitor to 90cd m-2 and changed the background colour to white rather than dark grey. Images that I had previously processed now look a little too dark so I have lifted them with a curve. I have also added just a touch of saturation. I am presently experimenting with applying some shadow contrast (Nik Color Efex/ Tonal Contrast) using blending options to limit it to the deep shadows only. This seems to give shadow areas more definition.
Ken
I've been trying to figure out a way to change the background color in ACR/LR to a lighter tone which is why I always check finished Raws/jpegs in Photoshop, drag the lower right bounding frame and compare to the white canvas surround. Just wish there was a flip switch to do this in ACR/LR.
With regard to shadow definition it's often hard for me to remember the overall darkness of the original scene and whether I should make a dim and dark looking scene much lighter without destroying nuance and ambiance where it ends up boiling down to establishing contrast ratio of individual elements which affects overall definition combined with the flattening effect from brightening. Gauging contrast is even harder to recall from the original scene.
For instance below is an example of my struggle remembering original overall brightness of the scene shown on the left in that I recall a sunbeam cutting through the hill top trees fluorescing the gas station signage and construction barriers and walls while brightening the half of the cloud but I wasn't getting it. Also the WB was off due to the tree's filter effect adding greenish yellow to the clouds. I had to resort to increasing Red, Orange and Yellow Luminance in ACR's HSL panel and adjust Yellow Hue to remove the green on the finished version on the right. If I'ld just moved the Contrast slider it would've plugged up the dark background trees. The print is still going to look somewhat dark though but that's the way the scene looked because the sun is so low and partially blocked.
Another example brightness/contrast perception issues is Sony 4K projected digital movies at my local theater are somehow able to provide just enough shadow definition with smooth graduation out of rather weak and milky looking black points. I have to compare the movie's online trailer on my calibrated display to notice a much denser black point with much less shadow definition but more dramatic & dynamic contrast.
