Topic: Image Quality (Read 4489 times)

bwalker · « **on:** September 25, 2007, 10:09:43 am »

I am new to digital processing and now own LR v 1.2. I am shooting raw and I'm struggling to get what I call great looking images. The colors never seem to be of the quality that I can produce with film. I guess I'm going thru a learning curve here as some of my latest images seem to be better but still nothing to write home about.

I scanned some negatives recently and was shocked to see the difference in how the film scans compare to my DNG's. The film scan color was far brighter and the image looked fantastic in LR. I imported them into LR last night and now I have a ready comparison (I guess) of how the DNG's should look when I think I'm done with editing.

What are other's experiencing with the learning curve here?

Billy Walker

psp · « **Reply #1 on:** September 25, 2007, 10:33:55 am »

You don't say what you're shooting with....

tomrock · « **Reply #2 on:** September 25, 2007, 11:57:02 am »

Nor do you say what you're shooting -- studio lights, landscapes, etc.

I've done digital for a while but I remember how confusing everything was when I started. It will take a while.

Look around -- you'll see excellent quality from digital. Find something you like and emulate it. Ask specific questions and you'll get better answers.

bwalker · « **Reply #3 on:** September 25, 2007, 01:52:30 pm »

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You don't say what you're shooting with....
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D-200

bwalker · « **Reply #4 on:** September 25, 2007, 01:55:20 pm »

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Nor do you say what you're shooting -- studio lights, landscapes, etc.

It doesn't matter if it has been studio or available light outside. Shade or no shade. I'm just not happy yet with my end result's so far. I know it's me creating the problem so I guess I need to have more patience.

Billy Walker

seamus finn · « **Reply #5 on:** September 25, 2007, 04:20:06 pm »

Read, read, read - everything. And then read again!

sniper · « **Reply #6 on:** September 26, 2007, 03:19:40 am »

What colour space are you selecting?. Wayne

madmanchan · « **Reply #7 on:** September 26, 2007, 08:55:13 am »

There are some good references out there ...

From this site, try the "From Camera To Print" video tutorial.

There's also "Real World Camera Raw" ... although you're using LR, the basic concepts are the same. I believe there'll be a new version before long (written by Jeff Schewe) that covers ACR version 4.

In terms of trying to mimic the look and feel of your existing film scans, a good start would be tweaking the tone curve (e.g., to get higher contrast), boosting the vibrance slider, and also adjusting the individual color sliders in the HSL section (hue, saturation, luminance).

mjmccormick · « **Reply #8 on:** September 28, 2007, 01:16:16 am »

Quote

There are some good references out there ...

From this site, try the "From Camera To Print" video tutorial.

There's also "Real World Camera Raw" ... although you're using LR, the basic concepts are the same. I believe there'll be a new version before long (written by Jeff Schewe) that covers ACR version 4.

In terms of trying to mimic the look and feel of your existing film scans, a good start would be tweaking the tone curve (e.g., to get higher contrast), boosting the vibrance slider, and also adjusting the individual color sliders in the HSL section (hue, saturation, luminance).
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There is an excellent video available on LR from Luminous Landscape that is relatively inexpensive. I have it and it is excellent. Highly recommended.

Mike McCormick

bwalker · « **Reply #9 on:** September 28, 2007, 04:59:22 am »

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There is an excellent video available on LR from Luminous Landscape that is relatively inexpensive. I have it and it is excellent. Highly recommended.

Mike McCormick
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=142360\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks to one and all for your responses. I have downloaded both the LR video and Digital to Print. I expect they will become part of my education.

Billy Walker

seamus finn · « **Reply #10 on:** September 28, 2007, 05:15:13 am »

Google LIGHTROOM KILLER TIPS forms some good stuff.

DaHen · « **Reply #11 on:** September 28, 2007, 07:31:50 am »

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Thanks to one and all for your responses. I have downloaded both the LR video and Digital to Print. I expect they will become part of my education.

Billy Walker
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=142383\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

And experiment with the sliders when viewing your photos and try different settings on the print dialog boxes to see how the photos are printed.

Good luck.

Author Topic: Image Quality (Read 4489 times)

psp