Lightroom local adjustment with brush

[mtakeda]

I saw the instruction video on the subject by Adobe site. The video showed to adjust the exposure localy by pulling the exposure slider to the extreme right(max position) then set the flow closer to the left. The instructor said by repeating brush stroke the image area intended gets lighter and lighter. He said this method is better than adjusting the exposure slider. I tried but the image brightness does not change by multiple brushing strokes.
Can you tell me where I am failing.

[fdisilvestro]

Maybe you went too far left with the flow slider. Try a higher value

[john beardsworth]

What version of Lightroom? Operating system? What input device - mouse, tablet?

Until Lightroom 6.7 a series of Wacom driver bugs affected brush performance on Windows, but in any case there might be a mismatch between pressure sensitivity and the flow slider.

[mtakeda]

Thank you gentlemen. It is LR6( I do not remember the version, it is the latest) and Windows7 and I use mouse.

[john beardsworth]

Using the mouse would rule out the pressure sensitivity issue, so look at the Flow. With Exposure dragged to the far right, as you say, you should see an effect even with Flow quite low. Brush size big enough?

[mtakeda]

The video, I thought, told me that I can set the exposure slider at far right then I can adjust the brightness by moving the flow slider but I found moving the flow does not change the brightness. I may misunderstand the instructor. Then my next thought is why the method is better than just to move the exposure slider with 100% flow?

[fdisilvestro]

You need to adjust the flow before applying the brush. Adjusting the flow after the brush stroke does not have any effect.

Try this:
1- Select the brush tool
2- Adjust the exposure to maximu
3- Adjust flow to 8
4- Apply the brush several times. You will see the brushed area getting lighter every time you paint with the brush

[mtakeda]

Thank you and I will follow your steps and report.

[mtakeda]

Thank you. It worked but it takes quite a round of stroking brush to get meaningful effect. I just wonder if I should try the flow level at higher than 8 ( I suppose 8 out of 100)

[fdisilvestro]

Yes, of course, try different values and select what suit you best. 8 was just a starting poing. The higher the value the stronger the effect.

[donbga]

FWIW, IME I've found that extreme settings of the brush result in weird unwanted artifacts, so much so I quit using the adjustment brush for heavy dodging and burning. Perhaps my technique is flawed.
 

[john beardsworth]

Like any adjustment, extreme settings can produce bad results. There's nothing specific to the adjustment brush, though mistakenly using automask can puzzle people.

John

[fdisilvestro]

Check the area affected with the brush by turning on the overlay ("O" or Tools-> Adjustment Mask Overlay -> Show/Hide Overlay). Also, as John mentioned, be careful if using Automask, as it can lead to non-uniform masks.
Depending on your edit, you may need to adjust the feather value too. A final advice, Edit at 100%

[mtakeda]

Thanks so much for your advice.

[Wayne Fox]

Sounds like the density slider is also all the way to the left as well which sets the maximum density you can paint an adjustment. The density and flow interact together quite a bit.  If the density is at 0, you can't paint any adjustment at all. 

Sounds like what they are recommending is setting the exposure all the way to the left, the density high, and then a very low flow, which would basically allow you to gradually build a dodge.

I think most don't go to that extreme, the results might be better if you only dial in about whatever lightness you think you need to reach (1 stop maybe), density high, flow low and gradually paint in your adjustment.

I frequently use the opposite strategy, 100% flow and density, then use the slider to make the adjustment.

[mtakeda]

Mr. Fox

Thank you. I watched the video which is very helpful.

[Arlen]

I frequently use the opposite strategy, 100% flow and density, then use the slider to make the adjustment.

Me too. The only reason I can see to use the the low flow method is if the amount of required exposure compensation varies gradually across the brushed area.

[Eric Brody]

In Photoshop, I was taught to start with the brush opacity set to 20%. Quite often when painting on a mask, different areas need subtly different amounts of density. This, when used with a Wacom, allows impressive control of the density, from just a little to quite a bit on the same mask. It's uncommon for me to need to change that opacity. I'm patient with the brush and if it takes me a bit of time to get to the density I want it's worth it. Should I go a bit far, one can always decrease the opacity of the layer itself. It's quite a bit more complex in Lightroom, with the advantage of all the other adjustments that can be made in Lightroom. I've waffled about quite a bit about how to use the brush in Lightroom, I've tried both ends of the suggestions in this thread and currently use low flow and high density for the same kind of control I have in Photoshop.