mmh...I think Matt admits and shows us in that video but doesn't seem to admit it as the reason which is he views and edits his images on a bright display with a dark surround in LR.
I just move the print closer to the light.
I think you hit the nail on the hammer <g>. Sarcasm filter on:
Matt and his buddies have illustrated an issue that apparently those who have no actual training in photography (understanding of light, exposure, making and actually viewing a print) have discovered:
IF you view a print (analog or digital), or for that matter a book, painting, or similar non emissive object in a dimly lighted environment, those items appear too dark! Amazing discovery.
Turn sarcasm filter off, back to the real world.
Do we all agree a print can be too dark if viewed properly? Of course. I asked why this might occur.
At this point, the display has
nothing to do with the question. The print is either too dark or it isn't. Over the last few years of people reporting that their prints are too dark, I've asked many to move the print to another area of different (hopefully brighter illuminant) then I asked if the print still is too dark. 9 times out of ten they tell me that the print
isn't too dark. So at this point, the print is NOT too dark.
Does the slider Matt seems to feel needs more attention than soft proofing or proper display calibration make the print lighter (or darker)? Sure does. Those Adobe engineers generally do these things correctly. And for the uneducated mass of people who don't understand the relationship between a print and whatever makes it look too dark will find the slider does indeed alter the density of the print.
So what are the possibilities and the possible fixes?
1. Print IS too dark. Why? LR Print module slider will make it lighter but one has to suspect that the data is such that it produces a dark print. We've been able to fix this since Photoshop 1.0 and those who worked in a analog darkroom understand what that funny ring around the lens did when you altered it (or that funny stopwatch thing that controlled how long light struck the paper). Creating prints that are too dark, too light or just right isn't anything new in terms of photography 101 (I'm preaching to the choir here at LuLa, hopefully newbies or Matt will actually read this and think about these points).
2. IF the print is too dark and we use the LR Print Module slider, then we fixed the problem but presented potentially a few more issues. Now if one prints that file anywhere but LR, it is too dark. Why not just fix the document in the first place in say Develop? The display *might* be the cause for a document that is too dark and needs editing but the user doesn't know that (hello histogram, number feedback and colorimeter set properly).
3. The print looks darker than the display, people who don't understand how to communicate the issue or again, don't understand photography 101 and try to lighten a print that isn't too dark to match the object that needs alteration: The display. Notice how Matt hasn't indicated the importance of setting the software for calibration correctly? The crux of THIS series of posts!
3A. Same as above but the display isn't the issue, the print isn't too dark, the display isn't too light, the person viewing the print is doing so with a horribly non sensible viewing condition (the 6 watt night light example in my article. I guess for non LuLa audiences, I should have make that analogy bold, underlined and in red <g>). But Tim, you have the correct fix for this: Move the light closer, or turn up the dimmer, or put a higher watt bulb in etc.
OK gang, explain to me why, for thousands of years, artists have created all nature of reflective artwork and didn't seem to have an issue making their expressions too dark. I mean, Solux bulbs, the stinking electric light bulb hasn't been around that long.
Why is it that in the last few years, people have complained their prints are too dark when most of the time, when asked, they tell you the print isn't too dark. It is darker than the display. We have people like Matt totally confusing the issue and worse, dismissing the process that makes this all go away: Color Management. Color management is a lot younger than the light bulb right? And most would admit it isn't as easy or intuitive as it could be. I wonder why, looking at the history of inexpensive devices to calibrate a display, that time span and the time span of dark prints seem historically to sync up pretty well. And historically we have people like Matt and prior, David Brooks, writing to their audience a lot of nonsensical web posts about prints being too dark and getting the cause and solution totally wrong.
Someone call up the Louvre and tell them that at night, when the place is closed and the lights are dim, one of guards there (trained as a salesman but working part time as a guard and photographer)
thinks all the art work is way too dark.