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Jim Fenton
07-18-2008, 12:56 PM
Artie...

I can't find it at the moment, but you've noted on several posts that you "mulitply" various areas, especially highlights, to help bring out the detail of those areas.

I've searched in Roberts PS tutorials which I purchased and some also in something I had purchased form you at one point and I'm unable to locate a tutorial which explains how to go about this.

It could also be that I'm simply brain cramping :)

Could you offer some advice?

Thanks,

Robert O'Toole
07-18-2008, 01:10 PM
Hi Jim,

If you have my APTATS CD it is the first tutorial, Restoring Highlight Detail, and I use a Pelican portrait for illustration of the technique.

Let me know if you cannot locate it.

Robert

Arthur Morris
07-18-2008, 02:27 PM
Yes, using a QM to create a layer mask to be mulitiplied is indeed covered in APTATS.

There are several other ways to make a selection, and in some cases, multiplying the whole image can work wonders as well. I sometimes speck of increasing the density of an image or a selected area (usually the highlights). I am not sure if that is the technically correct term but to me it means pretty much the same as restoring detail while at the same time it can also be used to produce richer colors on images that are overall too light.

Let's look at the case first. (I used this technique on one of Doug's Barn Swallow images (that was a 50% crop and thus lacking pixel density--my word again...) and on another image. First, hit Control A, select all. Then put the selection on it's own layer, Control J. Now go to blending mode--normal is the default--and select Multiply. The image will get very dark, almost always way too dark. Now go to the opacity slider and play around with it. Values from 5-40% will usually be your choice. If any area looks too dark, hit E for the eraser tool, make sure that the brush hardness is 0, and erase away the too-dark area.

When I want to restore detail to an area of whites or highlights that is technically not over-exposed, I often use a Quick Mask as the blending that results from this method is so, so smooth. If the area is not easily painted, you can use Select/Color range and use either Sampled Colors or Highlights from the dropdown menu. Detailed instructions on using Sampled Colors are in our Digital Basics PDF. Once the selection is made, I used to feather it and place it on its own layer, but I have begun using Select/Refine Edge (at the default values) and nine out of ten times the results are spectacular; the edges look exactly the same before and after whatever you have done to the selection. If somebody understands all of the different settings in Refine Edge I would love to learn more about them...

In any case, once you have the selection on its own layer (as described above), mutliply the layer, and reduce the opacity to taste. Those who do not have either or both Robert's amazing APTATS PDF on CD or Digital Basics can order or find additional info by clicking on the appropriate links on the BAA home page.

Jim Fenton
07-18-2008, 04:52 PM
Thanks...my head has been a bit boged with other things lately but I do have Roberts APTATS and I even know where the printed version is as well :)

I'll sit down with a drink this evening and do some studying.

Charles Glatzer
07-19-2008, 12:50 AM
Jim,


I think this may be what you are asking for/about?

Duplicate the bkgd layer, select the highlights (however you want to do this), click on add a layer mask, change the layer blend mode to multiply, and vary the layer opacity to taste.

There a bunch of other ways to accomplish this, above is simply a quick down and dirty method.

Note- this will not add detail if the highlights are blown completely

Best,

Chas

Doug Brown
07-31-2008, 11:15 AM
On a separate but related note, the new version of Lightroom lets you make targeted exposure adjustments to the RAW file, and in my brief time using Lightroom 2, I'm very impressed the way you can literally paint exposure adjustments onto the image. You can also paint brightness, contrast, saturation, clarity, and sharpness onto the image. There are size, feather, and flow controls for the brush. There is also an auto masking feature that I haven't had time to use yet.