So far this book has explored exposure techniques and their artistic possibilities. These are essential in the making of a great photographer. However, photography has two wings: capture and postproduction. With just one wing, no matter how strong is it, we can’t soar the wonderful photographic sky. Today, when postproduction is mentioned, most people immediately think of computer software. We should not forget, though, that photographers throughout history have relied on postproduction processes in the creation of their final images—they just did it with darkrooms, chemicals, and thermometers. Today, postproduction is no longer the hardcore pursuit of professionals alone. Anyone can do it—as long as they are willing to learn.
Camera Raw processing is the immediate next step I take after capture. It is also among the easiest parts of the postproduction process. The software offers a robust collection of basic functions that can have a tremendous impact on the quality of your images. It also has advanced and sophisticated capabilities in manipulating images. It is highly recommended that anyone who wants to make the initial approach to postproduction delve into Camera Raw—right here, right now. (If you prefer to use Adobe Lightroom, you’ll find that the controls are in different positions, but the operations are pretty much the same—so keep following along!)
The Camera Raw workflow actually begins at the capture stage; to initiate the Camera Raw workflow, you have to set your camera to shoot in the RAW format (check the manual for how to do this). Normally, a DSLR will allow you to shoot in the RAW or JPG formats. There will be a single setting option for RAW, but many, many settings to choose for JPG shooting. The larger number of JPG options, however, does not suggest any superiority. These are available because JPG images are highly processed by the camera before ever being delivered to the memory card. That is bad news for photographers who want the best image quality and access to the maximum range of postproduction adjustments.
When you shoot in RAW, the images are not processed by the camera; they contain all of the original data the sensor captured. If these image files were meat, the JPG would be a hamburger patty (image 6-1) and RAW would be a piece of USDA certified ribeye (Image 6-2). The former is prepared and seasoned for one specific dish. Any effort to change its flavor or purpose will be counterproductive. The latter, on the other hand, can be made into a steak or a BBQ. It can be grilled or pan fried. It can be sliced or ground and cooked as is. It can be marinated or brined. The piece of ribeye has great potential; the patty has very little.
“To initiate the Camera Raw workflow, you have to set your camera to shoot in the RAW format.”
Image 6-1. JPEG files are like hamburger patties; they have little culinary potential.
Image 6-2. RAW files are like USDA certified ribeye; they can take you in a variety of nice culinary directions.
Image 6-3. Shooting JPEGs is like playing with an undersized racquet; you’ll hit less of what you swing at.
Image 6-4. Shooting RAW files like playing with an oversized racquet; you’ll hit more of what you swing at.
You can set your camera to produce a RAW and a JPG simultaneously—in a single shot. Try this setting and compare the files. If you check the file size, you’ll see that the RAW file is many times larger than the JPG. Clearly, the process used to create a JPG also involves discarding a lot of data. This reduced amount of data corresponds to a reduction in the dynamic range. This is like reducing the size of a tennis racquet. Therefore, if JPG is represented by the racquet in image 6-3, RAW will be represented by the racquet in image 6-4.
“Using Camera Raw just as a redemption for sins committed during the capture doesn’t unleash the full power of the software.”
Processing your images in Camera Raw offers a chance to fix imperfections in the exposures—but using Camera Raw just as a redemption for sins committed during the capture doesn’t unleash the full power of the software. In this section, I will demo the usage of the Basic Tab in Camera Raw. (When you use Lightroom, the interface looks different but the functions are performed the same way.)
To open any RAW file, simply open it in Photoshop directly, or open it from Bridge. If the camera model is newer than the version of the Camera RAW (a plug-in), go to Adobe.com and look for the latest update. (If you have a very new model of camera, there is a chance that the plug-in won’t have caught up and you’ll have to wait a bit.)
Image 6-5 shows the Camera Raw interface you’d see when a RAW file is opened. The red arrows indicate the tools and controls this chapter will discuss.
By default, this is the active tool when a RAW file is opened. It functions much like the same tool in Photoshop; what is different and useful is the right click. (Note: Some Mac mouses do not have right click; in this case, use Control + click to replace right click.) Right clicking anywhere on the image preview will bring up a menu that shows the zoom percentage. A 100 percent view is very often used because it represents one pixel of the image with one pixel of the monitor, providing a faithful view of the details and sharpness.
Image 6-5. The Camera Raw interface with key tools noted.
This tab groups all the basic sliders that do much more than just basic adjustments. Here are how they work:
Temperature. Back in chapter 4, we talked about color temperature and how most of our light sources fall somewhere from bluer to yellower. This slider is a virtual counterpart to that physical phenomenon. When the slider is set to match the color temperature of the lighting where the image was shot, neutral tones will be colorless and the other colors will all be as “correct” as possible.
Tint. Candles, light bulbs, and sunlight are pretty much covered under the blue/yellow setup. However, some light sources don’t emit light along this continuous spectrum caused by a change in temperature. Fluorescent light, for example, is produced when electrons jump among different energy levels. When that happens, a certain color can be exaggerated. In the case of fluorescent light, there is a lot of green. There are other realities that can disturb our perfect world of yellow/blue light, too. The most common one is the interior color. If you use bounce flash in a red room, the light on your subject will be tinted with red. In either of these cases, the Tint slider can be used to make the color look better (usually, a small adjustment is all that’s needed). If the color does not look right after fiddling with the Temperature slider, the Tint slider should be the next thing you try.
Image 6-6 illustrates how these two sliders work on a color wheel. This provides a great visualization of how the three primary colors (red, green, and blue) are related to their complementary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow). All color adjustment is a task of shifting the weight of these colors. As the illustration suggests, the temperature slider’s direction of blue and yellow and the hue slider’s direction in the green and magenta suffice for creating any desired movement on the color wheel.
“Some light sources don’t emit light along this continuous spectrum caused by an increase in temperature.”
Image 6-6. The function of the color sliders on a color wheel.
Image 6-7. Various color adjustments made using the sliders.
Image 6-6 shows a RAW image undergoing six directions of color adjustment. The Camera Raw dialog box in the middle shows the image as shot (using the camera’s white balance setting), with the Temperature slider at 5450 and the Tint slider at –8. Then, in each direction, the sliders were changed according to theses settings:
Red: |
Temperature 6700, Hue +25 |
Magenta: |
Temperature 5400, Hue +25 |
Blue: |
Temperature 4500, Hue –8 |
Cyan: |
Temperature 4500, Hue –35 |
Green: |
Temperature 5400, Hue –35 |
Yellow: |
Temperature 6700, Hue –8 |
In each adjustment, observe the changing color in the skin, the sky, the clothes, and the buildings. Notice how different colors respond differently to each adjustment. Also, notice how the histogram indicates the shifts of the three channels.
Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks. These six sliders manipulate the brightness values on different ranges of gray levels.
Image 6-8 compares the effects of the Exposure, Highlights, and Whites sliders—used in both the positive and negative directions. In the enlarged histograms, the arrows suggest how the image data is moved. As you can see, the Exposure slider impacts the whole range of gray levels; when this slider is used, the whole histogram shifts in one direction. Therefore, the Exposure slider is the best fix for exposure errors. When, on the other hand, you adjust the Highlights slider, the histogram movement is mostly in the midtone and lighter area of the histogram. The Whites slider adjusts the data at the extreme right end of the histogram (near the white point). On the positive side of the diagram, compare the adjusted images to the “as shot” photo in the center. Both the Highlights and Whites sliders can bring up the highlight without affecting the midtone and shadow values. However, the Whites slider has a greater effect on the brightest tones, which can cause more highlight clipping to occur. Conversely, check out the negative side of the diagram; here, the effects of the Highlights and Whites sliders are almost identical—except that the Whites slider actually does a better job of leaving the shadows alone. Compare her dark color top in the “as shot” photo with the one where I applied a negative Highlights setting. The Highlights slider made it a bit darker. This gives us a good idea of how to use the Whites slider: to reduce highlight clipping in images without affecting the rest of the tones.
Image 6-8. Adjusting the Exposure, Highlights, and Whites sliders.
Image 6-9. Adjusting the Contrast, Shadows, and Blacks sliders.
Image 6-9 compares the effects of the Contrast, Shadows, and Blacks sliders. The Contrast slide changes the exposure difference between the highlights and the shadows. When the Contrast slider moves to a positive setting, the difference increases; the histogram is spread farther apart to the left and right and the contrast increases. When the Contrast slider moves to a negative setting, the opposite happens; the difference decreases and the histogram data converges towards the midtone. The contrast is reduced. The Shadows and Blacks sliders are the counterparts of the Highlights and Whites sliders respectively. They both move the shadow section of the histogram, but the Blacks slider has its greatest impact right near the black point.
Image 6-10. The original capture.
Image 6-11. With the Clarity slider adjusted to +45, shadow detail is preserved.
Image 6-12. With the Contrast slider adjusted to +45, shadow detail is lost.
Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation. Visits to these three sliders at the bottom of Basic tab will likely occur at very different frequencies for different photographers, as their importance depends on your aesthetic style and workflow.
The Vibrance and Saturation sliders work much like their familiar counterparts in Adobe Photoshop. The Saturation slider boosts color intensity across the image; the Vibrance slider boosts the color intensity only in areas where it is already rich, helping to keep the neutral tones more neutral.
The Clarity slider is a little trickier to understand. As its name implies, it increases the clarity of the image—but that doesn’t mean it improves the physical resolution. It is merely manifesting the illusion of clarity. How is that done? Compare images 6-10, 6-11, and 6-12, which are zoomed in to a 100 percent view. This means the pixels match one-to-one from the image to the monitor; it’s the best zoom range for viewing details. Compare the original capture (image 6-10) to an edited version where I simply increased the Contrast slider to +45 (image 6-12). As explained earlier, the Contrast slider spreads the gray levels away from the midtones, making the highlights brighter and the shadows darker. You can see, however, that this does not help in making the image clearer. In the shadow area near the ear, the increase of contrast pushed all the darker tones close together on the histogram, making the hairs less discernible from the surroundings and compromising detail. Now, compare the same area in image 6-11, where I adjusted the Clarity slider to +45. The Clarity function is better at identifying detail in the darker areas (in this case, the hairs) and keeping them from merging into the shadows. The same phenomenon is evident in the eye, where using the Clarity slider better preserved the local details while increasing the contrast.
As demoed in images 6-8 and 6-9, the histogram in Camera Raw is a great tool for evaluating the adjustment being made when a slider is pulled. Take some time to practice with pulling the sliders while you fix your eyes on the preview image and the histogram, observing the changes. The basic structure and meaning of a histogram were explained in chapter 1, but Camera Raw’s version adds a few features. First, the red, green, and blue color channels are displayed separately. Second, when your cursor is placed over a given range of the histogram, it morphs into an arrow—and you can click and drag to move the corresponding slider, as illustrated in image 6-13. Also, notice the top right and left triangles; these light up to indicate highlight or shadow clipping. In image 6-14, this is lit up to show highlight clipping (notice the warning area in red on the preview image).
Image 6-13. Clicking and dragging on the histogram adjusts the pertinent slider in the palette below.
Image 6-14. The triangles at the top left and right corners indicate shadow and highlight clipping.
The White Balance tool is an extremely handy resource when a one-click fix is desired. The catch is that you need a reference point in the image that ought to have no color (gray, white, or black). If such a reference is available, click on it with this tool for an instant neutralization of the white balance. For example, image 6-15 was shot under incandescent light—but with the camera adjusted to the daylight white balance setting. Knowing that the helmet of the figurine has a neutral gray color, I clicked on it with White Balance tool to produce look image 6-16. It was an instant and successful white balance fix.
“Knowing that the helmet of the figurine has a neutral gray color, I clicked on it with White Balance tool . . .”
The ultimate color precision can be achieved if you take the time to include an 18 percent gray card in one of your test shots. Simply put this card in the shot (ask the model to hold it and position it to avoid glare from the camera’s viewfinder) and photograph it with the same lighting setup that you’ll be using for your final images. Then, use the gray-card shot as the calibration image for the rest of the shots from the same lighting setup. For example Image 6-17 was shot in the shadow of the trees (7000K), but with the camera adjusted to the daylight white balance setting (5000K). With a click of the White Balance tool on the gray card in her hand, the white balance was dramatically improved, as seen in image 6-18. Comparing the colors of the gray card and the skin tone, we can conclude that the fix is as good as it is instant.
Image 6-15. I shot this image under tungsten lighting, but with the camera’s white balance set to daylight.
Image 6-16. Using the White Balance tool to click on the soldier’s neutral gray helmet instantly resolved the color balance problems.
Image 6-17. In the shadow of a tree (but with the camera’s white balance set to daylight), I photographed this model holding a gray card.
Image 6-18. Using the White Balance tool to click on the gray card resolved the color balance problems.
These are basic yet versatile tools. When the Straighten tool is used to designate a vertical or horizontal line, Camera Raw will create an angled crop accordingly—so the designated line will be vertical or horizontal in the new crop. Image 6-19 shows how a vertical line is identified by clicking and dragging the Straighten tool. When the click is released, a crop marker like image 6-20 is generated. Hitting Enter will accept the crop and result in the final image, as in image 6-21. Like all other Camera Raw settings, everything is non-destructive; simply click on Crop or Straighten tool again and the change can be undone or redone.
“Comparing the colors of the gray card and the skin tone, we can conclude that the fix is as good as it is instant.”
Image 6-19. Clicking and dragging with the straighten tool establishes a line that should be vertical.
Image 6-20. When the click is released, the straightened crop indicator appears.
Image 6-21. Hit Enter to accept the crop.
Image 6-22. Opening the menu to select a fixed aspect ratio for cropping.
Image 6-23. Rotating the crop indicator.
Image 6-24. Let go and hit Enter to accept the crop.
The default mode is to let the user crop freely in any aspect ratio he desires. However, photographers who are familiar with producing prints know that freely chosen ratios often translate poorly to established print sizes. An 8x10-inch print, for example, has a 4:5 aspect ratio. When preparing images for 8x10-inch prints, therefore, maintaining a 4:5 ratio in the crop ensures there will be no guesswork needed on the lab’s end. This means fewer unpleasant surprises when you get your prints. Click and hold the Crop tool button to bring down the menu shown in image 6-22 and choose the desired ratio. Once a ratio is set, the crop automatically adjusts accordingly. Also, notice that the center control boxes at the four edges disappear; arbitrary dragging in those directions is now forbidden. With the aspect ratio set, you can only drag on the corners of the crop indicator. To rotate the crop, hover your cursor near a corner, just outside of the crop indicator, and watch the cursor change to a curved double arrow, as in image 6-23. Then, click and drag to rotate the crop indicator. When you’re ready, let go and hit Enter. Voilà! The photograph is cropped and rotated as in image 6-24.
These Camera Raw functions are definitely handy, but we have only scratched the surface. (Again, to learn more advanced Camera Raw features, I suggest my book Unleashing the RAW POWER of Adobe Camera Raw [Amherst Media, 2011], which is devoted to the topic and comes with practice images that I help you work through step by step.) To conclude this book on exposure, I’d like to look at one of the very powerful features of adopting a Camera Raw workflow.
As mentioned chapter 1, a DSLR’s dynamic range is limited. Those limits dictate what one single exposure can capture. When a scene’s highlights and shadows are so different in exposure levels that they exceed the dynamic range, clipping occurs, details are lost, and the photographer scratches his head. Images 6-25 and 6-26 were shot in the valley of the wondrous Bryce Canyon. The exposure of image 6-25 exposure was spot on—for the walls of the valley. Their details and colors are perfectly preserved. However, the upper portion of the valley and the sky, filled with direct sunlight, are severely overexposed. Compensating to expose those bright areas correctly yielded image 6-26. It was impossible to capture one good exposure of this scene—no matter how the exposure was set. The dynamic range simply exceeded what the camera could record.
Image 6-25. Exposing correctly for the walls of the canyon overexposed the sky.
Image 6-26. Exposing correctly for the sky of the canyon underexposed the walls of the canyon.
Image 6-27. An overview of the HDR process, merging five bracketed exposures into one image that reflects an extended dynamic range.
“It was impossible to capture one good exposure of this scene—no matter how the exposure was set.”
If you think about images 6-25 and 6-26, an obvious solution to the problem should suggest itself: if a single capture of Bryce Canyon can’t cover the dynamic range, maybe multiple captures with varied exposure compensations would? Indeed, this is the solution—and the technique is called exposure bracketing.
Image 6-27 explains the principle behind exposure bracketing, using another example of a high dynamic range scene that exceeded the camera’s limit. Here, I captured five exposures, each targeting various parts of the very wide exposure range. Each one captures a certain part of the scenery under different light.
These five exposures were then put together using Photoshop’s built-in HDR Pro plugin to form the top image, which closely resembles the real sight. The breadth and depth of HDR (high dynamic range) photography calls for a book for itself (and, yes, I wrote one: Professional HDR Photography [Amherst Media, 2014]), but you can also experiment with shooting a bracketed sequence on your camera and processing it in Photoshop by going to Image > Automate > Merge to HDR Pro.
Portfolio and Practical Examples
In this chapter, we began an exploration of how mastering in-camera exposure and shooting RAW dramatically expands your options for producing a final image that perfectly captures the colors and details of your scene or subject. To wrap up the book, here are a few examples from my own portfolio.
Images 6-28 and 6-29—Snowy Cape Cod
The image above shows a snowy beach in Cape Cod, shot in the winter when most tourists have their minds on warmer locales. The seawater trapped in the puddle was frozen, giving it an interesting surface to reflect the cloudy sky. When looking at the original shot (the small photo to the right), I was disappointed in the powdery texture of the snow, which was too subtle. The sky and reflections also didn’t match my visual recollection of the scene. Using HDR processing allowed me to better convey the richness of the scene.
Images 6-30, 6-31, and 6-32—HDR Motion
When bracketing exposures to combine in the HDR process, the frames should usually be as identical as possible. But what if something moves? That could be an interesting creative opportunity!
Images 6-33, 6-34, 6-35, and 6-36—Advanced Maneuvers
With a little more Photoshop know-how, exposure bracketing and HDR can take your portraits to new levels. Skin usually doesn’t look great in HDR, but simple masking techniques can result in flattering images.
Or for a broad view with incredible detail (like the wind turbine landscape below), try creating an HDR panoramic. To produce this image, I shot six sets of exposure-bracketed captures, combined each set using the HDR process, and then used Photoshop’s image stitching software to combine them into a panoramic.