SEPARATION OF TONES

CREATE SEPARATION OF TONES TO COAX NUANCES OUT OF YOUR IMAGES

When I am teaching photographers how they can improve their photography, I often talk about the need to create separation of tones in post-processing. The idea is simple: key areas of an image, especially highlights and shadows, should show good detail and tonal separation. This concept was drummed into my head when I listened to Ansel Adams teach in the early 1980s. In making his prints, Adams used the Zone System to handle contrast decisions when developing and printing his negatives. His brilliant printing style gave a luminous quality to the shadows and smooth graduation in the highlight tones. Digital processing and print technologies currently allow for very high-quality printing too.

Even though there are many techniques for capturing a full range of detail in high and low tones, I see many photographs from students and online that fail to show such nuanced detail in their highlights and shadows. I realize that contrast in processing and printing is a creative decision, and that some prefer the strong impact of high-contrast imagery. I have photographs that are better because black shadows accentuate the graphic qualities of the subject, or slightly washed-out highlights give a special glow to the image. But overall, with most landscape photographs, good separation of tones makes the image of better quality.

When I work with private students, I teach them simple methods to pull these nuances out of their files. Whole books have been written on high-quality post-processing, and new software continues to become more powerful for refining your postprocessing. Our current software options offer excellent highlights and shadows tools. Reading up on the subject, keeping up with software improvements, and practicing diligently on your files will help you improve your skills.

The photograph here illustrates a simple method of creating a high-quality file from a high-contrast landscape. A few years ago, I made a trip over Tioga Pass for the fall colors. The timing was good for the aspens, and an approaching Sierra storm made for dramatic conditions. My photographic style leans strongly toward making detailed and intimate views of the landscape, often not including the sky. However, the amazing light I experienced demanded that I widen my perspective to include trees, mountains, and clouds.

As I photographed, following the ebb and flow of the rapidly shifting light, I watched my histogram carefully. The backlit clouds were clearly too bright to capture in one exposure, so I bracketed my exposures using half-stop increments. Also, the wind was blowing hard and the aspen leaves and clouds were moving fast, so I bumped my ISO to 400. Still, I watched for moments of calm to ensure I recorded sharp leaves. For the image here, I recorded a seven-exposure bracket with half-stop increments.

Back in my studio, I edited carefully to find the sequence with the best clouds, lighting on the aspens, and sharpest leaves. I tried various HDR renditions, but they didn’t have the impact that conveyed the emotion of the scene. So my next option was to find the best exposure for the shadows, and the best one for the highlights in clouds. These two frames were combined with simple blending techniques in Photoshop.

The finished photograph meets two key criteria for me. Most importantly, it delivers the emotional impact of what I felt at the scene—awe at the beauty and the high energy of ominous storm clouds and brilliant autumn light. Second, the high-contrast lighting was handled by recording good detail in the highlights and shadows, rendering both in post-processing with clear separation and smooth transitions of tones. We can see the important textures of the dark areas of foreground aspens and grasses. In the strongly backlit edges of the clouds, we see their brilliance, but still have fine gradations of light grays, and it is this shading that defines the shapes of the clouds.

One other ingredient helped me make this image: experience. Having photographed around Mono Lake for three decades, I knew to go there in these lighting conditions. I made some images in similar light twenty years before with my 4x5 camera, but the high wind and contrast made for mediocre results, lacking the resonance of what I saw and felt. By returning to a favorite location over many years in search of a better image, I finally created a photograph that reconnects me with the wondrous experience of being there. Perseverance and improved post-processing software and skills helped me too.

Develop your digital darkroom skills to bring out separation of tones in your own images to breathe life into your fine art prints. All of your experiences are part of the learning process, both successes and failures, and they are preparing you to make your next great photograph.

Bridalveil Fall Triptych | El Dorado National Forest, California | 2005

Manzanita Lake Triptych | Lassen Volcanic National Park, California | 2004