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Archive 2013 · Automated Basic Processing in LR

  
 
charityd
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


Hi, guys-

I've been holding off on this question for a while because it feels like a dumb question, so please just bear with me if I'm missing out on something.

I shoot in RAW and process my images in LR5. My camera is really smart and could (if I wanted it do) internally process my RAW file into a nice jpeg complete with advanced noise reduction, color correction, contrast adjustment, etc, etc, etc. However, since I shoot in RAW, what I get in LR is an unprocessed file. I spend a substantial amount of time just getting that file up to a "jpeg" level of processing before I even start on the more creative edits. Is there no better automated way to do this, similar to what the camera is doing internally to process a JPEG? I know I can set develop defaults, apply presents at import, or set the camera calibration, but none of those options (generally speaking) really evaluate the image and automatically apply the appropriate corrections. I'm not looking for LR to do all the work, just get me to a more reasonable starting part than the muddy RAW file I import. I would just like to have my RAW file look more like the JPEG that the camera would output.

The thing I would most like to be able to have is some level of automatic noise reduction. I spend a lot of time checking the ISO of the image at and then moving the noise reduction sliders to the appropriate level. Is there no way for LR to automatically apply an appropriate level of noise reduction? The best I can find is making the develop defaults specific to ISO and then setting the default of each ISO manually.

Sorry for the long question and thanks for the help!



Sep 07, 2013 at 11:53 PM
Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


To answer very short. The file you PP in LR5 will look a lot better than the jpeg that comes straight out from your camera. You can also do one hundred different things in LR5 that your camera can't do. And you don't really use LR5 and it's great PP potential if only convert your raw file into a jpeg with some noise reduction. Watch a few movies about LR5 and learn how to use it. You can find a lot on internet.
You can have automatic noise reduction or any other PP with hundreds of files at the same time. But only if you like to do the same thing on each file.



Sep 08, 2013 at 12:54 AM
15Bit
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


I usually hit the "auto" button to see if it gives me a good starting point. And often it does.

NR is something of a personal thing - everyone judges the noise-detail balance differently. You can tell LR to apply a specific preset on import based on ISO, so you could try that.



Sep 08, 2013 at 03:40 AM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


15Bit wrote:
I usually hit the "auto" button to see if it gives me a good starting point. And often it does.

NR is something of a personal thing - everyone judges the noise-detail balance differently. You can tell LR to apply a specific preset on import based on ISO, so you could try that.


Yep same here , hitting auto sort of shows me the direction I may want to go in .if its close I may slightly adjust the shadow/highlights sliders and I usually add a touch of clarity .

If auto is nowhere close to what I want then at least I know what way I don't want to go .

I did at one point have LR adjust to auto on import , but I found that I was then hitting reset or going back in the history just to see where id come from.




Sep 08, 2013 at 08:52 AM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


OP
if you want to process your raw file just as the camera would have saved it as a jpeg then you can use DPP as this uses the camera settings as your start point .

You can also strip the jpeg from the raw (it will have all the settings a normal jpg would have) using some utilities (I use 'instant jpeg from raw ' ) . I sometimes stack these with my raw files in LR for comparisons .



Sep 08, 2013 at 08:56 AM
Alan321
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


I think you cannot automate NR in Lr for each camera/ISO combination, let alone camera/ISO/exposure combination.

However, I've learned that certain NR settings are generally appropriate for each my different cameras but Lr goes faster if I don't use sharpening or NR too much. So I apply it relatively late in my workflow, but still before doing lots of refinement on any image.

I can use various methods to select a likely group of images that need the NR and then edit one of them in the Develop module to apply the "right" NR and sharpening. Back in the Library module I can easily synchronise any settings that I choose from that edited image to the other selected images.

Sharpening can be automated by camera/ISO combinations using saved presets but you need to build those presets one camera/ISO combination at a time. The downside, as I mentioned before, is that sharpening every image will slow down Lr browsing. I know that some images need it very much but others may not, in which case I can afford to delay the sharpening (and NR) until I have finished with the rapid browsing that I use to weed out the definite crap and the images that need significant cropping or exposure adjustment to salvage a decent image.


About the in-camera jpgs, I use camera settings for a purpose that differs from what I want out of the final image. e.g. by using low contrast I can better see what will be overexposed in my raw file when I look at the histogram. I can exaggerate the sharpness to make it easy to see on the camera screen whether I got the focus about right, but I would not want that much sharpening on a jpg image. I could also use weird white balance settings like UniWB to better appreciate what is happening to the raw data but it really makes a jpg image look horribly green and unacceptable. Anyone who shoots raw + jpg with a view to keeping the in-camera jpg will not be able to use these tricks to better assess the raw image quality while we are shooting.

- Alan



Sep 09, 2013 at 06:06 AM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


Alan321 wrote:
I think you cannot automate NR in Lr for each camera/ISO combination, let alone camera/ISO/exposure combination.


Or each image. I have a 1D3 and a 5D3 preset - one for each camera. They lower blacks, drag down highlights and apply lens corrections. More often than not I have to raise the blacks again - the blacks clip with each preset. Then I start true PP on each image.



Sep 09, 2013 at 07:46 PM
Alan321
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


Paul, do those presets include the nr too? And are they generic to the camera or do you have different posts for each ISO as well?

I last created presets back in Lr 3 and I'm not sure now whether or not they included nr.

- Alan



Sep 17, 2013 at 11:21 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


They are light adjustments leaving LR's standard NR alone. If higher ISOs are used I adjust to suit.


My preset settings are:

Basic

Highlights -50

Blacks -12

Clarity +5

Vibrance +10


Detail

Sharpening +50

Masking +70

Lens Corrections

Enable Profile Correction is On

Profile

Enable Profile Correction is On

Color

Remove Chromatic Abberation is On

Defringe +8


Camera Calibration

Process 2012 (current)

Adobe Standard


That's a starting point for viewing on a calibrated (with an i1 Display Pro) Dell U2413.



Sep 18, 2013 at 12:45 AM
cordellwillis
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Automated Basic Processing in LR


OP,

Using LR or any other RAW processing tool is about user preference. RAW processing apps let you automate anything you want. However, again, it's about user preference. Not all of us want automated settings kicking in; whether that's from the camera or software on our desktops.

The question is, why did you purchase LR to begin with? You didn't have to have it. You can indeed set your camera to JPG shooting and stick with that, or as previously stated you can use DPP to use the camera settings and have the RAW files all in one.



Sep 18, 2013 at 09:53 AM





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