PS "Shadow/Highlight" vs. ACR/LR "Recovery/Fill Light"

<p>In <a href="../digital-darkroom-forum/00ZThJ">another thread</a> there was some OT discussion about Photoshop's "Shadow/Highlight" tool and Lightroom's "Recovery" and "Fill Light" controls. I am interested in the topic, but I didn't want to hijack the thread so I started this one.<br /> <br /> I really like the "Highlight" controls in PS's "Shadow/Highlight" adjustment.<br /> <br /> It appears that the "Fill Light" control in ACR/LR is very similar to the "Shadow" control (without the select-able "Tone Range"), but I hadn't found a good replacement for the "Highlight" adjustment.<br /> Patrick Lavoie opined that the "Recovery" slider in ACR/LR is the analogous highlight adjuster in PS, but I have never gotten it create the same effect as "Highlight".<br /> <br /> <strong>My question is: what is the best way to add some "depth" to highlights in LR?</strong><br /> <strong></strong><br /> I shoot a lot of things with subtle gradations in the upper end of the tone-range. For example, sailboat sails and the skin on aircraft. I very frequently apply a bit of "Highlight" adjustment (typically over the upper 10%-25% of the tones) to add some "depth" (i.e. local contrast) to the highlights. I am switching over to LR for all the usual benefits, but I find sometimes I just can't get the look I want with the controls. I'm hoping I'm just mis-understanding how to use them.<br /> <br /> I always try use ETTR, so I often have to pull the curve down to get the mid-tones right. The increased contrast in the highlights from that adjustment is often enough, but very often I want a little more.<br /> The photo below is an example. The shading in the cowl really needed a bit of help to show its shape:<br /> <a href="http://moving-target-photos.com/samples/Sigma_8-16mm_at_C29//slides/IMG_0753_650h.html"><img src="http://moving-target-photos.com/samples/Sigma_8-16mm_at_C29//IMG_0753_650h.jpg" alt="" width="433" height="650" /></a></p>

<p>You're using ETTR (good) so you want to do all this tonal adjusting in LR or ACR on the linear raw data. </p>

<p>In terms of depth, play a bit with Clarity (Midtone contrast). Don't be afraid of crunching shadows if the image benefits. </p>

<p>In addition to the LR3 clarity slider, another effective tweak for sky reflected highlights is the blue channel slider set to luminance mode, a little goes a long way there.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"I very frequently apply a bit of "Highlight" adjustment (typically over the upper 10%-25% of the tones) to add some "depth" (i.e. local contrast) to the highlights…"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In addition to Andrew's suggestion I often apply a bit of extra clarity to only a part of the image using a brush. Also manipulating the tone curve by making it steeper only in the highlight areas can add that extra bit of definition.</p>

<p>I've been applying similar dynamic range extending edits in ACR (though on much more difficult images than the OP's) going on about two years/approx. 1000 images and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt it can all be done in the raw converter. No need for Shadow/Highlight on gamma encoded pixels.</p>

<p>I love the convenience of managing one image and its xmp side car and not having a bunch of duplicate interim tiffs for further editing. It's much easier to manage.</p>

<p>My "Jpeg VS Raw" folder in my PN gallery will show you some of what I'm talking about. No further Photoshop edits except for slight sharpening for web viewing were applied.</p>

<p>Your LR edit routine using combination of LR Curves, Fill, Clarity and Recovery is pretty much how it's done. The only thing I do is rely heavily on curves before I use Recovery which has a tendency to twist the hues and flatten definition in highlights such as in clouds and white flowers lit by direct sunlight.</p>

<p>Also in shots where there's heavy saturation of color in highlights you should consider first switching Camera Profiles which can do amazing things to highlights I just happen to stumble on with certain type images. See below.</p><div></div>

<p>To add on what Tim and other said.. i almost always start with the Camera Neutral Profile first, then exposure, recovery etc...it help starting with a good profile.. then Clarity will give the image a nice *pop* to the edge, a <em>kind of </em>local contrast enhancement.</p>

<p>"...and this is what <strong>recovery</strong> do, or the <strong>tonal curve</strong>, when you play with the highlight... " was the complete answer.. : )</p>

<p>Thanks everyone. I have generally only used "Recovery" when I have blown highlights. I almost always have specular highlights that can't be recovered, but I'll apply some recovery to try and clean up the colors on the edges. I've also noticed Tim's observation that "Recovery" seems to flatten the highlights more than anything.</p>

<p>I'll check out camera profiles. That's a new area for me.</p>

<p>My current process sounds pretty similar to what I'm hearing here. It's basically Bruce Fraser's "Real World Camera Raw" suggestion:</p>

<ul>

<li>I start with white-balance</li>

<li>Increase the exposure until the highlights are just about to blow out (i.e. nothing in the "Alt-key" image)</li>

<li>I do the same with the black-level control</li>

<li>I set with vibrance, clarity, and saturation each at 10</li>

<li>I set a three-point curve (0, mid, 255) and draw the center point down to bring the mid-tones to where I want. </li>

<li>I then play with adding points on the curve to try and get the highlight slope as steep as I can while maintaining good mid-range contrast.<br /><em>This may be the place where I can use the clarity control to allow me to use a flatter curve slope than I'm used to in the mid-tones.</em></li>

<li>I often find I've pushed the lower end of the mid-tones and the upper shadows a bit darker than I want. I'll use the Fill Light control to try and open them up just a little bit if I can't get what I want with curves alone.</li>

<li>Finally I make small adjustments (mostly in the curves, but also other controls) to try and get the highlights and shadows to look good (for example, I'll choose to let some high-light regions blow out, and some shadows to block up).</li>

</ul>

<p>In the Tone Curve panel in the Develop module, try setting "Lights" and "Darks" to minus and plus 20, respectively.</p>