First real attempt at LCE

[rtbaum]

Up to this point, my shots have been globally adjusted for contrast. Mike Buckley's response on another thread convinced me to revisit tutorial on LCE.

Before



After



I also removed some white spots on wings. To my eye, the difference is subtle.

[Donald]

To my eye, the difference is subtle.

Just as it should be. Well done, Randy. A very, very useful skill to have mastered. I use it a lot.

[chauncey]

Aah, I missed that tutorial. Got a link?

[ajohnw]

That is such a lovely shot I just couldn't help seeing what I could do with it. I haven't seen the actual bird so can only suspect this is correct. I have allowed the brightness of the birds body to come up as well as the head.



How to depends on the software you are using. I've brightened from mid tone increasing evenly to black, increased saturation all over a little, reduced siz (2/3?) and sharpened slightly. Many packages offer these adjustments.

John
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[Downrigger]

Aah, I missed that tutorial. Got a link?

There's a CiC tutorial on LCE, and then I ran across this, applicable to LR: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/fo...=33472.20;wap2

It seems to me use of clarity with adjustment brush for LCE (per lumi-landscape ref above) is going to most affect subjects for LCE that have midtones. I would not expect subjects that are high contrast already to be as much affected by that technique. Rather, in the latter case, and in LR, perhaps the contrast slide in the Adj Brush menu would be helpful (?).

[Mike Buckley]

To my eye, the difference is subtle.

In your case it is subtle, at least in your application of it. Sometimes the difference is far less subtle. My experience is that when there is relatively little contrast in the tonalities of the area being affected, the change will be more subtle. In areas that have a lot of contrast, the change is more obvious. Examine the various parts of the bird shown below to see where the change is more obvious and more subtle.


Without LCE



With LCE

[Downrigger]

In In areas that have a lot of contrast, the change is more obvious. Examine the various parts of the bird shown below to see where the change is more obvious and more subtle.

Nicely instructive, Mike. Helpful concept. This may relate to my comment in the other thread dealing with LCE that it seemed to me that there is an interaction between locally applied contrast and locally applied sharpness - it seems you can at least to get more of the latter if you apply some of the former also.

[Mike Buckley]

there is an interaction between locally applied contrast and locally applied sharpness - it seems you can at least to get more of the latter if you apply some of the former also.

Absolutely! The extreme example is that a white line on a black background or vice versa very often requires no sharpening whatsoever. That's because the immense contrast between the two tonalities creates the illusion of sharpness.

[Geoff F]

There is also quite a lot on LCE here

http://ronbigelow.com/articles/local...ontrast-1.html

But there are four sections which do go into the subject in some detail.

Like HDR, LCE is often over done which results in an unnatural looking image.

To me, Mike's example is just on the acceptable side. Anymore would have ruined the photo.

ps. I often use LCE on a duplicate layer which can be edited with a mask to selectively apply the effect. This can be useful when some areas such as a 'noisy' background are best left alone.

[rtbaum]

I can see that I have much to learn. I have CS4 and Lightroom 3 for my processing. I tend to use CS4 for sharpening. I think my winter project will be to work on photo processing.

[Mike Buckley]

To me, Mike's example is just on the acceptable side. Anymore would have ruined the photo.

I may have gotten a little carried away. I just now looked up the number of keepers of birds in my catalog comprising 30 years of photography and I have just barely averaged only two per year. I don't photograph birds often enough to have developed a refined sense of how I want birds to look.