Amateur Photographer – 20 July 2019

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 20 July 2019 35

Increasing

Texture enhances

the scaly skin of

this lizard while

leaving the rest

of the scene

untouched

James Paterson

James is as skilled a photo editor as he is a photographer. His

work has appeared in countless magazines and books, and in

2014 he was appointed editor of Practical Photoshop magazine.

His subjects range from portraits to landscapes, architecture

and underwater scenes. For James, Photoshop is more than just

a work tool. Visit http://www.patersonphotos.com.

ALL PICTURES © JAMES PATERSON

A

mongst the latest updates to the Lightrooom family of apps are

a few stand-out features. For many photographers, the headline

feature will be the new Texture control. Found within the Basic

Panel alongside the Clarity slider, Texture works in a similar way to

its detail-enhancing neighbour. But the results are gentler, making it ideal for

accentuating details like skin and hair. There is a new Help tool in Lightroom

CC, and a new Home Screen in Lightroom for iOS/Android devices. Another

notable inclusion in Lightroom Classic is the Flat-Field Correction tool,

which allows you to correct colour drifting and vignetting by referencing

a calibration frame taken of a neutral surface using the same camera/lens

combo as your other shots. Let’s explore the key features.

Texture and frequency

Most images will display areas of high-,

mid- and low-range frequencies. High-

frequency areas will be those with lots of

detail and contrast, while low frequencies

will be smooth areas, blocks of colour

or out-of-focus parts. Some tools are

designed to target certain frequencies.

Sharpening, for example, works on

high-frequency details, while clarity

affects a wider range of frequencies

including some high and some low. The

new Texture command is more tightly

confi ned to mid-frequency details. Subtler

than Clarity, but heavier than sharpening,

it’s great for enhancing details like skin.

Album sharing
Lightroom CC and Mobile uses ‘Albums’ to
group sets of photos. These can now be
shared with others by inviting them to access
and contribute to the album. To do so in the
desktop version, right-click an album and go
to ‘Share & Invite’. On LR Mobile, tap the
three-dot icon next to an album name.

Batch edit on Android

Lightroom for Android now offers a handy

batch process feature that makes it easy to

copy edits from one image to an entire set.

Simply highlight the already-edited photo, tap

the three-dot icon and ‘Copy Settings’ then go

to the grid view, select the other photos and

select ‘Paste Settings’.

Flat-fi eld correction

This is a new feature for Lightroom Classic.

It was previously only available as a plug-in,

but now lives in the Library Module under

Library>Flat-Field Correction. The command

helps to correct for sensor and lens issues that

typically affl ict mirrorless cameras resulting in

unnatural colour shifts or vignetting.

Revealing details

By targeting mid-range frequencies,

Texture can be very useful for sharpening

certain kinds of details in landscapes and

macro shots. Because it doesn’t affect the

highest frequencies it won’t amplify noise,

which can often happen unintentionally

when sharpening an image. By ignoring

higher frequencies, Texture can bypass

noise and enhance broader details

underneath. Put simply, you can crispen

details without making the image more

noisy. As well as leaving noise untouched,

Texture ignores low-frequency details,

making it good for macro shots with lots

of low-frequency blurred areas.