ChApter 2. digitAl workFlow
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color cast that you should remove. Pure white areas should have R, G, and B
settings of 255. Gray areas should have R, G, and B settings that are equal, for
example, 128, 128, and 128 for middle gray. Pure black areas should have R,
G, and B settings of 0. Regardless of which neutral tone you are examining, if
one or more of the RGB values is higher or lower than the others, these tones
won’t be neutral and will have a color cast.eVAluAting detAilS
When examining an image, look for small imperfections that can be re-
touched. The sensor may have dust that shows up on the image as dark spots.
A portrait subject might have a small blemish that will be very noticeable
when you enlarge the image. There may be reflections, or even telephone
wires you want to remove. Small areas may benefit by being made a little
lighter or darker than their surroundings. Portrait subjects may have red-eye
caused by flash in a dark room.eVAluAting ShArPneSS
The apparent sharpness of an image depends a great deal on how much
contrast there is along edges and lines. If an image looks soft, it can often be
improved by sharpening, a process (technically called unsharp masking) that
adds contrast along lines and edges. Many photographers sharpen almost
every image, ignoring this aspect only for images such as fog scenes that are
deliberately soft.Sharpening (right)
increases the contrast
between light and dark
areas to make the
edges appear sharper.
eVAluAting noiSe
If you used a long shutter speed or high ISO setting to take a photo, it may
contain noise. Look in dark areas for randomly colored pixels that look like
grain.gloBAl VS loCAl editing
You may have noticed that some of the adjustments discussed in this section
affect the entire image and others affect just specific areas. These are referred
to as global and local adjustments and are discussed in sections that follow.Noise can significantly
degrade smooth tones.
As you point
Lightroom’s white
balance selector tool
at a pixel in an image,
the pixel’s color mix is
displayed. If you click
that pixel, it and all like
it will become neutral.
Click for a movie on