Adobe Lightroom CC
Rescue rapeseed
CAROLINESCHMIDTSHOWSYOUHOWTOMAKEBLAND
SKIES BLUEWITHA FEWTWEAKS INLIGHTROOMCC
F
IELDSOFYELLOWflowershavefilledthehillsacrossEnglandfor
thelastfewweeks.Photographersflocktophotographtheannual
flourishbutit’snearlyalwaysbestcapturedundera brilliantblue
sky– thoughtheUKweatherdoesn’talwayscomply.If you’veheaded
outtophotographthevibrantoilseedrapetohaveyourattempts
thwartedbyanovercastskyorthelackofa polarisingfilter,theremay
bea waytorecoverthecolourimpactyouwereafterusingLightroom.
You’llhavefarbetterresultsif youapplythisrecoveryandcolouring
processtoa Rawfileratherthana JPEG,astherewillbea lotmore
detailtomanipulatebeforequality-degradingnoisegetsintroduced,
butyoucanstillusethesestepsona JPEG – just avoid being overly
heavy-handed with the adjustments.
ORIGINAL
2
ADJUSTBRIGHTNESSIncreasetheShadowsandWhitesslidersto
revealdetailin denselydarkareasandtobrightenthewholeimage.
Stopbeforeyouseepartsof thesky‘blowout’oryourexpanded
dynamicrangebeginstolooklikea HDR image.If you push the
Shadows slider too high noise will be introduced.
4
REPEATFOROTHERCOLOURSCarefullyadjusttheothercoloursin your
sceneusingtheColorMixer.Greenusuallyaffectsyellowsubjects
toosoworkwithit in unisonwithyellow.Tackleblueandcyantotarget
thesky.IncreasetheSaturationslidertogivetheskyextrapunch,
decrease theLuminance slider to reveal more tonal range and mood.
1
OPENYOURIMAGEWithyourimageimportedintoLightroomCC,
clicktheLighttab.DecreasetheExposureandHighlightsslidersto
darkentheoverallimageandrecovertonaldetailthat’shiddenwithin
anoverexposedsky.You’llseethebiggesteffectin the tonal range of
any clouds and as the depth of the blue increases.
3
CHANGETHECOLOURUndertheColortab,movetheTe m psliderto
thelefttocoolanywarmthin theimage– lessis moreheresoapply
it carefully.SelecttheColorMixerandyellow– adjusttheHueslightly
tocounteractthebluetemperature,increaseSaturation and adjust
Luminance to improve the impact of the rapeseed.
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42 DigitalSLR PhotographyJuly 2019