subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 20 July 2019 35
Increasing
Textureenhances
thescalyskinof
thislizardwhile
leavingtherest
ofthescene
untouchedJames 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
PCTURES©
JAMES
PATERSONA
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.Textureandfrequency
Mostimageswilldisplayareasof high-,
mid-andlow-rangefrequencies.High-
frequencyareaswillbethosewithlotsof
detailandcontrast,whilelowfrequencies
willbesmoothareas,blocksof colour
orout-of-focusparts.Sometoolsare
designedtotargetcertainfrequencies.
Sharpening,forexample,workson
high-frequencydetails,whileclarity
affectsa widerrangeof frequencies
includingsomehighandsomelow.The
newTexturecommandis moretightly
confinedtomid-frequencydetails.Subtler
thanClarity,butheavierthansharpening,
it’sgreatforenhancingdetailslikeskin.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.