Use *THIS* for STUNNING Solar Eclipse Photos - ACR & Lightroom
TLDRIn this tutorial, the photographer shares their unique approach to post-processing solar eclipse photos taken in Arkansas using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Lightroom. They emphasize the importance of balancing the black and white tones, particularly focusing on the corona around the moon. The photographer discovered that conventional tools in ACR were insufficient for bringing out the desired details, leading them to experiment with unconventional techniques such as color grading for tonal data rather than color. They found that adjusting the luminance in the color grading section allowed for a more nuanced control over the highlights, midtones, and shadows, which was crucial for enhancing the corona's appearance. Additionally, they used texture and clarity sliders to bring out more detail in the corona and experimented with adding a subtle color grade to make the image more inviting. The summary provides insights into how to achieve stunning solar eclipse photos by pushing the boundaries of traditional photo editing techniques.
Takeaways
- 📸 **Post-Processing Solar Eclipse Photos**: The speaker discusses using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Lightroom to edit solar eclipse photos, emphasizing the importance of balancing black and white tones.
- 🌟 **Highlight Adjustments**: They mention the challenge of bringing out details in the corona without blowing out the image, requiring a careful adjustment of highlight levels.
- 🎨 **Color Grading for Tonal Data**: Unusually, color grading is used not for adding color, but for enhancing tonal details in the shadows, midtones, and highlights of the image.
- 🔍 **Micro Edits in Color Grading**: The luminance sliders in color grading allow for fine-tuning of specific tonal areas, which is different from the broader adjustments made in the light section.
- 🌑 **Shadow Luminance**: Lowering the luminance of the shadows helps to tighten the darkness around the corona without losing detail, unlike adjusting the overall black levels.
- 🌗 **Midtone Glow**: Increasing the luminance in the midtones helps to bring out a subtle glow around the corona, enhancing the overall image.
- 💡 **Blending and Balance**: The blending slider is used to adjust how the highlights, midtones, and shadows blend into each other, with a focus on working minimally to avoid over-editing.
- 📈 **Texture and Clarity**: The speaker finds that increasing texture brings out detail in the corona, while clarity can add unwanted noise but also helps to define small details when used subtly.
- 🌈 **Creative Color Addition**: In a creative approach, the speaker adds a hint of color to the shadows, midtones, and highlights to make the image more inviting, using color grading for tonal rather than color adjustments.
- 👁️ **Viewer Engagement**: The goal is to make the solar eclipse image subtle yet engaging, using color and tonal adjustments to draw the viewer in.
- 🔧 **Fine-Tuning with Light Sliders**: After setting up the color grading and effects, fine-tuning with the light sliders can help to optimize the image further, with caution to avoid over-editing.
Q & A
What was the main challenge the photographer faced when post-processing the solar eclipse photos?
-The main challenge was balancing the black and white tones, especially with a lot of black and not much white, to bring out details in the corona without blowing out the highlights.
Why did the photographer decide to use tools in Adobe Camera Raw that are typically used in Photoshop?
-The photographer found these tools to be imperative for enhancing the details in the solar eclipse shot, despite usually using them in Photoshop.
How did adjusting the highlights in Adobe Camera Raw affect the corona details in the photo?
-Increasing the highlights too much resulted in loss of detail and data within the corona, so the photographer had to reduce the highlights to bring out the corona details effectively.
What role did color grading play in enhancing the solar eclipse photo?
-Color grading was used for tonal data, not for adding color, to make micro adjustments in the highlights, midtones, and shadows, which helped to bring out more detail in the corona.
How does the luminance slider in the color grading section affect the photo?
-The luminance slider allows for micro adjustments in the tonal clusters of highlights, midtones, and shadows, providing a finer control over the details in these areas.
What blending and balance adjustments were made to the photo to improve the overall look of the corona?
-The blending slider was adjusted to control how the highlights, midtones, and shadows blend into each other, and the balance was shifted slightly towards the highlight area to favor the midtones and highlights more.
Why did the photographer use texture and clarity adjustments in the post-processing of the solar eclipse photo?
-Texture and clarity adjustments helped to bring out more detail in the corona and added a more natural and less contrived feel to the texture of the image.
How did the photographer use the dehaze feature to affect the corona in the photo?
-The dehaze feature was used to tighten the shadow area around the corona, enhancing its visibility, or to loosen the haze for a brighter corona, depending on the desired effect.
What creative approach did the photographer take with a different image of the solar eclipse?
-The photographer added a hint of color to the shadows, midtones, and highlights to make the image more inviting for the viewer, while still maintaining a subtle and realistic look.
How did the photographer's experience with these tools in Adobe Camera Raw influence their thoughts on future landscape photography?
-The photographer considered using the color grading section in future landscape work to bring out more tonal depth, inspired by the success of using these tools for micro tonal adjustments in the solar eclipse photo.
What was the photographer's general approach to using color grading and effects in the final image?
-The photographer's approach was to work slowly and minimally, making slight modifications to the light sliders to avoid over-brightening or over-darkening the image, which could break down the details too quickly.
Outlines
📸 Solar Eclipse Photography Techniques
The speaker discusses their experience with post-processing a solar eclipse photograph taken in Arkansas. They highlight the challenges of balancing black and white tones in such photos. The speaker shares their discovery of using tools in Adobe Camera Raw that they typically reserve for Photoshop. They explain how adjusting highlights, using color grading for tonal data, and manipulating shadows and midtones can bring out more detail in the corona of the eclipse. The importance of working minimally and observing the effects of each adjustment is emphasized.
🖌️ Enhancing Eclipse Photos with Color Grading and Texture
The speaker elaborates on the unconventional use of color grading and texture adjustments to enhance the visibility and detail of the corona in their solar eclipse images. They explain that, contrary to their usual approach, they found that subtle adjustments to texture and clarity could bring out the corona's texture without making the image appear artificial or over-processed. The speaker also mentions experimenting with dehaze to adjust shadow areas and emphasizes the need for caution to avoid over-editing. They conclude by demonstrating how turning off the effects leads to a significant loss of detail.
🌌 Creative Color Grading for Enhanced Visual Appeal
The speaker shares a creative approach to color grading in their solar eclipse photography. They describe adding a hint of color to the shadows, midtones, and highlights to make the image more inviting for viewers. The speaker details how they adjusted the color grading to achieve a more space-like blue in the darker areas and a warm, yellowish-orange tone in the midtones and highlights. They reflect on the potential application of these techniques to enhance tonal depth in landscape photography and express their intention to explore this further.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Solar Eclipse
💡Adobe Camera Raw
💡Highlights
💡Color Grading
💡Luminance
💡Texture and Clarity
💡De-Haze
💡Balance
💡Micro Edit
💡Tonal Value
💡Post-Processing
Highlights
The photographer used Adobe Camera Raw to enhance solar eclipse photos, a departure from their typical Photoshop workflow.
Two unorthodox tools in Adobe Camera Raw were crucial for bringing out detail in the solar eclipse shot.
Balancing black and white tones was key in post-processing the corona around the moon.
Pushing highlights too far can result in loss of detail in the corona.
Color grading was unexpectedly useful for tonal data adjustments rather than color.
Luminance adjustments in the color grading section allowed for micro edits to highlights, midtones, and shadows.
The photographer found that color grading could open up shadows and bring out grayish tonal values.
Texture and Clarity sliders were used to bring out detail in the corona, contrary to the photographer's initial reservations.
Increasing texture revealed corona detail, while Clarity added micro contrast to small detail areas.
Dehaze can be used to adjust the shadow area for a brighter or tighter corona effect.
Turning off color grading resulted in a significant loss of detail in the corona.
The photographer experimented with adding a hint of color to the shadows, midtones, and highlights for a more inviting viewer experience.
Color grading was repurposed to enhance tonal depth rather than for color correction.
The photographer considered using color grading for tonal depth in future landscape images.
Slow and meticulous adjustments were favored over quick changes to avoid over- or under-processing the image.
The photographer emphasized the importance of minimalism and caution when editing corona images.
The process of editing solar eclipse photos led to new insights on using color grading for tonal adjustments.