RØDE has made its Wireless Go II dual-channel microphone system even more capable and portable with a pair of updates. The first update is a new RØDE Central mobile app that makes it possible to fully customize and configure the wireless microphone system via a mobile device, while the second is new compatibility with the RØDE Connect desktop app, which enables you to use the system with podcasting or streaming software.
Until now, the RØDE Wireless Go II system required a desktop computer to change various settings, including recording mode, adjusting the gain settings and other granular controls. Now, all of these features, as well as firmware updates, will be possible with Android and iOS apps thanks to the new RØDE Central Mobile app.
The one notable function missing in the mobile app is the ability to transfer recordings directly to your mobile device from the microphones. It’s unclear if this functionality will be added at a later date, but as it stands, recordings will still need to be offloaded via the onboard USB-C port.
In order to connect with the mobile app, RØDE Wireless Go II systems will need to be updated one final time with the desktop app to enable wireless connectivity.
The next update is one to RØDE’s Connect desktop app, which makes it possible to record podcasts and stream audio directly from your computer. With this latest update, you can now use the Wireless Go II system to get professional-grade audio wirelessly during interviews, livestreams, podcasts and more.
Each transmitter can be assigned to its own channel for easier independent control and other RØDE microphones can be used in conjunction with the Wireless Go II system if additional audio is required.
The RØDE Connect update should be available for anyone who already has the app installed. If you don’t already have it installed, it can be downloaded for free on RØDE’s website.
Venus Optics has announced an updated version of its Laowa 7.5mm F2 Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens that has electronic aperture control and an onboard chip for transferring metadata from the lens to the camera.
The new lens features the same optical construction as its fully-manual predecessor (13 elements in nine groups), but adds an electronically-controlled aperture at the cost of reducing the number of aperture blades to five (there are seven in the manual version).
As for dimensions, the lens comes in at 3mm (.12”) larger in diameter and 7mm shorter (.28”) than the manual version. Also, despite adding the electronic aperture control and onboard CPU chip, Venus Optics managed to reduce the lens’ weight to 150g (5.3oz), down from the 170g (6oz) weight of the manual version.
Below is a video review of the lens from YouTube channel RED35:
The Laowa 7.5mm F2 lens with electronic aperture control is available to order on Venus Optics’ website for $ 549. You can view a gallery of full-sized sample images on Venus Optics’ Flickr album.
MonsterAdapter, a relatively new player in the lens adapter game, has revealed the details of the LA-KE1, a new adapter that will make it possible to mount Pentax K-mount glass to Sony E-mount mirrorless camera systems.
There isn’t much information available about MonsterAdapter. The company’s Facebook page, which appears to be its only online presence, was created on May 20, 2020, when the company announced the development of the LA-EA4r, a modified version of Sony’s LA-EA4 adapter that expanded functionality and support. MonsterAdapters has since released another adapter, the LA-VE1, which makes it possible to adapt Minolta Vectis V-mount lenses to Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras.
Now, the company is promoting its forthcoming LA-KE1, which it claims is the ‘first of its kind in the world.’ The adapter offers full autofocus, aperture control and EXIF data transfer for Pentax K-mount lenses (KAF, KAF2, KAF3 and KAF4) to Sony E-mount cameras. The adapter uses a pair of motors for turning the screw-drive autofocus in older K-mount lenses.
This not only brings the ability to shoot with Pentax lenses to Sony E-mount cameras, but also enables many of Sony’s AI-assisted focusing modes to be used with the Pentax lenses, new and old. MonsterAdapter says the exact functionality will vary depending on what camera you’re using — noting a more powerful camera likely means more features — but both Human and Animal Eye-AF focus modes should be able to work on adapted glass.
MonsterAdapter also notes that due to the limits of screw-drive lenses, this adapter is best suited for still photographs—not video. In addition to the images of the prototype adapter in this article, SonyAlphaRumors has also shared a hands-on video demonstration of it in action:
No price is given for the LA-KE1 adapter, but it is set to ‘hit the market within this year,’ according to the company’s announcement post. You can keep up with the latest news on MonsterAdapter’s Facebook page.
Recently, DJI announced the Mini 2 drone. While it improves greatly upon its predecessor, the Mavic Mini, it won’t exactly replace the Mavic Air 2. To ensure that they can charge roughly $ 300 USD more, DJI has continued to improve upon the drone that falls below its Mavic 2 Pro and is a step above the Mini 2.
With firmware version v01.00.0460, DJI has added support so that the Mavic Air 2’s remote controller can also be used with the Mini 2. It is recommended that DJI’s Fly app v1.2.0, or higher, is installed on your smartphone. Another important update, especially for those flying near buildings or other tall structures, is the default Return to Home (RTH) altitude has increased to 100 meters (400 ft.).
This update also optimizes the downward vision positioning system by increasing the altitude limit to 30 meters (100 ft.). Users can also expect a quieter start-up after powering on their drone.
One question remains: since the Mini 2 also includes OccuSync 2.0 transmission technology, will it eventually be compatible with DJI’s Smart Controller? Time will tell. To get started with this latest firmware update for the Mavic Air 2, check out the tutorial video below. Full firmware release notes follow.
– Added support so the remote controller can also be used with DJI Mini 2. It is recommended to use the remote controller with DJI Fly v1.2.0 or above. – Updated default RTH altitude to 100 m. – Optimized Downward Vision System by increasing the altitude limit to 30 m when the aircraft is only using Downward Vision System for positioning. – Optimized logic of rotational speed of fan after powering on in order to reduce noise and power consumption. – Optimized detection and app alert when propellers are unfolded.
Notes:
If the update fails, restart aircraft, remote controller, and DJI Fly or DJI Assistant 2 for Mavic, and retry.
Argineering has launched a Kickstarter campaign for RGKit Play, ‘the first-ever modular wireless motion control kit that allows creatives to add movement to their design and camera.’ The campaign has already eclipsed its $ 50,000 funding goal by more than $ 25,000 at the time of writing.
RGKit includes motors, accessories, light controllers, sensors and a phone application and aims to simplify the process of creating mechanical motion. Argineering states that RGKit Play can be used for tasks such as videography and stop motion. Using the accompanying application, you can use RGKit Play to perform tasks such as moving your camera and a product while recording product video, rotating your camera around a subject and more.
In order to maintain stable and smooth movement, the RGKit Play has built-in motion stability features. Through the app, the user has precise control over distance, time and speed. The Camera Slider can carry up to 11 lbs. (5kg) and moves at up to 2″ (5cm) per second.
Using RGKit Play appears very simple. You mount the kit’s modules and accessories to your camera and fire up the app. Without needing to code, you can create a customized sequence of movements while adjusting speed, acceleration, duration, delay and more. There is also an automatic mode available. Accessories include a camera slider, pusher, pulleys, rotator, arms, rotator mounting, clamps, adjustable arms and more.
RGKit Play’s price depends upon the selected kit. The beginner kit, which does not include the camera slider, starts at $ 190 USD. The camera slider first appears in the RGKit Play: Videographer kit. This kit starts at $ 740 with early bird pricing. The eventual retail price for the Videographer kit will be $ 999. RGKit Play is scheduled to start shipping to Kickstarter pledgers in June 2021. To learn more about the RGKit Play and get details on each component and available configurations, head to Kickstarter.
Via DIY Photography
Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.
Facebook has announced a new rights management feature designed to give creators more control over their images. On Monday, Facebook product manager of the creator and publisher experience Dave Axelgard said, ‘We want to ensure Facebook is a safe and valuable place for creators to share their content.’ Key to that goal is the newly announced Rights Manager for Images.
Instagram is the dominant image-based social network at the moment, making it a valuable platform for creators…but it’s not without its controversy in the industry. Parent company Facebook is taking steps to address some of the criticism with its new Rights Manager for Images, which builds upon the existing Rights Manager to give photographers control over where their images appear on the social platform.
Rights Manager is a customizable tool found within the Facebook Creator Studio platform, which is built for creators to give them an element of control over their content across both Facebook and Instagram. The tool works by enabling users to add their content, after which Facebook will scan the two social platforms to find the content if it is posted on either.
Reposted content found on another user’s Page or profile can be removed or, in cases where it may be beneficial to the creator, the owner can either add an ownership link to the content or simply monitor the repost going forward. Creators have the option of adding exemptions for partners who have permission to share the content so that it isn’t flagged by the Rights Manager tool.
The newly announced Rights Manager for Images is described by Axelgard as a new version of the tool that is designed to offer management of photos ‘at scale.’ As with the original version of Rights Manager, Facebook requires creators to submit an application to get access to the tool.
The application includes selecting which Pages the user may want to protect, what type of rights owner they are (individual, publisher, etc.), the type of content that needs protected and similar details.
Facebook notes that this Rights Manager tool exists in addition to a number of other options creators have, including what it refers to as a ‘fast and effective’ intellectual property reporting system, as well as a policy for dealing with repeat copyright offenders and more. The tool ultimately gives creators the ability to prevent unauthorized sharing of copyrighted content, potentially bringing an end to reposts on Instagram.
It’s unclear how many creators have access to the Rights Manager, which addresses only one aspect of copyright issues on social media. Facebook has been criticized for failing to give Instagram users the ability to limit the sharing of public posts, something that was recently brought to public attention due to a couple of lawsuits earlier this year.
Facebook indicated earlier this summer that it may give Instagram users the ability to disable sharing or embedding posts, which would, for example, prevent media companies from embedding images to get around paying the photographer a licensing fee. The social media company complicated the matter in June when it clarified that its terms of service does not include sublicensing embedded content.
Though this may give creators more control over where their images are embedded, critics have said that it still places the burden on creators to find and police the use of their images due to Instagram’s readily available sharing and embedding tools. As well, the presence of these tools implies to users that they are allowed to embed public content on other websites without getting permission from the photographer first, potentially putting them at risk of unwittingly violating a photographer’s copyright.
Instagram told Ars Technica back in June that it was ‘exploring the possibility’ of offering users the option of disabling the embed tool. Such a feature remains unavailable at this time, however, meaning that Instagram users must make their images private if they don’t want users to have the option of sharing them.
Fujifilm has announced a version 2.0 release of its X Webcam utility, which makes it possible to use your compatible Fujifilm X and GFX camera as a webcam with popular livestreaming and video conferencing programs.
The version 2.0 update is available for both macOS and Windows users. The small update adds a new settings control window making it possible to change settings on-the-fly. In addition to basic exposure compensation and white balance changes, the settings control window can also be used to change film simulations and more while the camera is connected to your computer.
As with the previous version, Fujifilm X Webcam works with the following Fujifilm cameras: GFX100, GFX 50S, GFX 50R, X-H1, X-Pro2, X-Pro3, X-T2, X-T3, X-T4.
You can download the utility for macOS (10.12 and later) and Windows 10 computers on Fujifilm’s website.
The post Take Control of Color Adjustments in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
With all the sliders, options, and numerical values to tweak in Lightroom, there is no end to the editing possibilities at your disposal. Sometimes, you just want an easy way to make your images stand out and shine without all the hassle of adjusting dozens of individual options.
Fortunately, you don’t need to go overboard with editing to do some really incredible color adjustments in Lightroom. Three basic parameters can work wonders for your images: the Hue filter adjustment, as well as the Saturation and Vibrance sliders.
Along with White Balance, Hue is one of the most basic color adjustments you can make to a photo. Strictly speaking, Hue refers to the actual color of an image or a part of the image. It’s one of the building blocks of a photo that, along with Saturation and Luminance, affects your pictures on a foundational level.
The HSL panel in the Develop module lets you adjust the Hue of various colors. Essentially, you can make the reds shift from purple-ish to orange-ish. Or change your greens to be more yellow or teal.
Hue allows you to precisely control the overall appearance of your image, but the HSL panel works on an all-or-nothing basis. Moving the sliders affects the hue of every red, orange, yellow, and so on across the entire photograph.
Nikon D500 | Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 200mm | 1/500 sec | f/4 | ISO 3600
Hue works well in a picture like the red cardinal above because the colors are clearly distinct and separate. Adjusting the Hue slider for the color red will affect the bird but nothing else because there are no other reds in the picture.
A recent update to Lightroom turbocharges the Hue editing tool by also allowing it to be used with filter adjustments. You can make precise Hue adjustments using the Radial and Graduated filters as well as the Adjustment Brush. These are incredibly powerful tools that help you get the precise color adjustments in Lightroom that you were never able to get before.
Hue can now be edited using the Adjustment Brush, Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter.
The usefulness of this new approach to Hue adjustment is amazing, and using it could hardly be simpler. Just create a new filter or Adjustment Brush, then click and drag the Hue slider to change the colors of the portion of your image affected by the filter or the brush.
The top of the color rainbow stays locked in place while the bottom shows you the degree to which your colors are being changed. For precise control, check the Use Fine Adjustment box or hold down the Alt key (or the Option key on a Mac), which reduces the effect of your left-to-right dragging to give you finely-tuned adjustments.
To illustrate how this works, here is a picture of two yellow flowers. Adjusting the Hue using the HSL panel would allow me to change the yellow of both flowers. Using a Hue Adjustment Brush lets me change the color of one single flower. This is a maneuver that used to require jumping over to Photoshop and using multiple layers and tools, but can now be accomplished in mere seconds in Lightroom.
To change the color of the flower in the foreground from yellow to red, all I have to do is click the Adjustment Brush and paint in a new adjustment over the yellow flower. Then click and drag the Hue slider to the left, and you have an instant red flower.
The Auto Mask option helps ensure that my edits stay within the yellow flower. I can also hold the Alt key (or the Option key on a Mac) to erase parts of the adjustment that I don’t want.
Transforming the flower from yellow to red took me less than 15 seconds in Lightroom. All I did was use an Adjustment Brush and change the Hue.
Using the Hue adjustment with a Radial Filter or Graduated Filter follows much of the same process as the Adjustment Brush. Apply a filter and adjust the Hue accordingly to change the colors of a portion of your image. These additions to Hue options in Lightroom are a bit like selective color editing, where most of a picture is black and white with one portion displayed with color.
Hue adjustments for the filters and Adjustment Brush go one step further by giving you total control over individual colors in specific parts of your pictures. If you haven’t yet tried it, I recommend checking it out and seeing how easy it really is! And if you want even more control over your color adjustments in Lightroom, there are the Saturation and Vibrance sliders to look at.
Saturation and Vibrance
These two sliders can go a long way towards giving your photos an extra degree of refinement. However, they are often misunderstood and misused. They both complete the same basic function, in that they make the colors of a photo punchier or more exaggerated. Where they differ is in the method used to adjust the images and the way the colors are adjusted.
Saturation is kind of a blunt instrument, like editing your image with a hammer. It allows you to adjust the intensity of all the colors in a photo equally, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it gets you the result you are aiming for. It’s easy to overdo it with saturation, though, so adjust carefully.
Vibrance takes a more intelligent and subtle approach. This slider analyzes the colors of an image that are already saturated and, therefore, don’t need much adjustment. When you move the slider to the right those colors are generally left alone, as are common skin tones. The result is an image that feels punchier without being overwhelmed with color.
Adjustments with portraits
The image series below shows the difference between these two sliders. The first is an unedited RAW straight out of camera.
Nikon D750 | Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 180mm | 1/500 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 1600. Original unedited RAW photo, no color adjustments.
Adjusting Vibrance up to a value of +60 makes the background colors more noticeable and also punches up the blue clothing. Faces and hands are relatively untouched, as are some of the clothing colors like orange and green that don’t need much adjustment.
Same photo, but with Vibrance +60. The image feels more lively and dramatic without being overbearing.
In contrast, the Saturation color adjustment in Lightroom ramps up every color indiscriminately. The final image looks like it was run through a series of poorly-implemented social media filters and is a little jarring and unpleasant to look at.
This is the original image, but with the Saturation increased to +60. This picture feels overprocessed and unpleasant.
This example is a bit of an exaggeration, though! Saturation is a perfectly acceptable adjustment, as long as you use it carefully. Generally speaking, ramping up Saturation to such extreme values will not yield the best results. I like to keep it around the +5 to +15 range, which gives a more subtle effect and makes all the colors pop just enough to stand out while not being overbearing.
Another way to take control of color adjustments in Lightroom without getting too complicated is to lower Saturation and Vibrance.
Nikon D750 | 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II | 200mm | 1/250 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 220. Original unedited RAW, no color adjustments.
Lowering the value of Saturation and/or Vibrance can give your images a subdued look, almost like a sepia filter. I like this effect on portraits, and if you shoot for clients you might find this to be a useful adjustment to keep in your back pocket when editing. Many people like a desaturated look, because it can feel comforting and a bit nostalgic.
This is the same image, but with Saturation decreased to -45. Lots of clients like this type of appearance for portraits.
When working with portraits, I find that little Vibrance and Saturation adjustments in Lightroom go quite a long way. Generally, I do just a little bit of one or both and don’t exceed a value of +10. It might not seem like much, but those small edits can give your images that little extra push to really stand out.
Working with nature images
Vibrance and Saturation color adjustments in Lightroom really come in handy when working with landscapes, flowers, animals, or anything else in nature. Here’s where I like to put my foot on the throttle and really push the sliders a lot more than I would with portraits. Rather than jarring and unpleasant, the results are often dramatic and even captivating.
I shot the photo below in Minnesota just south of the Canadian border, just as the sun was coming up. The image looks fine, but it’s a little bland and doesn’t quite convey the emotion I want the viewer to experience. Thankfully, a little Saturation and Vibrance can fix it.
Fuji X100F | 23mm | 1/125 sec | f/8 | ISO 5000. Original unedited RAW, no color adjustments.
Bumping Saturation up to +55 yields a much-improved image, albeit with a few tweaks that still need to be implemented. Colors are richer, contrast is greater, and the scene is much more similar to how it was when I was standing among the trees listening to the birds chirp overhead.
+55 Saturation has improved the photo quite a lot.
Even though the picture is better with increased overall Saturation, adding some Vibrance gives it just the final touch it needs. I would never add this much Vibrance and Saturation to a portrait or street photograph. When working with shots of nature, these adjustments can make a huge difference without feeling ostentatious or overbearing.
Adding +30 Saturation brings out the colors in the background trees while keeping the foreground intact.
The best of both worlds
If you really want to get creative with Vibrance and Saturation, you can use a combination of both adjustments, but not in the way you might thing. Color adjustments in Lightroom are all a matter of personal preference, but one trick I like to use, especially with people in everyday life and not necessarily formal portraits, is to raise the vibrance while lowering the saturation.
Nikon D750 | Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art | 40mm | 1/180 sec | f/1.4 | ISO 360. Original RAW with no color adjustments.
Some of the best editing can be almost invisible. I lowered Saturation while raising Vibrance, which shifted everything just enough to give the picture a low-key-but-slightly-enhanced look. It’s a small but noticeable edit when compared to the original, and shows how using both adjustments together can yield impressive results.
+57 Vibrance combined with -22 Saturation gave me just the look I was aiming for.
This technique combines Saturation and Vibrance for a result that is more than the sum of its parts. The entire image feels a little more subdued and welcoming, while important colors are emphasized just a little more. The end result is, like a lot of good adjustments, subtle but effective.
Image editing doesn’t have to be complicated. While there are many tools and options for color adjustments in Lightroom, often just these simple basic features will get the job done just fine. I particularly like the new Hue tools and the unparalleled freedom they offer photographers.
If you have not yet tried this, or if it has been a while since you played around with simple Saturation and Vibrance, you might be surprised at how much these can do to make your images go from just okay to absolutely astonishing.
The post Take Control of Color Adjustments in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
The post Creatively Using the New Lightroom Hue Control appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
Shop for items online and you’re often offered color choices. Would you like that hat in red, orange, blue, green, tan or teal? Click on the item, select your desired color, and the item will change to reflect your color choice.
Now, how about if you could selectively change the color of items in your photos without affecting other colors in the image? Maybe you bought the orange hat, took a photo of yourself in it, and wished you’d instead picked the blue one. No problem, don’t return the hat; you can change its color in your photo with the new Adobe Lightroom Hue Control.
One photo, many color variations using the Lightroom Hue Control tool.
Global versus local adjustments
Reach for the Exposure slider in the Develop Module of Lightroom, and slide it left and right. You will see the entire image get lighter or darker. Any of the other sliders will affect the image similarly. Controls which affect the entire image are called global.
What if you want to adjust just a portion of the image? Brighten up that one tree, do some dodging and burning, bring up the saturation of a sunset, make adjustments that affect only certain areas?
To you so you need to be able to make local adjustments. Lightroom offers three tools with this capability: the Adjustment Brush, the Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter. Using those tools to add masks to the image will then allow you to apply the effects of the other sliders to just the masked areas.
Adobe photo editing programs
Choose your weapon: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop, or Adobe Camera Raw.
In discussing the use of the Lightroom Hue Control, I’ll be using the Adobe product I typically work with: Lightroom Classic. (The new logo now shows LrC.)
This is the version that runs on your local computer and stores images on your own hard drives. There is another version that Adobe simply calls Lightroom (LR). It has a slightly different interface and stores images online in the “cloud.” Then there is Photoshop (PS) with its accompanying tool, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Both versions of Lightroom have the new Hue Control, as does Adobe Camera RAW, so what we cover here can be done with any of those programs.
(Just a gripe with Adobe: Could you not have avoided confusion and named these programs differently?)
Wouldn’t Photoshop be better?
Before we discuss how to change colors in an image using the Lightroom Hue Control tool, I want to briefly address the Photoshop devotees in the crowd. More than a few times when I’ve told seasoned editors that I use Lightroom to edit my images, they will scoff and tell me that “real” photo editors use Photoshop. So let’s get this out of the way, especially as we discuss changing colors in an image.
I will be the first to admit that Photoshop has more sophisticated and precise tools, the ability to make selections, create layers, use color channels, and bring much greater control to what we’ll be showing here. However, Photoshop also has a much steeper learning curve. It also requires more steps to accomplish the task. Can you do a better and more precise job changing the colors of things in a photo with Photoshop? Most likely. But can you often get acceptable results with Lightroom (LrC, LR, or ACR)? Learn the techniques in this article and then you tell me.
What is hue?
Ask a child to hand you the red crayon from the box and they can probably do so. They know what the color “red” looks like. But in the digital photography world, we have different ways of describing color.
Cameras can only “see” three colors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B). And there are only 256 values of each.
That’s why you can describe any color by its RGB value. Pure red is 255, 0, 0; pure green is 0, 255, 0; pure yellow (a combination of red and green) is 255, 255, 0.
In the printing world, where inks and pigments are used to make colors, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are the primary colors, and any color can be created with a CMYK combination (i.e., red is 0, 100, 100, 0).
One way of defining digital color is using the HSL model: Hue, Saturation, and Lightness (or Luminosity).
There is another way of describing color, and that’s the one we’re interested in when using the Lightroom Hue Control. This uses a Hue (H), Saturation (S), and Lightness (or Luminosity) (L) description. Here, hue is synonymous with what we typically call color. Saturation refers to the intensity of the color, with zero saturation being shades of gray. Lightness/Luminosity is how light or dark the color is, with zero being black and 255 being pure white.
A new hue for you
So what we’re able to adjust with the Lightroom Hue Control is just that: the hue. We can make an orange hat blue without changing the saturation (S) or lightness (L). In doing so, we retain the tone and texture in an image while changing its hue/color (H).
Making it local
Lightroom has had tools for globally adjusting color in an image, such as the temperature and tint sliders and the HSL/Color controls, for some time. But those tools worked globally or had limited control over color. With the newest version of Lightroom released in June of 2020 (LrC 9.3, LR 3.3, ACR 12.3), the ability to combine hue adjustment with other tools was added. Now, color can be controlled much more precisely, exactly where you want it, and in combination with other tools. Local control is the ticket.
If you’ve installed the latest version of Lightroom (LrC) or LR or ACR, you will now see this tool.
When, where, and how to use local hue adjustments
Perhaps a good way to learn how to use the new tool is to work through a photo and use it to selectively change some colors. We’ll use the image below of my grandson, William, (who to me in this shot looks like the Peanuts cartoon strip character Linus in the pumpkin patch awaiting the arrival of the “Great Pumpkin.”)
This is the edited photo of William (aka “Linus” in this setting). These are the original colors of the image.
The hat trick: Step-by-step
Let’s take this step by step and change the orange hat to blue using the Lightroom Hue Control.
There are three local adjustment tools in Lightroom: The Graduated Filter, The Radial Filter, and the Adjustment Brush.
We want local adjustment control, and I mentioned Lightroom has three tools that allow this: the Adjustment Brush, the Radial Filter, and the Graduated Filter. The Adjustment Brush is the best choice for selecting only the hat.
Select the Adjustment Brush, and turn on the mask overlay by hitting “O” on your keyboard or by checking the box that says Show Selected Mask Overlay.
Use the Adjustment Brush to roughly paint over the hat. Have the overlay on to see what you’re doing. Here I’ve made the overlay green to see it better.
Start painting over the hat with the Adjustment Brush. You may find that the overlay is red and hard to see on the orange hat, so you can cycle through the overlay colors by tapping Shift and O on your keyboard. I’d recommend turning the mask overlay green, which is much easier to see on the orange hat.
You are going to refine your selection in a minute, so for now, don’t worry about being precise.
Refining your selection
In Photoshop, we would likely make a selection of the hat using the tools provided. And once the hat was selected, we would see what has come to be called the “marching ants” dashed outline of our selection. Don’t look for the ants in Lightroom. There are no “selection” tools here. Instead, we use what are called masks to define where we want our effects applied. There are several ways to refine our selection. They are:
Use the add and erase features of the Adjustment Brush. You can add to the mask simply by brushing where you want. This is the default and you will see a “+” symbol inside the tool indicating you are adding to the mask. Want to erase or subtract parts of the mask? Hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac), and the + will turn to a – symbol, indicating you are now subtracting from the mask. Zooming in close and working with a small brush will allow you to fine-tune the mask.
Another option is to check the Auto Mask box as you paint with the Adjustment Brush.
A fairly new addition to Lightroom is the Range Mask tool. You have the option to use Color or Luminance to create your mask. Because the hat we are masking is all fairly close to the same color orange here, a range mask should work well.
Think of Auto Mask as an edge detection tool. Check the Auto Mask box and then use the Adjustment Brush to add (+) or subtract (-) from your mask.If the Adjustment Brush shows a + sign, you can add to the mask. Hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) to remove portions of the mask.
Home on the range
So let’s refine our selection of the hat with the Color Range Mask. Here are the steps:
Select the rough mask that you’ve already created. Then choose Color from the Range Mask dropdown.
An eyedropper tool will appear next to the Range Mask menu. Click to pick it up, then bring it over the hat.
Click the left mouse button and drag a small square over a portion of the hat to select a range of the orange colors. (Don’t worry about your mask overlay. It’s selecting the colors underneath.)
When you let go of the mouse button, the mask will be refined to now cover only the color range you selected. (A tip here: Put the eyedropper back when you are done with this range selection.)
To better see what was selected, hold down the Alt (Option) key on your keyboard and click the Amount slider for the Range Mask. You can drag the slider to refine the mask even further while doing this. Moving the slider to the right will increase the range of the selection; moving the slider to the left will decrease the range.
The Range Mask will allow you to refine your mask using Color or Luminance.Using the eyedropper tool in the Color Range Mask, drag a box including samples of the color you wish to mask. Alternatively, click a spot, hold down Shift, and click another spot to choose multiple sample areas. When you let go, the mask will be refined.To better see what the Range Mask has selected, hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) and click and hold the Amount slider.
A whole new hue
Once we’re happy with our selection, it’s time to change the color. Here’s where we will use the new Lightroom Hue Control. Here are the steps:
It’s best to turn off the overlay option so you can better see the color shift, so press “O” on the keyboard. The overlay will disappear, but as long as the pin for your selection is still selected, you’ll be working with the right selection.
Go to the rainbow-like Hue control slider. You will see the top slider is set at the existing color; in our case, this is orange. Now, drag the bottom slider toward the color (on the top slider) you wish to change to. You will see the color change in the masked area of the image as you do this. Release the mouse button when the color gets close to the new color you want.
To further tweak the color, check the Use Fine Adjustment box. Now drag the slider left and right to refine the color as you like (it will barely move).
You may find you need to refine your mask if areas were missed or overflowed outside your desired area. Use the methods outlined above to fine-tune your mask further.
With your mask selected, use the Hue slider to choose the new color you want.
Further tuning
While your mask is still selected, most of the rest of the Lightroom sliders can be used and will affect only the area in that mask. For example, if the new color is too light or dark, the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks sliders can all be used. You may want to explore what some of the other sliders can do for the newly recolored area.
You may want to use some of the other sliders in Lightroom to refine your new color. Most will work locally within your mask while it is selected.
When you are finished with all the tweaks and recoloring, don’t forget to click the Done button.
Here’s a Before and an After. Notice I also changed some of the diamonds on his sweater using other masks, each done the same way.
Multiple masks and recolored areas
If you need to recolor another area of your image, simply make new selections and repeat the same process:
Make a rough selection with the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter, or Radial Filter. Do this with the overlay on to see where you’re working.
Fine-tune your selection
Change the hue as desired. Check the Use Fine Adjustment box to get the color you want.
Further fine-tune your area with the other sliders in Lightroom
Not just for clothing color changes
In the example above, the color change to the hat was pretty dramatic; we took it from the original orange color to the complete opposite complementary color on the color wheel (blue). Sometimes, though, you only want a subtle change. Perhaps you want to change the shade of green on the leaves of a tree, take out a color cast on a certain object in your shot, or slightly change the color of portions of the sky.
You might also want to omit the step of refining a mask, and simply use the Adjustment Brush, change the color with the Hue slider, and start painting. Subtle color changes to portions of your image might be a way to get the look you want.
The camas blooms are probably closer to the blue shade in the before shot, but for dramatic effect I used the Lightroom Hue Control technique here to make them more purple.
Snapshots along the way
When working on an image in Lightroom and trying new things, it can be a good practice to make Snapshots as you go. That way, if you want to go back to any point in your editing process, you can.
Click the + symbol in the Snapshot panel (or use the shortcut Control/Command + N), give the snapshot a name, and then continue your work. Later, you’ll be able to go back to the snapshot if required. Perhaps you want to show the various color versions of an item but don’t want to save multiple files. Change the color, make a snapshot, change it again, make another snapshot, and so forth. Later, you can bring up the image, go to the named snapshot, and see that color version.
A real plus of Lightroom is being able to make multiple versions without making multiple copies of a file. Work through your image, make multiple color versions, and use the Snapshot feature to save each color variation (all in the same file!). Also, notice here what a nice job the Color Range Mask did of selecting the background color of the blouse and allowing me to change it to purple while retaining the color of the flowers in the pattern.
Color your world
As Adobe adds new tools to its products, we have new ways of editing our photos. We can better achieve the creative looks we like and even have various versions of the same image (all without having to take multiple photos or make multiple copies of an image). I hope you’ll give the new Lightroom Hue Control a try.
And then post some of your before/after images in the comments. I look forward to seeing your creativity.
The post Creatively Using the New Lightroom Hue Control appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.
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