Lightroom Questions . . .

OK, I'm still having some trouble with conversions to jpeg, but I'm not ready to give up on Lightroom yet! (It might be my computer.) But I have a few questions about editing . . .

Could someone explain, in simple terms, the difference between:

* Luminance and saturation
* Exposure and brightness

I've looked online and read various descriptions, but some are confusing and eve conflicting.

When I mess around with those sliders, I don't see a big difference, but I know there are some.

Thanks for any feedback.

Adobe Help is useful to read:

Exposure Sets the overall image brightness, with a greater effect in the high values. Adjust the slider until the photo looks good and the whites are at the right level. Use Recovery to bring highlight values down.Exposure values are in increments equivalent to f‑stops. An adjustment of +1.00 is similar to increasing the aperture 1 stop. Similarly, an adjustment of –1.00 is similar to reducing the aperture 1 stop.

Brightness Adjusts image brightness, mainly affecting midtones. Set the overall tonal scale by setting Exposure, Recovery, and Blacks. Then set the overall image brightness. Large brightness adjustments can affect shadow or highlight clipping, so you may want to readjust the Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks slider after adjusting brightness.

Luminance affects the lightness/darkness tonality of the color, while Saturation affects the intensity of the color.

Kristen,

Following what Wilt said, if you look at the histogram when adjusting Exposure and Brightness you will see different behavior -- with the Exposure slider you will see as Wilt notes less movement at the left (dark) end of the histogram -- it tends to "preserve" the black point. At the right, though, you can freely blow highlights. The Brightness slider attempts to preserve the white point, so look at the right side of the histogram and you will see the end being affected less than the mid tones.

It is a juggling act, getting things fine-tuned, balancing with contrast, blacks, recovery and fill but overall they are pretty powerful controls.

One way of playing with the Luminance slider is with blue skies. I find that when you have a blue sky that "needs some pop", try pulling the luminance Blue slider back a bit (to the left). Saturation for a blue sky doesn't work the same and can make things, well, a bit garish. But lowering the blue luminance can have a similar affect as using a graduated neutral density filter on a sky.

OK, I just have to mull this over until it makes sense in my HEAD -- or "clicks." By "high values", do you mean whites? Of course, I know I need to "play" with these controls more, too. The differences seem subtle, so I'm not quite "getting" it yet, but this helps!

Also, with Luminance V Saturation -- I see that you can isolate colors and adjust (for example) blue in Luminance or Saturation. They seem the same, but I know they are not. (I did see a tutorial on using luminance on the sky and that "filter" effect, though.)

OK, I "cut and paste" your answers for further study. This is all just so different from DPP (where I am really comfortable), but I know that if I can learn to utilize all these new tools, it will really help with my final products.

Thanks again!

So, I admit that I haven't done enough in DPP to really match the results I've gotten with Lightroom when it comes to fine-tuning things. I still turn to Lightroom for the "serious" edits.

As to the difference between the Luminance and Saturation controls, it should be that hard to see if you target a particular color and just play with the sliders and watch the results.

For Luminance vs. Saturation...

Luminance: think 'seeing this color in dark room vs bright room...same color, different tonality'
Saturation: think 'seeing more pastel version of this color vs. more intense version of this color

Exposure vs. Brightness can be very confusing! But for Saturation vs. Luminance -- try this: pick an image with some bright color such as red. Then in LR, go to Saturation, grab the red slider, and pull it to the left. You will see the bright red color shift to pink as it desaturates. Return that slider to zero and then switch to Luminance and do the same thing. Now you will see the red get darker, as if it were being underexposed.

Now go the other way -- + Saturation makes the red more vivid, while + Luminance gives it an overexposed, washed out look.

A good memory aid might be that "Luminance" acts sort of like light "Light illuminating the subject."

And for saturation -- one way to make a black and white image is to completely desaturate (remove) all of the color.

Oh, great stuff! This all helps turn the lightbulb on for me; I can't wait to try these tips. Thanks.

Another question -- I saw a tutorial on the Graduated Filter. Does this virtually eliminate the need for NDG filters? I have a nice set, but maybe I don't need to use them now.

I'm sure there will be plenty of old guard film guys who will scream, "No way!" but for me it definitely replaces the glass GNDF because it can do so much more. Not just reduce exposure, but change contrast, color, saturation, sharpness, blur. And you can use multiple filters in the same image. For instance, one of the ways I like to use it is to even out the light fall-off in a flash shot - like a group of people sitting around a table.

Kristen,
Maybe this will help you grasp the difference between Exposure and Brightness. In the illustration below the upper histogram is "before" and the lower (up-side-down) one is "after". In the Exposure example the white point (the brightest tone) has been dragged all the way to the limit, any more and it will clip. In the Brightness example the white point has not moved, but the medium tones have been shifted to the right.

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I've noticed a very funny thing about this kind of thread. Invariably, the question is answered satisfactorily in the first couple of replies - then others join in, trying to be helpful, by repeating the answer in different ways, only succeeding in confusing the issue. I think, to a degree, that's what has happened here

Oh no, others explain things in their own words and their own ways and, often, that gives me more info. or another way to think about the issue. It helps a lot. I appreciate all the feedback!

Elie -- the chart is interesting! I will study that further and see what I can play with on my own (I've been gone most of today.) I am determined to get familiar with Lightroom (after a lot of fun and good production with DPP) and all it's great features. This helps. Thanks!

YankeeMom wrote in post #12057310
Oh, great stuff! This all helps turn the lightbulb on for me; I can't wait to try these tips. Thanks.

Another question -- I saw a tutorial on the Graduated Filter. Does this virtually eliminate the need for NDG filters? I have a nice set, but maybe I don't need to use them now.

As to the DNG question:

There is a long-time photography "guru" -- I think it is Joseph Van Os but I could be wrong there -- who has for a lot of years led "safaris", conducted workshops, all that stuff.

I was quite interested going over the info for one of his events several years ago and to see that in the separate lists of suggested gear people should bring the GND was listed on the film list, whereas not on the digital thread with a note that with digital they are no longer needed.

That was something coming from someone who was an accomplished film outdoor photographer!

Here's another comparison I'm reading about -- Clarity V Sharpening. Oh boy. Gotta love new features.

In regards to more answers muddling the thread, I disagree with this thread. There is good insightful answers that do not conflict each other. I always say it is better to have multiple persons answers for more in depth understanding.

In regards to the filters, I have read both answers, meaning - get as much in camera & the software works very well. Myself, if I can get it in camera without missing the shot, that is what I try for.