Getting used to LR 5.x

So after 60+ weddings, all edited in previous versions of lightroom up to 3.5, I've finally started processing my first 5.x wedding.

My general question is: what are the things I should be aware of when working on this post 3.5 landscape ?

For example, I notice that the default curve is flat, which I've known for some time does NOT mean the same thing as a linear curve in LR3.5. And I've noticed that clarity is different as well.

The way I tried to resolve this was by opening a v3.5 catalog, looking at an image with my v3.5 defaults, changing the process version to the newest and seeing how my adjustments were mapped. I concluded in the end that in fact the defaults built into LR5 actually worked well, so I ditched the 'updated' set except for clarity (which I halved from my 3.5 settings) and vibrance (which I like around 25) and sharpening (which I've adjusted with some help from this board).

One thing I noticed was that the default curve doesn't have any anchor points on it by default so adjustments are more global than one might like UNTIL you've added a couple of points. I think I'll add some points to the, er, linear curve and bake that in to the default develop settings (note: I'm aware of the other mode).

Are there other things I should be thinking about ?

In general, exposure and the tonal adjustments are different (and their behaviors are different) in LR5 compared to LR3 and their effects are, to a certain degree, image-dependent.

Some people like this new way of adjusting tone, some think it is not very intuitive and takes getting used to.

kirk

That's precisely what kept me away from the updated process version for so long. I'm a pretty analytical dude and did not like the idea that there were adjustments being made under the hood (the adaptive stuff) that I have little control over. I like when things are more predictable.

That said, I can't deny that the new version is producing really decent results so far--so I think i'm sold.

One common move I made in the old version was to bring the exposure up (exposing for the highlights) and then to bring the brightness down. I'm finding that I'm adjusting exposure in LR5 and then just looking for a way to control the mid-tones better. I'm sure there are several ways to accomplish something similar (with slightly different micro-contrast results to be sure)--e.g. via the tone curve--but I haven't worked out the best way to go about this.

I also don't quite know how 'shadows' differs from the old 'fill'. Is it just more local ?

kirkt wrote in post #16340820
In general, exposure and the tonal adjustments are different (and their behaviors are different) in LR5 compared to LR3 and their effects are, to a certain degree, image-dependent.

Some people like this new way of adjusting tone, some think it is not very intuitive and takes getting used to.

kirk

The big change in the way tonality is handled came in the change from LR3 to LR4 and LR5 has not changed what was instituted with LR4. At that time a lot of people needed to learn new ways to edit in LR and many who were proficient in LR3 were floundering somewhat. The "Exposure" control is entirely different, for instance, because it incorporates aspects of the old Brightness adjustment in LR3 together with content aware abilities that vary the roll-off curve at the top to limit clipping (Exposure in LR3 was linear and could easily cause clipping). Similarly, the Shadows adjustment that replaced Fill incorporates edge aware algorithms that greatly changed its behavior, while Blacks is also content aware in setting the black point. In short, there is a lot to learn.
All the various gurus rushed to teach LR4 when it appeared and I would advise looking for those blogs and tuts from about two years ago. The best explanation and exposition I saw then was by George Jardine
http://topdownvideos.c​om/training/hns-r/
http://topdownvideos.c​om/training/sample-dev4/

Sorry--yes, I should have been more clear: I never used LR4, so the big change for me is with LR5.

Thanks so much for the links, Elie. I'm going to check them out right now.

I find that I tend to use the exposure slider to roughly center the histogram (I usually ETTR), and then use the highlights/shadows and white black point sliders to maximise the visible DR and then go back to the exposure slider and use it to shift the mid tones to where I want them. Of course this whole process can become a little iterative as you then may have to go and **** the others a bit too and so on. Since the change to PV2012 I find that I do not need to actually go and play with the curves tools at all. The default linear seems to work fine for most of my work. I used to have to play with the curves a lot when using ACR in PSCS3.

Alan