Post-Processing Haze

I am working to improve my post-processing skills and one area I have difficult with is long distance shots that have normal haze in them. I do shoot with a UV / haze filter or a polarizer. This image was taken with the polarizer. Any suggestions to improve post-processing of the haze would be greatly appreciated.

This image was taken in RAW on my 7Dmk2.

https://drive.google.c​om …iVklXa3M/view?u​sp=sharing

I'd say learn to make friends with curves, although there are tools in many raw conversion programs for improving microconstrast or reducing haze. Lightroom has a variety of tools beyond just curves. There's a dehaze, there's clarity, etc.

End of the day, your UV filter won't eliminate atmospheric haze so learning to tweak the curves in the right place or using those other tools will help but there's only so much that can be done. What RAW conversion program are you using?

One of the reasons I like shooting in winter is the reduction in atmospheric haze, and the different kinds of images I can capture under those conditions.

I use Lightroom to post-process the RAW files. I totally missed the de-haze option in Lightroom under Effects. The dehaze really seems to compress the histogram to the left and darken the image. Perhaps I need to learn more about curves.

Local contrast (a.k.a. clarity) boost seems the obvious solution.

It worked well on your picture when I edited it with Topaz Clarity, a Photoshop plugin that runs in many other pixel editors as well.

If I get your permission I'll post the before and after.

bogleric wrote in post #18448190
I use Lightroom to post-process the RAW files. I totally missed the de-haze option in Lightroom under Effects. The dehaze really seems to compress the histogram to the left and darken the image. Perhaps I need to learn more about curves.

'de-haze' in Lightroom is a very good place to start imho ... and might be all that is required.

bogleric wrote in post #18448182
This image was taken in RAW on my 7Dmk2.

https://drive.google.c​om …iVklXa3M/view?u​sp=sharing

Do we have your permission to edit this and post our results?

Yes... You have my permission, I should have mentioned that before.

I should have mentioned previously, you have my permission to post, etc.

bogleric wrote in post #18448190
I use Lightroom to post-process the RAW files. I totally missed the de-haze option in Lightroom under Effects. The dehaze really seems to compress the histogram to the left and darken the image. Perhaps I need to learn more about curves.

Manual tweaking with the curves is my preferred method for most of this kind of work.

Before and after, using Topaz Clarity (no masking):

bogleric wrote in post #18448322
Yes... You have my permission, I should have mentioned that before.

In that case, may we have the raw file?

In addition to Damien's post above, you will need to put the RAW file on a service such as Dropbox, then share the link here. You cannot post RAW files directly to POTN.

I find Dehaze a very useful tool. One thing you have to understand about any tool that increases contrast, they all tend to pull the histogram in from the sides. You can pull a little of this back by using the Blacks/Whites sliders to move the histogram ends back, but you will lose a little contrast if you raise the blacks.


I don't think a Skylight/UV filter is going to help you very much with a digital camera, since they already have UV filtering built into the sensor itself, they were very useful on film though. The polariser is one of the very few filters that it is impossible to replicate the use of digitally in post processing, so I would be using one of them, in preference to the Skylight/UV filter.

Alan

A stronger edit of the hazed background with Topaz Clarity, with the foreground an sky masked out

Started w/ a local adj brush in LR for dehaze through the middle of the image.
Then in PS used Luminosity mask on the trees in the foreground to lighten them up and another one on the mountains to adjust levels.

Topaz Clarity does a pretty good job with haze.