Lab Mode

Who here uses lab mode and to what extent is it advantageous for one shooting raw? I've been watching Deke McCelland tutorials and wanted to get a survey over real world applications.

I never find it necessary to convert to Lab mode.

However, occasionally I like to use Adjustment layers in "Luminosity" mode, which mimics editing the L channel in Lab mode, without the need for conversion.

I use it for producing duo/tri/quadtones...

Lab is sometimes *very* nice if you want to alter saturation.

A *long* read: Link

Lab Has some things it does VERY well that is hard to mimic elsewhere...I do not go to it often but once you understand the basics it is very easy to work with.

I recomend "Canyon Conundrum" by Dan Margalis if you like to learn by book.

Thanks guys.

René Damkot wrote in post #7892410
Lab is sometimes *very* nice if you want to alter saturation.

Agree. Can be an invaluable tool for landscape / scenic photogs. Here's a quick and easy tutorial labeled the velvia effect but in essence, it's just bumping up color saturation.

I used it yesterday to do a simple B&W conversion... nothing to do with Raw.

I'll drop into Lab Mode for sharpening of just the luminance channel from time to time...

Yes, i also use LAB for sharpening with both the A & B channels switched off. I then convert my sharpened image back to RGB and continue with my edits. I beleive that this generally produces cleaner results. LAB can also be used for making colour corrections but for this I usually use a threshold layer to set up my colour curves in RBG mode.

Lab mode is, to me, much more intuitive than RGB, to tell you the truth. I don;t feel the need to go right into Lab, but it makes much more sense than RGB in terms of separation of luminance and color and the ability to affect one without the other. Dan Margulis' books go into Lab in excruciating detail, in the context of image processing, but worth the read for sure.

Even if I do not switch color modes, I usually assess color (with the Color Dropper) in Lab. Call me a freak.

All kids love Lab!

Kirk

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #7898326
I'll drop into Lab Mode for sharpening of just the luminance channel from time to time...

That's two color space conversions just for sharpening... Not the best idea IMHO.
You can get pretty much the same results by sharpening, then go Fade > blend mode luminosity. (Or sharpen on a separate layer, and set it's blend mode to luminosity)

Don't be silly, it's for labs not photographers.