BW Artisan Pro panels

[P1505]

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Hi all.

Does anyone here have any real world experience of using the panels from here: https://www.bwvision.com/bw-artisan-pro-panel/

Im wanting to move beyond basic and global presets like Silver Efex and Lightroom presets. But I also don’t want to spend days in Photoshop per photo. Hours is fine, days is not. Not yet anyway.

The concept of selections and masks to apply various highlights etc, i quite like that idea.

Im more into documentary than fine art architecture or landscape. So for most of the projects I’m working on the editing is as minimal as possible. Colour tweaks to keep the series consistent but no cropping and never any manipulation. But I do like the idea of have a couple of image series Whitchurch are more heavily played with. More art, less documentary.

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[P1505]

Doing more reading and I’ve found Lumenzia, which is non destructive. Same workflow can be used. I think I’ll take a chance and carve out some time to play.

[250swb]

What exactly is 'basic' about Silver Efex? It seems like this bwvision stuff works in a similar way to Silver Efex but is designed specifically to render hideous results.

[LocalHero1953]

22 hours ago, P1505 said:

Hi all.

Does anyone here have any real world experience of using the panels from here: https://www.bwvision.com/bw-artisan-pro-panel/

Im wanting to move beyond basic and global presets like Silver Efex and Lightroom presets. But I also don’t want to spend days in Photoshop per photo. Hours is fine, days is not. Not yet anyway.

The concept of selections and masks to apply various highlights etc, i quite like that idea.

Im more into documentary than fine art architecture or landscape. So for most of the projects I’m working on the editing is as minimal as possible. Colour tweaks to keep the series consistent but no cropping and never any manipulation. But I do like the idea of have a couple of image series Whitchurch are more heavily played with. More art, less documentary.

Then you have an obvious route that doesn't require you to spend more money: use Lightroom without using presets. Silverefex ditto. It was a very long time before I started using presets in Lightroom. Even now, the presets I use in Lightroom are almost all ones I have created myself. Both apps are powerful. I spend quite a lot of time post processing; almost all of it is in Lightroom, jumping to Photoshop when it is easier there (e.g. content-aware fill, precise masking). If I use Silverefex, it is often as a smart layer from within Photoshop, so that I can adjust the Nik tools non-destructively.

If I felt I'd have to spend days in Photoshop then I'd conclude that I'd taken the wrong photo to start with. If I'm spending long hours, it's simply because I'm experimenting or learning.

[P1505]

I find Lightrooms masking is too vague. Maybe a tablet would help. Either way I bought Lumenzia and so far it’s a lot of fun.

I think with practice I’ll have more control and spend less time. I will share my results as a diary of my learning.

[jaapv]

On 12/26/2020 at 10:53 AM, P1505 said:

So for most of the projects I’m working on the editing is as minimal as possible. Colour tweaks to keep the series consistent but no cropping and never any manipulation.

How do you manage to spend more than two minutes in Photoshop then? And why do you even want to use products like Silver Efex, which are the pinnacle of manipulation, only automated into presets?
May I draw your attention to the fact that your image should open in ACR, which is just a different UI for the basic part of Lightroom, even with extensive and easily used controls for B&W conversion. You then open for more sophisticated finishing ((smart) layers and blending, repair, dust spotting,  content-aware manipulation, perspective correction, resizing, your preferred sharpening techniques -you name it- ,  if desired) in Photoshop (16 bits!) to export the final image. It has all become so much faster and easier over the last few years. It is an advantage of the CC  system that is seldom mentioned. I rarely spend more than a few minutes on a single photograph nowadays, unless I want to do further processing, like focus stacking, making a panorama or tweaking colour in LAB. 

[P1505]

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Because I want to also experiment and play with high contrast black and white.

Most of my photos require very little work. I amend exposure where needed, I tend to apply one of three very simple presets, and it’s done.

But for some, where the light was flat or I think they’d make a nice abstract or high contrast fine art image, I need more control over the various parts of the image. At least, I’m guessing I will this is day two on this journey. Lightroom’s masking is, unless I’m missing something, very vague. To emulate darkroom dodging and burning. But I can’t do luminosity masking.

For $40 it’s a punt worth taking, and so far it’s proving itself to be rather fun.

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, P1505 said:

fun.

Have fun. But understand nothing you are doing couldn't be done in LR. The high contrast presets in Silver Efex save time. If you want very high contrast see some of the Silver Efex film simulations.

[jaapv]

Well, I timed it. 20 seconds in ACR,sharpen and resize in PS2021CC

 

 

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[250swb]

20 hours ago, pedaes said:

Have fun. But understand nothing you are doing couldn't be done in LR. The high contrast presets in Silver Efex save time. If you want very high contrast see some of the Silver Efex film simulations.

Some of the Silver Efex presets and film simulations can look clumsy because the software can't anticipate the quality of the input image, but they can definitely save time in getting you closer to the image you want. 

So many people think time is a 'a waste of time',  but how much time is spent wondering if it couldn't have been done better?

[P1505]

The more I play with luminance masks the more power I think they have, and the more I wonder why Lightroom doesn’t offer them.

NIK etc are fine, and excellent starting points. But watching hours of videos I’m seeing how far you can take basic adjustments with masks and improve (that’s subjective) an image.

I’ll post something when I’m less crap at it.

[Keith (M)]

Regarding luminosity masks, this from Ian Barber Photography (someone who specialises in monochrome photography) may be of interest.