Any good classes/videos on post processing Leica Monochrom images?

[Cayenne]

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Hi all,

I'm loving my M10M....and enjoying experimenting post processing my images in both Capture One and On1 RAW.

Of course in the past, with color cameras I'd have the color sliders to play with...but those aren't an option with a true monochrome image.

I was curious if anyone here might have some good links to articles on how to approach post production on monochrome digital images...or maybe good YouTube videos?

Any times or tricks you might list out here too would be very much appreciated.

What application(s) do you use?

What do you like to do to your images?

 

I pretty much keep a yellow filter on the lenses I use on my M10M....so, working from there.

 

Thank you in advance,

cayenne

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[frame-it]

 

[Jeff S]

Don’t forget the potential for using color filters over the lens, as in b/w film days.  Otherwise the  options and techniques in PP remain similar to color conversions.  The tone curve is your friend.  Free Adobe videos from Julianne Kost are a good start.

Jeff

[Cayenne]

On 2/19/2021 at 6:28 PM, Jeff S said:

Don’t forget the potential for using color filters over the lens, as in b/w film days.  Otherwise the  options and techniques in PP remain similar to color conversions.  The tone curve is your friend.  Free Adobe videos from Julianne Kost are a good start.

Jeff

I'll check a bit more to see if Kost has some good ones.

I'd really like to see some examples using Capture One if out there.

C

[Jeff S]

49 minutes ago, Cayenne said:

I'll check a bit more to see if Kost has some good ones.

I'd really like to see some examples using Capture One if out there.

C

Learning techniques is relatively straightforward with any software, given time and effort to experiment and gain comfort with the interface. The harder part is to decide when, where and to what degree to apply those techniques. Judgment and decision making, requiring an end in mind.

Tutorials and other resources are easily searched.

https://learn.captureone.com/webinars/black-white-master-class-co11/

Jeff

[caloosajo]

Dotan Saguy did a webinar on YouTube with Nik Silver Efex last year, which was helpful (if you’re considering or already using the software). He processed a couple from his M10 and a couple from his M246, about an hour in total. I’ve not adopted his exact approach, but it gave me a head start in exploring the range of the M10M files with these programs.

[sergiomarried]

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Hi Cayenne,

I feel that, as often with photography, this is a highly potential subjective matter. From my experience with the M10M so far, I can tell you that my general approach has not changed: I 99% use Adobe LR exclusively and treat my raw files as if the'd be a real negative in the classic darkroom. Preparing them for printing or as final digital pictures. Contrast, exposure, dodge, burn, slight tilting or cropping... The Monochrom files are very unique of course, a very flexible negative where one can extract a lot of tonal range information. Perhaps the most critical frequent process for these special negatives is the need of indeed bringing contrast and exposure back in, since underexposing is a usual practice and we start with a fairly flat initial image. I love this by the way, that Leica give us this flat, neutral starting point since it allows for multiple and rich potential developing later on. More than with any other digital camera, we need to be very aware of the decisions we're making along photographing and the needs we will require for final print. Very little margin for error, so much potential reward later on... What a gorgeous challenge these tools are.

Best regards, 

Sergio

[Cayenne]

9 hours ago, sergiomarried said:

Hi Cayenne,

I feel that, as often with photography, this is a highly potential subjective matter. From my experience with the M10M so far, I can tell you that my general approach has not changed: I 99% use Adobe LR exclusively and treat my raw files as if the'd be a real negative in the classic darkroom. Preparing them for printing or as final digital pictures. Contrast, exposure, dodge, burn, slight tilting or cropping... The Monochrom files are very unique of course, a very flexible negative where one can extract a lot of tonal range information. Perhaps the most critical frequent process for these special negatives is the need of indeed bringing contrast and exposure back in, since underexposing is a usual practice and we start with a fairly flat initial image. I love this by the way, that Leica give us this flat, neutral starting point since it allows for multiple and rich potential developing later on. More than with any other digital camera, we need to be very aware of the decisions we're making along photographing and the needs we will require for final print. Very little margin for error, so much potential reward later on... What a gorgeous challenge these tools are.

Best regards, 

Sergio

First, thank you everyone that has contributed to this thread...good stuff.

And Sergio, great insight.  I"m still new pretty much with my M10M...and just unloaded a card I'd been shooting with for a month or so....I had to clear room on my external working drive, etc...so, just now unloading it.

I guess I'm going to have to start underexposing much MORE than I thought I was doing already....on many of my shots, while usable, a lot of the times there is no detail really in the sky where I thought I"d have some.

I have a yellow filter on my lens at all times...but I had been adjusting to the 1 stop of light that that was supposed to be giving me. Perhaps I should start from now on, meter or use sunny 16 rule and ignore the fact that I have a filter on front cutting some light out.

 

Hey...its all fun learning....and I will start to err more on the side of underexposure and see how that works for me.

 

Thanks again!

 

cayenne

[caloosajo]

HAVE to protect the highlights! I’ve not used a color filter, but standard practice with M10M for me is at least 1/3EV underexposed (I try to be mindful of this in both manual and aperture priority). I have a friend who swears by a minimum full-stop under, given how dramatically you can pull the files. Regardless, makes for a worthwhile challenge to believe in your pre-visualization and (to your original point) your post-processing expectations.

[Anakronox]

Digital is the opposite of film in that you need to meter for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they fall.  I haven’t run into any shots so far taken on a bright day where I did this and couldn’t pull all the detail I’d want from the shadows.  I don’t think Capture 1 supports import presets as does LR, but with Adobe I have an import presets applied per camera that after a lot of tweaking to the tone curve and adjustment sliders gets most of my raws 75% of the way to a finished image.  C1 has styles that you can apply, so you should look into making one based on your most common adjustments. 

[Likaleica]

I just posted this on the Q subforum.  It might help as a start.

 

[dkmoore]

On 2/22/2021 at 4:33 PM, Cayenne said:

First, thank you everyone that has contributed to this thread...good stuff.

And Sergio, great insight.  I"m still new pretty much with my M10M...and just unloaded a card I'd been shooting with for a month or so....I had to clear room on my external working drive, etc...so, just now unloading it.

I guess I'm going to have to start underexposing much MORE than I thought I was doing already....on many of my shots, while usable, a lot of the times there is no detail really in the sky where I thought I"d have some.

I have a yellow filter on my lens at all times...but I had been adjusting to the 1 stop of light that that was supposed to be giving me. Perhaps I should start from now on, meter or use sunny 16 rule and ignore the fact that I have a filter on front cutting some light out.

 

Hey...its all fun learning....and I will start to err more on the side of underexposure and see how that works for me.

 

Thanks again!

 

cayenne

I leave exposure compensation set to -3 or -7 100% of the time when outdoors with the M10M. I’m fairly proficient at this point with center weighted metering but this approach provides a little cushion for error. 

[jaapv]

On 2/23/2021 at 5:21 PM, Anakronox said:

opposite of film

Negative film, but identical to slide film.

[japo]

On 2/20/2021 at 1:02 AM, frame-it said:

 

Hi Jan
I also use an m10m and do post in Lroom and SilverEP2.
everything ok except the horribly inflated file size once saved! from 40 to 600mb
how do you deal with that?

 

 

[Ken Abrahams]

On 11/9/2022 at 1:00 AM, japo said:

Hi Jan
I also use an m10m and do post in Lroom and SilverEP2.
everything ok except the horribly inflated file size once saved! from 40 to 600mb
how do you deal with that?

 

 

Hi Japo

Most of my finished M10M "tif" files which include all the layers from photoshop are over 1 Gigabyte. I save that file as the "master" and produce smaller JPG copies for social media. If I return to the file for printing projects I will then make a flattened tiff in the best colour profile to send to the print lab. I dont do a lot of printing as yet but basically prepare all my images to a very high standard for exhibition quality and printing. I have external drives that cater for the volume, its not too expensive these days for storage. Its a lot cheaper than a few years ago.

 

Ken