M8 - Capture One RAW processing question

[sbac]

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Hello,

 

(First, I must state that I'm a newbie in digital processing)

 

I recently got an M8, started shooting RAW, installed Capture One 4 (not PRO) on win xp.

 

Until now, I've not been able to find precise answers to my questions (even in capture one's instruction manual):

 

If I understand correctly what I read, I need to expose for highlights with the M8 (with the help of the histogram for accuracy).

I'm OK with this, the camera seems to retain a lot of detail in the shadows and we don't want the highlights blown.

So, as a test, I shot a landscape with big bright clouds, blue sky and land. Of course, I exposed for the sky, not overexposing the bright clouds.

The result is obviously an underexposed land, no surprise here.

 

- Where I'm totally lost is how I should process the generated RAW in capture one in order to regain brightness/exposure in the land without blowing highlights.

Should I (I don't know if any of the following is the right solution):

1) Use the exposure slider, increasing exposure for the global image (no local correction available), blowing highlights and then using dynamic range->highlights to recover them?

2) Use the curve tool (which I must admit I don't fully understand), trying to shape the curve to manage to lighten shadow tones and not highlight tones?

3) Use the extra shadow curve profile?

4) A combination of all?

 

Among those solutions (if there is a good one), are some of them destructive/quality impairing for the final image?

 

- Could someone please explain the level/curve tool utility in simple terms?

From what I read, the level tool enables to map highlight/shadow values to others, which could allow to avoid clipping.

The curve tool enables to play with tones and contrast. But I find it really sensitive and it's hard to impact only a specific zone.

To impact only a zone, I click on multiple places on the curve to make little portions that can be moved without affecting the rest of the curve too much.

 

I realize that I have much to learn regarding digital processing so if you got references of good books, ... I'm really interested.

What I'd really like to do is to be able to process my RAW pictures with C1: from import to print if that's possible.

 

Thanks

 

Sebastien

[sandymc]

Sebastien,

 

Exposing for the highlights is also known as "expose to the right" - if you google you'll find a number of articles on it, and what post processing you should use. It was originally popularized by Michael Reichmann, over at Luminous Landscape. But be aware, there are those (myself included) who would say that expose to the right causes more trouble that it solves. Especially if you don't have much experience with digital.

 

That said, the general rule is that you should use the simplest controls to achieve what you want. C1 lays out its controls roughly in order of simple to complex. So what I'd suggest is, see if you can achieve what you want with the exposure and contrast controls (which, if what you want is just to adjust shadows without blowing highlights, should achieve what you want). If that doesn't get you what you want, go on to brightness, saturation, and only then the HDR controls. Only once you've optimized the image with those should you use curves - you can more or less achieve anything you want with curves, but even for an experienced user of C1, they're the last resort, just because they're complex.

 

Sandy

 

Sandy

[archi4]

Sebastian,

You can download the complete users guide (117 pages) and print it out. It is a useful reference until you get used to the program.

On the Phase One site you can also find video's on a number of aspects of the program.

Capture One 4 and click on "go for pro"

regards

Maurice

[guywalder]

Sebastian,

 

the flippant answer is that, as with darkroom processing, what works for someone else maywell not work for you, and vice versa.

Personally I think that 'not loosing highlight detail under any cirumstances' is often an over emphasised mantra that sacrifices the spirit of creativity in the slavish persuit of some kind of technical perfection...

 

Anyway, that said it has its uses

 

Personally in such cases I start with the curve tool to lighten the shadows / midtones. This is usually sufficient, but in some cases I end up developing the RAW twice, and then merging the 2 in Photoshop.

But as Sandy says it can all get a bit much...

 

I am not a fan of C1, one of the limitations seems to be doing selective adjustments, at least with the version I am using, which is what leads to merging multiple versions in PS.

 

I cant claim to be able to explain the curve or levels tools in detail, so I will leave that to others. In simple terms you seem to understand already that it allows you to re-map tones relative to each other. As long as your dark tones are 'clean' enough it is a powerful tool.

 

If you are finding the adjustments you are making are extreme, then multipe exposures at different shutter speeds is another (laborious) option! or a good old fashioned graduated ND filter !

[Shootist]

Sebastien,

 

Exposing for the highlights is also known as "expose to the right"

 

Sandy

 

I have to disagree with this.

If you expose for the highlights that will place them in the middle of the Histogram not to the right and place everything in the image more to the left. To expose to the right mean to expose for the mid tones so they are place in the middle of the histogram and the highlights and dark areas fall where they may. Or overexpose by a half stop to move everything to the right.

[sbac]

Thank you for all the useful and instructive answers!

 

I had not watched the videos that archi4 mentions: indeed, there's an example of landscape and two raws (in quick tools video): one where exposure is on the shadows and one where it is on the highlights.

For the one where the highlights are not blown and where the shadows need to be lightened, the tutor uses the "dynamic range ---> shadows slider" and pulls it to the right.

 

Before watching the video, I would have done what guywalder suggests: use the curve and choose the preset : "shadows brighter" or "midtones brighter".

 

But Sandy, you wrote:

"That said, the general rule is that you should use the simplest controls to achieve what you want. C1 lays out its controls roughly in order of simple to complex. So what I'd suggest is, see if you can achieve what you want with the exposure and contrast controls (which, if what you want is just to adjust shadows without blowing highlights, should achieve what you want)."

Could you please tell me how to lighten the shadows without affecting the highlights with only exposure and contrast controls?

 

Could you also please tell me what you mean by "But be aware, there are those (myself included) who would say that expose to the right causes more trouble that it solves."?

My understanding was that, in digital, overexposure should be avoided at all cost (besides, as told before, the M8 seems really good at saving shadow details). On the other hand, the capture one manual says:

"Bear in mind that around 1/2 - 1 stop of additional data can be recovered from overexposed highlights."

 

For Shootist, perhaps I used wrong terms: when I wrote "expose for the highlights" for my landscape example, I meant taking a reading from the bright clouds then open about 2 stops and watch clipping in the histogram to the right. I don't want the clouds to be midtones.

 

Sebastien

[robsteve]

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Sebastien:

 

If you enable the visual histogram, where blown highlights show up in the preview, you just expose so you only get a few spectral highlights showing as blown. In your sky example, I can only see it as being a problem if you are shooting into the sun or a sunset, and exposing for the sky would make the foreground too dark. In that case the best solution is a ND grad filter on the lens to bring down the sky, or shooting two shots and combining them as a HDR image. I find using a filter simpler.

 

Robert

[sandymc]

Could you please tell me how to lighten the shadows without affecting the highlights with only exposure and contrast controls?

 

Could you also please tell me what you mean by "But be aware, there are those (myself included) who would say that expose to the right causes more trouble that it solves."?

 

On your first question, you have to adjust both; roughly speaking, in C1 exposure adjusts the whitepoint, and contrast adjusts the "width" of the histrogram round the mid tones. Play with the two controls, and you'll see what I mean.

 

Re expose to the right, there are a number of processing steps that programs such as C1 apply automatically - e.g., the "Film Standard" tone curve, and also various adjustments to color rendering that are built into the M9 profile. All of those assume that the midtones are where the midtones should be, not two (or however many) stops away. So to try to get to a "good" rendering from an ETR exposed image, you're having to undo a lot of work that C1 did for you automatically on the assumption that you exposed the image correctly, then redo it.

 

Sandy

[microview]

Have you discovered the triangle with exclamation mark top right of the tool box band? Click on this and all highlights will show in red. Move the Dynamic Range Highlight slider to the right until these disappear. Darker areas may be treated similarly with the Shadow slider.

(Forgive me it you're well beyond that stage!) Curves in Photoshop if you have it is superior to the curves facility in C1.

You might like to try RAW Developer by way of experimentation, it puts a watermark on processed images but there's no time limit on your trial period and purchase cost is low, UK c£95. Can give better results than C1 but not always preferable.