So lately I have been fielding some questions via e-mail and reading some great criticism on other blogs. All in all, I feel the response to my presets has been amazing, but in the interest of always improving, I want to say a few thing that may help clear up some common issues.
Issue 1: Over Aggressive Tone Curves
Alright, I admit some of my tone curves can be harsh when used on high contrast images. I have noticed this and I am currently revising some of the worst offenders to help alleviate the problem. Frankly, it is hard to duplicate the effect of film, as each batch is different, and every frame can differ based on condition in which the photograph was taken. If you notice your image is breaking (excessive posterization in shadows, strange artifacts, etc) I recommend you take a look at the tone curve and make a few adjustments.
If the tone curve is steep, with deep shadows and bright highlights, you may want to pull the curve back on either side, flattening out the image. You may also want to adjust the Point Curve option in the Tone Curve window down a step: from Strong to Medium, Medium to Linear. These alterations may improve your image. The primary concern in my emulation preset is the color settings, with the tone curve coming in second. Try to fix any problems using the tone curve, it may help you out more if/when you take the image into Photoshop.
If you find yourself frequently altering the tone curve of a particular preset, you may want to consider permanently altering the preset to your needs. After making your corrections, right click the preset name and select Update. Hit okay afterward, now you have made the preset your own. If you find that you get better results, email me about your alterations...you may be the extra set of eyes that helps me improve my emulation. Contact emails are on the left side of the blog.
Issue 2: Adobe Camera Raw Presets
For a while, every preset I make has an ACR preset included in the release. The ACR presets are located inside a folder in the archive entitled "ACR Presets". Every film emulation preset on LIDF now has ACR counterparts to the Lightroom presets. Most of my style presets also have ACR counterparts.
To install the ACR presets all you have to do is copy them to the corret folder for ACR to access them. They folders are as follows:
Macintosh: /Users/UserName/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRawFolder/Settings
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
Simply replace your current user name into the folder structure where you see UserName. These folder paths lead you right to where you need to copy the .xmp files found in the ACR Presets folder. Once you have them copied over, the next time you open ACR the presets will be available in the Preset tab in ACR (Which is the button furthest to the left under the histogram).
Alot of people were not aware how to install these presets, and if you are interested in converting Lightroom presets yourself, please refer to my post over on X-Equals. It walks you through the process, and gives more indepth direction on installing presets into ACR.
Issue 3: Non RAW Images
If you have been to LIDF lately you may have seen the poll on the top left side of the blog asking if I should make presets for raster images in Lightroom. Overwhelmingly the answer was no, but I saw enough intrest in raster images that I made a decision. I am going to start woking on Photoshop actions to accomplish much the same effect as my presets. This will likely be a way off, and the releases nowhere near as frequent as my Presets, but I plan on doing it.
I decided to forgo presetting for jpegs, as I found the results less than adequate, and I feel Photoshop is the place to make these pixelpushing changes anyways. Take away the power of RAW data and Lightroom is rendered fairly inept for my emulation purposes.
Keep an eye open, they will be coming.
Issue 4: Using My Presets
Finally, if you are using my presets and getting great results, let me know. I want to see and hear about successes. In the same right let me know about problems you encounter, feedback will help these presets improve.
If you use my presets on your own personal blog, drop me an email or a tweet on Twitter, and let me know. I love to see others work with my tools and I will happily send everyone who views this site to you to see what you have done. I enjoy showcasing those who use m presets.
If you are on Flickr and post images processed with my presets, you don't even have to email me. Just tag you image with "LifeInDigitalFilm" or "LIDF" along with the emulation used in the description, I will find them as once a week I troll Flick looking for examples of my presets in use. If you have a number of images using my presets, I will showcase your Flickr stream just as I would a photoblog.
Maybe it is vanity, but I enjoy seeing my work paying off. Also I can see any inadequacies I did not encounter whilst testing the presets out myself. Again seeing them used can help me further refine and improve my presets.
Well thats it for today, another preset is coming tomorrow!
Until then,
Michael
Showing posts with label Flickr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flickr. Show all posts
20090222
LR/ACR Preset: Maco Cube
Alright, it is Sunday here in Mid-America, and I have nothing better to do that bring you my newest film emulation preset. Today is a rendition of Maco Cube, from Maco of Germany, the manufacturer of the Rollei films. Maco Cube is a 400 speed (nominally rated) Black & White film emulsion. The manufacturer claims an ISO latitude from 100 to 6400 with the same film, depending on development process used, with a fine grain across the ISO spectrum. They claim to accomplish this by utilizing three emulsioon layers with chemicall different silver crystals, that react at different speeds, allowing for fine grain and high speed. I did not test it at any other speed thusfar except for 400, as the deevloper I have on hand currently is D-76 and the only speed rating on the datasheet for D-76 was 400 [10 minutes @ 20C].
I find that it does have a fairly fine grain, but that is of no difference currently in Lightroom as there is no tool allowing for inclusion of grain (please Adobe...V3? Please?) I got the general color response reasonably accurate and I find the emulation to be reasonably close to Maco Cube @ 400 in D-76, for what it is worth. Enjoy.
As I mentioned yesterday, please join Flickr Presetting Lightroom group and enter into out photocontest. We have less than a week to go and less than 20 entries, those are pretty good odds to win a copy of HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro, with it's new Lightroom Plug-in. Also you have a shot at getting my Cold Storage Collection, three copies are up for grabs. Presetting Lightroom has more than just the competition too, we have a collection of now over 200 free presets that you can get to from our community discussion board. Come on by and enter!
And if you think you have a good shot at winning, you might want to check out the video from profiPhotos, coverin the use of HDRSoft's Photomatic Pro with Lightroom! Follow over to it HERE!
And if you got some mad tax-return money burning a hole in your pocket, and you like the presets I make, please consider grabbing a copy of Cold Storage and get the 12 exclusive presets along with every preset released on LIDF up to the end of Janurary 2009. $9.99 to go to film and processing to keep the emulations coming and improving! Thanks!
Until tomorrow,
Michael
20090216
Monday Update: New release at PresetsHeaven
Over the weekend, Pierre over at PresetsHeaven released another package of my presets. If you hop over there you can grab theLIDF Fuji & Ilford B&W Collection, containing all the Ilford and Fuji Black & White Film Emulations I have released on LifeInDigitalFilm over the past few months. If you have been grabbing them here as I release them you have most everything in the set, however there is a PresetsHeaven exclusive preset hiding in the download that you can only get over there.
The exclusive preset is an emulation of an expired roll of Fuji Neopan 100 Acros that passed its prime in 2005. Acros is my favorite B&W film, and you can only get my emulations of it at either PresetsHeaven for the expired version or In my cold Storage Collection for a fresh version of the film. Pierre was kind enough to make sample images for me, and as I am not at home, I cannot post one for you to view. So hop on over there and grab the exclusive preset HERE.
The past week has been my most active week on LifeInDigitalFilm so far. Had a few releases and a few articles, so if you haven't been by in a while, take a few minutes to get caught up. Flashing back to last Monday I released an article about using Snapshots in Lightroom, allowing you to have multiple incarnations of the same file, without cluttering up your catalog with redundant images. An added feature of using snapshots is that you can write the metadata to the RAW file, and if you open that same file in Adobe Camera Raw, your snapshots will be saved in the presets tab inside ACR, allowing you access to all your modifications in ACR. Jump back to that article HERE.
Tuesday I released an article coving making monochrome images with Lightroom. It is a general overview, but I threw in a few tips on using my B&W presets for those of you who use them a lot. Check it out HERE.
Yesterday, I posted a list of my favorite Flickr groups, letting you see where I go to see what is going on in the photo world. If you are a member of Flickr you should really check them out HERE.
The rest of the week was filled with preset releases:
Wednesday: Classic Film Classic Pan 200 (also had a featurette about Twitter)
Thursday: Daguerreotype (my attempt to simulate the historic photography process)
Friday: Classic Film Classic Pan 400
Sautrady: Kodak Ektachrome 100VS
So I have to say it was a rather productive week. Trying to keep it up, which is why there is a review post today.
Also of note, don't forget to join Presetting Lightroom on Flickr and get in on the photo contest there. One copy of HDRsoft's Photomatix Pro with the Lightroom plug-in is up for grabs. Click HERE to hop over to the group and join and get in on the contest. You have until Feb 28 to make your entry. Don't forget to persue the preset collection there, over 200 free presets to grab and use!
Also, I want to thank everyone who has purchase LIDF Cold Storage. Should be getting my hosting soon, and then any funds made from the collection will be used to aquire and process more film to be emulated. As long as people keep buying the package, I will be able to keep getting more film and processing it in many different ways. Every purchase pushes LifeInDigitalFilm just a little bit further towards becoming the ultimate source for simulating film. If you haven't already, sonsider purchasing Cold Storage and get the 12 exclusive presets avilable therein, including the Kodak Porta 160 NC and VC presets! More info HERE.
On the note of LIDF keeping the emulations coming, I have a poll up on the site asking if I should bother adapting my presets for use on JPEG and TIFF files. So far the response has been overwhelming for keeping my presets RAW only. If you need support for JPEG images, make sure to speak up, because as it stands now it would be a waste of my time to develop JPEG versions.
Finally, just wanted to let you know I just got 3 rolls of Agfa RSX II back from the lab with scans. Had a roll each of 50, 100 and 200 speed. Aquired the film from a local photographer who has made the switch to digital, so it was kept cold even though it has expired. Been working on simulating them over the weekend, so hopefully they should be ready for release sometime this week.
Stay tuned,
Michael
The exclusive preset is an emulation of an expired roll of Fuji Neopan 100 Acros that passed its prime in 2005. Acros is my favorite B&W film, and you can only get my emulations of it at either PresetsHeaven for the expired version or In my cold Storage Collection for a fresh version of the film. Pierre was kind enough to make sample images for me, and as I am not at home, I cannot post one for you to view. So hop on over there and grab the exclusive preset HERE.
The past week has been my most active week on LifeInDigitalFilm so far. Had a few releases and a few articles, so if you haven't been by in a while, take a few minutes to get caught up. Flashing back to last Monday I released an article about using Snapshots in Lightroom, allowing you to have multiple incarnations of the same file, without cluttering up your catalog with redundant images. An added feature of using snapshots is that you can write the metadata to the RAW file, and if you open that same file in Adobe Camera Raw, your snapshots will be saved in the presets tab inside ACR, allowing you access to all your modifications in ACR. Jump back to that article HERE.
Tuesday I released an article coving making monochrome images with Lightroom. It is a general overview, but I threw in a few tips on using my B&W presets for those of you who use them a lot. Check it out HERE.
Yesterday, I posted a list of my favorite Flickr groups, letting you see where I go to see what is going on in the photo world. If you are a member of Flickr you should really check them out HERE.
The rest of the week was filled with preset releases:
Wednesday: Classic Film Classic Pan 200 (also had a featurette about Twitter)
Thursday: Daguerreotype (my attempt to simulate the historic photography process)
Friday: Classic Film Classic Pan 400
Sautrady: Kodak Ektachrome 100VS
So I have to say it was a rather productive week. Trying to keep it up, which is why there is a review post today.
Also of note, don't forget to join Presetting Lightroom on Flickr and get in on the photo contest there. One copy of HDRsoft's Photomatix Pro with the Lightroom plug-in is up for grabs. Click HERE to hop over to the group and join and get in on the contest. You have until Feb 28 to make your entry. Don't forget to persue the preset collection there, over 200 free presets to grab and use!
Also, I want to thank everyone who has purchase LIDF Cold Storage. Should be getting my hosting soon, and then any funds made from the collection will be used to aquire and process more film to be emulated. As long as people keep buying the package, I will be able to keep getting more film and processing it in many different ways. Every purchase pushes LifeInDigitalFilm just a little bit further towards becoming the ultimate source for simulating film. If you haven't already, sonsider purchasing Cold Storage and get the 12 exclusive presets avilable therein, including the Kodak Porta 160 NC and VC presets! More info HERE.
On the note of LIDF keeping the emulations coming, I have a poll up on the site asking if I should bother adapting my presets for use on JPEG and TIFF files. So far the response has been overwhelming for keeping my presets RAW only. If you need support for JPEG images, make sure to speak up, because as it stands now it would be a waste of my time to develop JPEG versions.
Finally, just wanted to let you know I just got 3 rolls of Agfa RSX II back from the lab with scans. Had a roll each of 50, 100 and 200 speed. Aquired the film from a local photographer who has made the switch to digital, so it was kept cold even though it has expired. Been working on simulating them over the weekend, so hopefully they should be ready for release sometime this week.
Stay tuned,
Michael
20090215
Flickr: Groups
Alright, it is Sunday morning here in the middle of Missouri, not much going on; I've came off a fairly productive week here on LifeInDigitalFilm and my LifeInRealWorld has been going pretty good of late also. So I figured I would take it easy today and just point you toward some of the Flickr groups I frequent, even if I don't partake in the discussions much at most of them.
Okay, so I am a serial lurker. I like to read what others have to say, only interjecting my opinion when I feel it is absolutely needed. Before I got back into photography, I was solidly in the tech scene and spend hours a day scouring the thread over at Slashdot and Digg. As I slowly fell back into photography I migrated my daily thread searching from those two sites to a few photo-related forums. The best of which I have found is the discussions inside multiple groups in Flickr. So, I am going to list off a few here that I love, and read daily.
Presetting Lightroom :
Rightoff the bat I will get this group out of the way. It is one in which I admin and I have been pushing it pretty hard here on LIDF. I push it hard because it is a growing group, with a great vibe, focused on Lightroom and using presets to your advantage therein. There is a number of skilled preset designers in the group and an even larger number of people affluent in Lightroom. If you run into problems with presets, using or designing, come on over. I ask anyone who frequents LIDF to hop over and join up and join in.
While I have you on the subject of the Presetting Lightoom group, I wanted to push our photo-contest we have going on. Our contest is simple, process a photo in Lightroom using a preset...Name the preset and why you used it. You have until February 28 to enter, at that point entries cease and voting begins. Voting on the winners will be done by the group its self. Currently we have a few prizes up for grabs, and new ones will be posted in the group. As of now we have a copy of my Cold Storage collection for the top 3 photos and a copy of HDR Soft's Photomatix w/ Lightroom Plug-in for the overall winner. You have just under two weeks to get involved, the more entries the more prizes we might be able to line up for this and future photo competitions in the group.
Now back to my Flickr list....Next up
Adobe Lightroom:
A group devoted to Adobe Lightroom, obviously. Also one of the best resources to get a Lightroom problem resolved. Most problems you encounter can be solved simply by searching the group discussions. If it is not answered in the discussions or the groups FAQ pages, then feel free to post your question. With the size of the group and their general level of knowledge, you will not go long without an answer.
It is a very active group, and quite a few members names you will notice from across the rest of the Lightroom world on the internet.
This Week In Photography:
The official Flickr group of the TWIP podcast. A very diverse and knowledgable group, with many active members. Awesome group to go to for general phtography issues, and the grouop often has some very lively discussions. In all the group is not too connected to the TWIP show or blog and is very accessible even if you don't listen to TWIP.
TWIP Critique:
Another TWIP group, however do not go here asking general questions. Bring a photo you want critiqued, and the others will bring on the honesty. Be prepared for honest critiques, you will get multiple opinions and you will learn from your own work in a way that forces you to look at you own work critically.
Some really awsome people over there; bbusschots and kentgoldings are some names that really stand out as consistant participants with good advice. You will really know you are doing good when you get kind words from BruceHP!
Do It Yourself Black & White:
Although this may not interest you unless you are into film (I am obviously); this group is an exellent resource when you decide to step back into the darkroom. Alot of knowledge here, and I utilized this group a lot when I decided I was walking back into the darkroom after 10 years outside of it.
Well I hope this list gives you some places that you may desire to visit, albeit just a few. If you are on these groups, look for me by my Flickr ID of grayimaging. I will be through each group at least once a day to catch up, and I am on Presetting Lightroom quite a few times a day since I admin there. I will periodicall update the list, and once I get my Wordpress site up I will have a dedicated Fliker list up.
Please do consider entering in the Presetting Lightroom group photo contest. We have some gret entries already, but not many. Enter soon at the entries will be locked on Feb 28th and voting commences. Right now if you enter you will come off with a really good shot of winning a prize. I mean, there are 3 copies of my own preset collection up for grabs...but don't let that stop you from buying your own copy of Cold Storage! (((please...)))
Later,
Michael
Okay, so I am a serial lurker. I like to read what others have to say, only interjecting my opinion when I feel it is absolutely needed. Before I got back into photography, I was solidly in the tech scene and spend hours a day scouring the thread over at Slashdot and Digg. As I slowly fell back into photography I migrated my daily thread searching from those two sites to a few photo-related forums. The best of which I have found is the discussions inside multiple groups in Flickr. So, I am going to list off a few here that I love, and read daily.
Presetting Lightroom :
Rightoff the bat I will get this group out of the way. It is one in which I admin and I have been pushing it pretty hard here on LIDF. I push it hard because it is a growing group, with a great vibe, focused on Lightroom and using presets to your advantage therein. There is a number of skilled preset designers in the group and an even larger number of people affluent in Lightroom. If you run into problems with presets, using or designing, come on over. I ask anyone who frequents LIDF to hop over and join up and join in.
While I have you on the subject of the Presetting Lightoom group, I wanted to push our photo-contest we have going on. Our contest is simple, process a photo in Lightroom using a preset...Name the preset and why you used it. You have until February 28 to enter, at that point entries cease and voting begins. Voting on the winners will be done by the group its self. Currently we have a few prizes up for grabs, and new ones will be posted in the group. As of now we have a copy of my Cold Storage collection for the top 3 photos and a copy of HDR Soft's Photomatix w/ Lightroom Plug-in for the overall winner. You have just under two weeks to get involved, the more entries the more prizes we might be able to line up for this and future photo competitions in the group.
Now back to my Flickr list....Next up
Adobe Lightroom:
A group devoted to Adobe Lightroom, obviously. Also one of the best resources to get a Lightroom problem resolved. Most problems you encounter can be solved simply by searching the group discussions. If it is not answered in the discussions or the groups FAQ pages, then feel free to post your question. With the size of the group and their general level of knowledge, you will not go long without an answer.
It is a very active group, and quite a few members names you will notice from across the rest of the Lightroom world on the internet.
This Week In Photography:
The official Flickr group of the TWIP podcast. A very diverse and knowledgable group, with many active members. Awesome group to go to for general phtography issues, and the grouop often has some very lively discussions. In all the group is not too connected to the TWIP show or blog and is very accessible even if you don't listen to TWIP.
TWIP Critique:
Another TWIP group, however do not go here asking general questions. Bring a photo you want critiqued, and the others will bring on the honesty. Be prepared for honest critiques, you will get multiple opinions and you will learn from your own work in a way that forces you to look at you own work critically.
Some really awsome people over there; bbusschots and kentgoldings are some names that really stand out as consistant participants with good advice. You will really know you are doing good when you get kind words from BruceHP!
Do It Yourself Black & White:
Although this may not interest you unless you are into film (I am obviously); this group is an exellent resource when you decide to step back into the darkroom. Alot of knowledge here, and I utilized this group a lot when I decided I was walking back into the darkroom after 10 years outside of it.
Well I hope this list gives you some places that you may desire to visit, albeit just a few. If you are on these groups, look for me by my Flickr ID of grayimaging. I will be through each group at least once a day to catch up, and I am on Presetting Lightroom quite a few times a day since I admin there. I will periodicall update the list, and once I get my Wordpress site up I will have a dedicated Fliker list up.
Please do consider entering in the Presetting Lightroom group photo contest. We have some gret entries already, but not many. Enter soon at the entries will be locked on Feb 28th and voting commences. Right now if you enter you will come off with a really good shot of winning a prize. I mean, there are 3 copies of my own preset collection up for grabs...but don't let that stop you from buying your own copy of Cold Storage! (((please...)))
Later,
Michael
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