Random Items: ACR presets and Customizing LIDF Presets for Your Needs

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

Monday Update: In Other Words, Nothing New Today...

Well, it is Monday, My busiest day of the week in the "real" world, so I am going to continue with my Monday Update reviews. Don't expect new contents often on Mondays, but something may sneak in from time to time.

Well, although it was difficult to do, I succeeded in getting a new post out every day again this week. However, I did not get any new articles out as I had hoped to...that just rolled into a new project. More on that when the time comes.

Still working on my new WordPress redesign for LifeInDigitalFilm. I am not going to migrate until I have everything ready to rock, so it should still be a while. When it happens you will know.

It was a good week for presets this past week, with a series of releases. The big focus on presets this week was on the Agfa RSX II family of slide film. I hope you all enjoyed it, as I was not planning on releasing them all at once, but lack of creativity preculded me from writing actual content, so they all got rolled out way too fast. A day by day breakdown....

Tuesday: Rollei Ortho
Wednesday: Agfa RSX 100
Thursday: Agfa RSX 200
Friday: Agfa RSX 50
Sunday: Maco Cube

Only article written was Saturday's rant about me and why I still shoot film. That is not counting shooting it to emulate it, but to explain why I have 50 rolls of file in the freezer waiting to be shot and another 15 waiting to be developed, while 3 rolls currently reside inside three different cameras. All being used whilst my DSLR rests in it's camera bag. To read on my retro-photo life click HERE.

This week I started a new mini-feature in my release posts... As I have encountered photoblogs using my presets, I have been featuring them on LifeInDigitalFilm. Sometimes it's good to see other people use my presets, actually it is always good, since I see my own photos too often and only can use my personal snap-shots to demo my presets...I don't like using client or project photos for this purpose. So here are the phot-blogs featured this past week on LIDF.

Wednesday: 365photosin2009 - Julie McLeod

A fun photoblog, depicteing Julie's progress through her 365 photo challenge. Every photo has to meet a theme that is listed on the blog, and every photo is a different theme. Quite a challenge and it is fun to see how she meets the themes with her photos. She had frequently used LIDF presets in her project and I ask you to take a look.

Thursday: Beau A.C. Harbin Photography Blog - Beau A.C. Harbin - Twitter: @bacharbin

Beau has a knock for creative composition and processing, and most of his images include a small snippet of text describing the image itself, so you can understand it in the context of how it was shot and processed. He has used LIDF presets occasionally on his images, most recently on a stunning HDR image of a bridge over the Chittenango Falls. His images will take you somewhere, if only for a moment.

Friday: Phototerium & The Photog Formula - Nate Lawson - Twitter: @nate_lawson

Phototerium is simply an amazing presentation. It is the home to Nate Lawson's 365 photo project, and he is putting up some simply stunning images. And as if that was not enough, he has frequently been posting the outtakes and seconds to his other blog, The Photog Formula. He has been on a kick of late using alot of LIDF presets in his work...Hop over, have a look, get some inspiration for finding the art in an everyday moment.

Saturday: profiPhotos - Markus Griebling - Twitter: @profiphotos

While not a photoblog in the same sense of the previous three, Markus' profiPhotos is an excellent resource for Lightroom tips. He recently posted a video on creating High Dynamic Range (HDR) images in Lightroom via HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro, check it out if HDR is an interest of yours or may someday be.

Markus is also a fellow Admin over at the Presetting Lightroom group on Flickr. Both of us want to invite you to join in on the conversation and to join in on the current photo contest. Less than a week to enter a phot for a chance to win HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro or a copy of my Cold Storage Collection. Join in the contest HERE.

Bonus Blog: x-equals blog - Brandon Oelling - Twitter: @xequals

Finally, even though I did not make mention of this site in the past week, please hop over to the X-Equals blog, in fact you should make this a frequent stop. Brandon brings you some of the best tip, trick and presets for Lightroom and also features alot of information on workflow, file-maintenance and often does in-depth features on some great photographers.

Recently Brandon put the spotlight on Tom Hoops, who is a great portrait photographer. The article is an interesting and informative read, giving insight into the mind of a great photographer.

In all Brandon's site is a great resource for Lightroom users and photographers in general. Take some time and visit his site. You might even find a few articles n me in his archives.

Well that is all for today, a rather quick post, given it's length. That's what recaps are good for, making you look prolific whilst not having to produce any new content. Come back tomorrow for a new color preset.

Until then,

Michael

Rants: Shoot Film! (and other stuff)

[Photo Info: Kodak Portra 160 NC, Minolta Maxxum 7000, Minotla Maxxum 50mm f/1.7]


Okay, I still have not written an actual article, and I don't want to release a preset tonight as I have released quite a few this week...I will have a new black and white preset up tomorrow however. I did want to take a few minutes though to say s few things that dropped into my mind today.

So, today I opened my freezer and saw rolls of film that I have shot over the past year, awaiting development. The picture above is one of the frames snapped on the rolls I had developed. I also had my roll of Fuji Press Film 800 I bought a while back developed finally, so an emulation is a week or so away, but I digress. As I dropped the film off at Wal-Mart, as I told them "develop only, no prints" I got a look of confusion from the clerk at the counter. Almost like, why are you even shooting film if you don't want prints. I didn't say anything, it just jump started my brain.

On the drive back over to my mother-in-laws house to pick up my wife, I was asking myself "Self, why did buying a fancy new DSLR lead your right back into the world of film photography?" Now I know the answer for the one roll of Press Film, I am going to emulate this film for LIDF so I can get a look similar to this film on any of my digital shots. That did not explain the other three rolls I just got processed. It had me wondering, and I came upon my answer, shooting film makes me a more disciplined photographer. Shooting film also keeps me firmly in touch with the past and makes me appreciate the advances in the field of photography. Plus, shooting film seems organic, like a natural determined act. That makes no sense, but its how I feel.

I think it is refreshing to get out with a film camera and a roll or two of film. I know I only have 24/36 photos to take, and that each one has a defined cash value. I think about my shots, I don't take 20 frames of the same subject to find the right one later, I take time to find the correct shot and take it....then I move along. I am not saying there is anything wrong with taking a long series of photos to get the right shot, but it forces you to think more when those same 20 shots esentially end your shooting for the day.

I love the feeling of opening the envelope and seeing my photos for the first time. I still can't develop C-41, so i can't say pull the negative out of the spool, but it is the same feeling. This is the first time my eyes have seen these images. On my DSLR, I can see everyimage instantly, there is no wondering. When you have that perfect shot, you smile and move on, you are out shooting after all. With film, the second your mirror blocks out your viewfinder, that is the last time you will see anything approximating that image until you open the envelope. And when you are sitting in your car in the parking lot and see that you got the perfect shot, you rejoice...celebrate even. The time removed from the act of shooting allows you this luxury. You can enjoy the beauty of your shot for the first time and breath it in. Your LCD does not go black, reminding you to get shooting again. This is Zen.

Then when you look at the images, the color and tone, the feel of film is different. Which that is what LIDF is all about, bringing that feeling to digital. But it is only inspired by the original film. Making your perfect shot look like it was taken on Velvia is not the same as actually capturing it on Velvia. Both feelings are great, but there is just something about the old-fashioned way...Not saying that using my presets is not also great...but it is not the same. But it may soon be the only way to live that moment with your favorite film.

Please, take some time and shoot a roll of film if you have not done so lately. Get back in touch with the past. You don't even have to have a great SLR, a good point and shoot film camera works great...hell, even a disposable will remind you what it felt like before. If you have never shot film, give it a chance. Take a film camera out for a day, maybe even learn to develop the film yourself. It is really fulfilling, but that is just me.

Well that ends my rant, on to some items I want to cover before I log off for the night.

First I would like to ask you to take a jump over to profiPhotos. Markus just posted a new video tutorial today on making HDR images using HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro plugin with Lightroom. It is very informative, as is his entire site. If you love Lightroom, this is a definite must visit. Just make sure to give him a visit!

Speaking of both Markus and Photomatix, I want to remind you that there is only one week left in the Presetting Lightroom photocontest on Flickr. Markus and I both adminstrate the group, and have been trying to kick up the activity level there. We have a photocontest running currently with HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro as the grand prize and three copies of my Cold Storage collection floating around for the top 3 finishers. There are not many entrants thusfar and the odds are pretty good to take home some type of prize. So please, come by and enter one of you preset processed photos...and by all means, feel free to enter a photo of your's processed with a LifeInDigitalFilm preset, I have no supporters entered in the contest so far. Follow the link HERE TO ENTER!

So that is it for the evening, come back for a new preset tomorrow.

Until then,
Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 50

Ah, it is Friday, my work week is over. Hopefully I can get some articles written...I can hope. But anyways, I did not even try to write an article for today, I decided to complete my trio of RSX II presets. Today I present my Agfa RSX II 50 preset. It completes the set, and is the best looking one on the vast majority of my images. Enjoy.

More and more photographers are using my LifeInDigitalFilm presets, and as I discover them I am going to keep sharing them with you. Today I would like to ask you to drop by Nate Lawson's photoblog Phototerium. Today he posted an interesting photo entitled "Learning Curve" utilizing my Adox CHS 50 preset. When I look at his image I have to say it screams art...look at it close, you will see what I mean. If you like his work, please follow him on Twitter @nate_lawson.

So, with that I am going to get back to my text editor and get to work on some articles I hope to eventaully complete and get up on LIDF. Also I am going to spend some time getting my WordPress theme worked on, and iron out some bugs in my "sandboxed" version of the new LIDF. Hoping to get it live in the next month or so.

Back tomorrow!

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 200

Well I hoped to have an article up for today, however the article expanded well beyond the scope I desired for a post on LIDF. The article is on getting the most of of the LIDF film presets, but I decided I am going to work on it more and roll it into a PDF file that I will post here on the site once I get it completed. A manual of sorts to help people get started with my presets.

As for today, my post is running late..as will tomorrows..but I should get back to early releases over the weekend. I am going ahead and releasing the next preset based off my recent experiments with some expired Agfa RSX II. Today's flavor is the ISO 200 version that I got finished last night. Similar to the ISO 100, but with some shifting of color in the reds and in general a much higher key presentation of the photo.

Please download and use, see if you like it. If so please let me know. If not let me know also. If there is any film you want to see emulated, let me know...I'll do what I can. But for now enjoy today's release.

And another shout out to another great photoblogger out there putting my presets to use. I ask you to hop over and take a peek at Beau A.C. Harbin's blog. He has a stream of great photographs, one of the newest being and HDR image treated with my Fuji Velvia 50 preset from the Cold Storage collection. The image is unique and stunning. Please drop by and take a gander, click HERE. If you enjoy creative images you will enjoy his blog.

Speaking of the Fuji Velvia 50 preset, it can only be found in the Cold Storage collection, which can be purchased in the upper right side of the blog. If you need more information, please refer to the blog post for it HERE. I hope to have a dedicated page to the collection soon, with more information for those of you who are not sure...but for 9.99 it's an easy sale for anyone who wants to help LifeInDigitalFilm keep growing. There are so many different film stocks with so many ways to process it that we can keep the emulations going for quite some time, as long as there is a way or me to pay for film and processing.

Anyways that is all for today, hopefully things smooth out over the weekend and I am back to early posts every day...I almost missed today's post!

Until then,

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 100

So, I am suffering from writers block and having an issue finishing off the article I planned for today. So instead of beating my head into the wall, I am going to let it slide another day and release my new preset a bit earlier.

Recently I received a small collection of older film. In that small collection, I received 9 rolls of Agfa RSX II film, 3 of each speed. This emulation is of the 100 speed that I shot and got developed at my local photo lab. I plan on shooting another roll and cross-processing it and shooting the final roll when I get started devloping E-6. So I shot a roll of 50, 100 and 200 and sent them all off at the same time. This is the first one I completed.

RSX II was designed as a low-contrast, neutral color film. It may have been where I got it developed, or just the fact it is expired, but the colors were fairly neutral but did run a bit toward red. Also, it is more contrasty than what I expected, but that could also be due to a slight underexposure in my test frames shot for emulation.

Please try it out and see what you think.

Before I log out for the morning, I would like to point you over to an interesting 365 photoblog I have stubled across. Julie McLeod has been working on her 365 Photos in 2009 blog, aiming for 365 photos, most of which shot in accordance with a list of themes. I find the concept fun, but I don't think I could ever to it with the style she has done so far. Also a few of her images have used my presets and I really loving seeing them in action. She is a very talented photographer with a great eye for wonderful images, so do me a favor and hop over to her blog and leave some kind comments. Click Here to make the hop 365photosin2009

Anyway, that is all for today, wish I had an article for you, but I'm sure most of you would rather have the presets. And if you ever have any questions about my presets feel free to reach me at help@lifeindigitalfilm.com, I check the mail in the account once a day in the evening and will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Micahel