I don't use ACR anymore, but I do use LR5, which is the same thing in a
different package. The tools in LR are arranged in what Adobe thinks is the
preferred order for post processing, but I differ with them enough so that I'm
hopping up and down the left side of the screen throughout the process.
Step one is easy enough: more or less correct exposure, black and white points.
Then all the way to the bottom for camera profiles. Adobe Standard is the
default, and for a lot of cameras, including my Fuji X-100s, the only choice. I
have a variety of choices for the Nikon, and I almost always use Nikon's Camera
Standard for the D800, with an occasional nod to Camera Landscape or Camera
Portrait. Each makes subtle adjustments that can make the difference in the
image.
Then I do the lens profile corrections, which sometimes mess with overall
exposure, which is why I don't try to nail down exposure in step one. After
profile corrections, I go back to the top panel and start moving sliders. I
rarely use LCE in Photoshop anymore because LR5's Clarity slider nails it
pretty good. If I don't want it over the whole image, I just use the LR brush
and mask what I want to clarify and let it rip. My usual technique is to slide
too far and heat the image up, then back it down to what looks right.
Toward the end of the process I sharpen the image, and then do noise reduction.
Sometimes it's a back and forth thing, with a little sharpen, some NR, more
sharpening, more NR, etc. The other sliders come into play, too. Detail,
masking, etc., all have their roles to play. Okay, sometimes I do NR before I
sharpen. Have not yet determined which is most effective, though I tend to
prefer sharpening then NR.
Finally, and especially if the image is to be printed on matte paper, I will
soft proof. Since LR added the soft proof feature, I usually make do with that.
Sometimes I'll go do it in Photoshop as the curves control is so much more
precise. Soft proofing is still a Kentucky windage thing, however, because if
you check the paper emulation box, the result is far too aggressive. If you
don't check the box, you don't get a true representation of what the image will
look like on paper. If I had a gauge, I'd guesstimate the correct effect lies
about a third of the way between not checking the paper emulation box and
checking it.
Finally, soft proofing will show you out of gamut colors, or try to, which can
be important when printing to matte paper, which doesn't have the DR of luster
or glossy papers. But like the paper emulation, the out of gamut is too
aggressive, so the end effect is that you have to putter around enough to more
or less know where to set the controls. (I don't always soft proof for luster
or glossy papers because what comes out of the printer is so close to what's on
the monitor.)
Sorry if that's TMI. Sometimes I get carried away.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Jan 7, 2014, at 10:56 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> I've always assumed that ACR NR was the
> first processing step. On reflection that may not be right since I
> think the tools are typically arranged in the tabs according to order of
> usage (ignoring iterative back and forth). Maybe I have to adjust my
> total workflow to use NR after exposure adjustments.
--
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