lightroom Archives

December 27, 2022

Film Presets for Lightroom, lightroom, special effects

The Secret Magic of Presence sliders… Clarity, Texture, and De-Haze!

We’re going to talk about the 3 Lightroom and Capture One presence sliders today, but I’m not going to teach them the way Adobe does! We’re going to reverse things!

Presence – Clarity VS Texture VS and De-Haze are important!

These all affect the atmosphere. I make use of them in nearly every edit. You’ll also see them used in subtly different ways when I make Lightroom Presets and Capture One Styles pack like Filmist, and Versus when I make tools like Natural HDR.

You’ll also see me use all 3 of these deeply in Lightrooms Ai presets that I include in Silver 5 and Elegance Speed Masks.

Watch the video below or HERE on my Channel.

I simplify Clarity, Texture and De-Haze in the video. But here’s an overview of what the presence sliders do.

You know about the presence sliders in Lightroom or their equivalents in Capture One. But do you know that these sliders are often used really badly? I’ve taught Lightroom since version 1, but I’ve rarely seen these sliders taught well. Today I’ll show to use them for near-magical results!

The clarity in Lightroom and Capture One allows you to adjust the midtone contrast of an image. By increasing clarity, you can add depth and mid edge definition to your photos, making them appear more detailed in a gritty vs softness sense. Clarity can soften the appearance of an image and give it a more ethereal or dreamy look.

Mixing them up for more presense. Here Elegance Ai masks are used to bit globally we lowered Clarity while increasing Texture. This combination can give a perfect mix of detail and softness.

The texture is a newer but more important feature in both Lightroom and Capture One. It allows you to adjust the amount of detail and texture in an image, which can be particularly useful for enhancing the appearance of skin, fabrics, and other fine details in a photo without the ultra-fine lines and artifacts that come from heavy sharpening.

By increasing the texture, you can make these elements of your image appear more detailed and realistic. Conversely, decreasing the texture can smooth out rough or bumpy surfaces, giving your images a softer look. This can be magic in portrait edits.

All the presence sliders are up a bit here because it brings our richness and texture. But don’t assume that just because it’s food or streets you always want to turn them up. Go down also and watch good things happen.

The De-haze is a useful feature in both Lightroom and Capture One also. It allows you to remove hazey feeling from images. By using the de-haze feature, you can remove this haze and restore the detail of your images in a broader contract sense that’s almost like combining Blacks and Whites. BUT… Don’t always turn this up…

Reversing De-Haze is really taught and VERY powerful. I’ll show that!

I turn Dep-Haze down as much as I turn it up. Maybe more. Because when creating authentic films, organic feeling portraits, and gentle tones, photography ten to use these contrast and presence sliders altogether too much.

IN this POrtrait I used the FIlmist Portra 160 preset and then pulled down Clarity, Texture, and De-Haze a bit to give a natural organic lens feel that reminds me of how we used portrait filter on the lens all the time in the film days.

Clarity, texture, and de-haze are powerful tools in Lightroom and Capture One that allow you to fine-tune the surface of your photos.

I hope you enjoy and share this because if you know what these sliders can do for your photos, you will improve your ability to edit with them. If you use my presets, pay attention to how I apply these 3 sliders. A little can go a long way and really perfected looks can be created using these settings.

Gavin Seim

People often confuse clarity for HDR. But as I show in Natural HDR presets, they are not related. This is too much clarity for this portrait. There are times for a gritty high-pass style portrait. Or maybe you are creating a theme that;’s intense. But unless it’s for a solar reason, avoid too much.

December 20, 2022

free capture one styles, free lightroom presets, presets

Free Black and White Presets Mini Pack for Lightroom and Capture One Styles from Silver 5

Merry Christmas. I started creating presets 15 years ago before the rest existed. I always gave you free preset samplers from packs Like Filmist and Natural HDR. So today I’ve made you a perfect starter pack of free black and white presets from the new Silver 5 presets.

This free black and white presets pack includes 5 hand-picked B&W styles for Lightroom, Capture One and RAW

Go HERE to the Silver Page to DOWNLOAD the FREE Silver 5 Black and White Presets Pack

I also added a few mod’s from the brand-new Mod-Kit that’s included in the complete version to show you how fast it will make you. I even included one of the AI mod tools in the LR version!

There are 3 key elements that create better black and white. Watch this video and I’ll show you them as well as how to use these black and white presets to level up your black-and-white.

I, the video, my secrets to using black and white presets to edit!

Take special note of how each Silver preset takes a different approach in how it mixes your tone using the 3 keys for a perfect black-and-white recipe. Once you have the complete pack, you’ll see this extended much further but just as simple and easy to apply.

Some are perfect for portraits, others for rich streets of the landscape. That’s the key to mixing the tools and completing your vision!

free black and white presets silver 5 sampler with capture one styles — Natural screens often benefit from a more crushed dark black and white and you’ll see great examples of that even in the free presets of Silver 5

You’ll quickly see what I showed you in this Silver 5 training video from my channel. How when you have advanced formulas you are more creative with your edits than any purist who tried to create a recipe from scratch every time. They simply never get this deep in their edits. That’s why presets are essential.

I hope you enjoy this free black and white presets pack.

Please let me know in the comments. See just how much time a good black and white presets system will save you and take a look at the complete Silver 5 pack as well because this free presets sampler pack is just the beginning.

Gavin Seim

Capture one and Lightroom free portrait black and white presets — Good portrait presets tend to focus on softer tones and the skin color channels are very important.

Lightroom free black and white presets — Download the free Black and white presets from Silver 5 and try all these elements in your photos.

October 28, 2022

Free Effects & Goodies, free lightroom presets, lightroom, lightroom vs capture one

My free Lightroom Training Series is here!

Lightroom should be easy. So I decided to take a step-by-step course to make it easy.

I’ve been looking for a way to teach Lightroom better because when it’s natural all your photos get better. So I’ve started this series, taking Lightroom step by step.

A Lightroom training and reference guide.

You can watch the parts you need. I’ll keep adding more chapters so they are all kept tidy in a playlist. As this project grows you will be able to come and review any part you need at your leisure.

See the entire playlist. here

Please like and subscribe while you’re there 😉

The tool should get out of the way.

That’s been my theory in making Lightroom presets and Capture One styles like Filmist, GoldChrome, PowerWorkflow, and more. The tool should work for you. It’s the same with software. If you know what’s happening, the tool will get out of your way and you can work smoothly and better.

I’m also considering a series like this for Capture One so let me know if you’re interested.

You tell me what you want to see.

I’ll keep expanding this. Next will develop settings. We’re going to create the largest free library of Lightroom training resources, so you tell me what you need and I’ll keep them coming.

August 12, 2022

art study, beauty, Fine Art, free lightroom presets, fuji, Review, special effects

Capture One vs Lightroom for Black + White. And what about Photoshop?

Should you use Capture One or Lightroom for your black and white edits? PLUS where does Photoshop for black and white fit in?

We’re going to test that in today’s video with direct comparisons. Taking the sale filed and editing them in each to see what gives us the best black and white in the least time. I’ll give you tips for all of them along the way.

Also, see my Lightroom vs Capture on 2022 video here for a general overview of these two great apps. For now, let’s watch today’s video and do some black and white tests.

Since I started digital photography 20 years I’ve seen just about every technique for Black and White in digital Some needless complex. some are just ugly. Simplifying that process led me to bypass plugins and create tools Like Silver 4 presets and Blackroom BW Actions.

Pure Capture One. While there are fewer BW sliders, you can make up for it with the more advanced color tools and get a stunning result.

Honestly we B&W lovers occasionally get a little snobby, so this question can be complex. But since we no longer have the chemicals we used to use in the darkroom the traditional color filters do not have the same effect. Today to take the same principle and make it work digital.

The best black and white conversions usually start for a color photo because with those color channels we can convert and extract the colors, much like we did with filters in the film days but with more detail. Darkroom like green filter, lighter reds, etc. If you bake black and white in camera, you lose all that power. That’s not to say your BW photos are wrong. Just that they are not as flexible.

So I usually convert on the raw file. In LR or C1. I use my SIlver 4 presets if Filmist. But whether you use creative presets to go further, or all manual. You don’t want to supply desaturate. Use those channels and the power of your RAW.

Watch today’s video above, because we’re looking at Lightroom VS Capture ON in a side-by-side level. Does one give you a better black and white conversion than the other and what are the advantages between Lightroom and C1.

After that, you can go deeper into your black and white edits..

If I’m going to edit my best work. I go beyond RAW. I’ll restore the color channels before going into Photoshop, leaving my other edits in place. Then I can go deeper with my black and white edits. But they are also more complex in Photoshop.

Sometimes it’s not even clear how you can make a better black and white in Photoshop. I use Blackroom to convert to a more complex BW because it always helps me find a way to improve the edit without stumbling around. That’s what it was built for.

More about how I do those more advanced edits in this video and on the Blackroom page.

Lightroom is a little more user-friendly compares to Capture One. But with Styles or presets, you can get your look fast in both.

In conclusion. Which is best? LR, C1 or PS

When it comes to Lightroom VS Capture One for black and white. I think Lightroom has the edge for ease of use and results that just work. Capture One with its other available tools can perhaps give you more options but with more work. Both are going to work great if you save presets or styles or Have a pack like Silver 4 or Filmsist on hand.

In the end, both are good and the results will be good.

But comparing both to Photoshop. Photoshop offers more options, but with a lot more time spent. Even if you use Photoshop actions to vastly speed up these more advanced edits, Photoshop should probably not be where you start.

Edit normally in Lightroom or in Capture one or another RAW-type editor. Then take the very best images you want to showcase to Photoshop to give them that edge that makes them win.

Lastly, plugins for black and white are heavily hyped. I used them when I all this starting out but native tools have improved a LOT since those days. As I mentioned in the video, a plugin adds another step and takes away control.

Yes, using presets and styles and actions help a lot because they make hard tasks fast. But they use the native app tools in Lightroom, Capture One, and Photoshop. So instead of a new file or a flat image. You just highly refined sliders, adjustable layers, and a totally transparent process. To be that’s a huger win.

Let me know if the comments what you think is the best black and white tool.

Gavin Seim

The detail in Photoshop is almost impossible to beat. Layers and details equal more refinement. So I still take by best photos here in the end after using a RAW style editor.

Don’t be afraid to edit your black and white a little more. Whatever app you use. In the end, it’s all about shadow and contrast.

July 9, 2022

capture one, lightroom, special effects

Fuji Classic Chrome as a Preset – This is the recipe

I made a blog post the other day where I showed you the new Filmist 1.7. It has better Portra presets and my new Fuji Classic Chrome preset for Lightroom and as a Capture One Style and a video LUT.

Classic Chrome is a Kodachrome-inspired simulation popular in Fuji Cameras. I wanted a Classic Chrome Preset that worked on any camera.

Even if you don’t like the Classic Chrome look. You’ll find this video useful for your own editing as I’m going to share secrets about how to make more nuanced color edits that work across all kinds of photos and cameras.

NOTE: If you have my Filmist film presets pack, the latest Classic Chrome-like preset is included in. But in today’s video, I’ll show you the recipe so you can make your version if you prefer.

VIDEO: How to create a match of the look as a Classic Chrome preset.

Download the latest Gen.2 version of my Classic Chrome Like preset with Filmist presets. You can also get the the classic Negative film preset free in the Filmist sampler pack.

Why use the preset over the Classic Chrome camera profile…

Seim Fuji Classic Chrome preset on a Canon 5D MK2 file. — Balanced greens are still vibrant but not over the top. Bring that slide film feel even applied to a Canon RAW file like this one.

Simulations in-camera can be beautiful. But to get all the options you have, you have to bake them into a JPEG. This means throwing away information for a color recipe. Custom simulations can be made too, but they only work on the baked-in JPEG also.

The other option is to shoot RAW. Most cameras will then allow you to apply that look as a camera-specific profile. Fuji is one example of this. In Lightroom and Capture One you can select Classic Chrome to look as a profile and it will look very similar to it’s baked-in JPEG counterpart.

I wanted a Classic Chrome Preset that works on everything. I apply the Classic Chrome from FIlmist, I can do it on any file regardless of what camera it came from giving me a consistent look. And I can see every slider that’s been affected, adjusting it as needed.

Classic Chrome Lightroom preset and Capture One Styles recipe on Sony file — Classic Chrome look in LIghtroom applied to a Sony RAW file. It produces those nice sift colors with rich tones inspired by Kodachrome

In Lightroom and in Capture One I can even adjust the intensity of the Classic Chrome preset. I can’t with a baked-in profile.

So In this video, I want to show you how the new Classic Chrome look stacks up with the Fuji version of this Kodoachrome-inspired look (hint it’s almost perfect). Then we’re going to rest in it non-Fuji file to get the Classic Chrom to look on Sony, Canon etc.

And in case you don’t have my Filmist pack and don’t want to buy it, I’m also going to spill the beans, showing you my settings and channels in case you want to make your own variation of Classic Chrome.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. And subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos like this.

Gavin Seim

The Classic Chrom preset works on any Fuji file even when the camera does not include it — While I can use camera-specific color profiles on Fuji files like this one from an XT3, I find it easier to just use the Classic Chrome preset or capture one and have the added control.

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