Digital workflow question with Kuyper's Luminosity masks
Discussion
7 replies
Posted by Maria Struss on January 4, 2015 at 11:58 AM
I am just beginning to incorporate Kuyper's Luminosity masks into my workflow (thanks to suggestions from fellow NPN members) and would like recommendations for how to best modify my workflow to reflect this addition. My current workflow includes use of Lightroom's Library and Develop Modules, some Nik filter processing, frequent Photoshop processing, and use of some Topaz filters on occasion. I may be making this harder than necessary but would love to hear from others on recommended workflows or best practices as well as eBooks or tutorials on this subject.
Tony's masks are very powerful, but there is a learning curve. For learning purposes, I suggest the following workflow...
1. Read Tony's pdf tutorials. They are nicely done, and quite detailed.
2. Convert your RAW file to either a TIFF or PSD file after making white balance and exposure adjustments in ACR or Lightroom, save this new file in 16-bit RGB, assuming the image file is 16 bit to begin with.
3. Open the file in Photo Shop and then create the following Levels adjustment layers by running the appropriate Luminosity Masks actions:
****Lights
****Basic Mid Tones
****Darks
4. Make adjustments to each Levels layer in turn just to see the effect that each mask has on the image.
5. Save this file.
6. Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the luminosity mask layers, and adjust as needed.
7. Apply any Nik or Topaz filters after making your tonal and Hue/Sat adjustments.
The main idea here is to see how the masks work so that you can make a prediction as to which of the other masks you may need. I have found that it's best to create all the masks you might need before making any other adjustments.
Note: As with any Curves or Levels layer, any adjustments to them will affect color. If you do not want these adjustments to affect color, set the Blending Mode of the layer to 'Luminosity'.
--P
Posted by Maria Struss on January 5, 2015 at 12:22 PM
Thanks everyone for the input.
I have not bought Sean's tutorial yet but plan to. I could not tell from the tutorial write up if it would address how to integrate Nik and other filters into the new workflow. Preston, your comments above on workflow are exactly the input I was looking for. Thanks so much for taking the time to help a Kupyer novice.
Maria
Posted by Greg Vaughn on January 6, 2015 at 12:09 PM
I second (or third) the recommendation for Sean Bagshaw's video tutorials. Prior to becoming a full-time pro photographer Sean was a science teacher and he really knows how to clearly explain detailed processes. His videos are extremely well done.
Posted by Roger Clark on January 9, 2015 at 11:15 AM
I have read Tony's tutorials and they are very well done. The implementation of luminosity masks is very complex and Tony explains it very well.
But having said that, in my opinion, there is a much simpler way than using luminosity masks to do the kinds of things Tony illustrates. This is nothing against Tony's excellent tutorials. The simpler way is to just use the curves tool. With the curves tool, one has more control than just light, darks, mid tones and refinements of such. I illustrate these concepts in a tutorial on night photography image processing, but the concepts apply to all image processing.
http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/night.photography.image.processing/
The latest version of Tony's masks includes the masks for Levels layers and Curves layers. Also, there are several different masks under each major category that cover a broad range of possible tonal value adjustments. For example, in the set that I have, the Lights include the following masks as either Curves or Levels adjustment layers.
Expanded Lights, Lights, Light Lights, Bright Lights, and Super Lights.
Before I had TK's masks, I used Curves for adjustments, creating layer masks using selections with the lasso, quick mask, or painting on the mask using a soft brush of varying opacity. While this was good way to adjust the curve for a specific area, I found it difficult to control the selection edges with either feathering or painting.
TK's masks solved this problem, for me, anyway, because the masks are 'self-feathering'. This feature alone has saved me many hours of work on complex images: The 'self-feathering' feature is, I think, the real power of Tony's masks.
The Curve tool in Photo Shop is a powerful tool, and it becomes even more so with Tony's Masks.
As with any image adjustment tool, using Tony's masks effectively and efficiently requires study and hands-on work. I have been using them for several years and I still find new ways of using them, and discovering more in terms of their power.
I certainly have no issue with anyone's methods of image editing. I do know that Tony's masks fill the bill for me.
Discussion
7 replies1. Read Tony's pdf tutorials. They are nicely done, and quite detailed.
2. Convert your RAW file to either a TIFF or PSD file after making white balance and exposure adjustments in ACR or Lightroom, save this new file in 16-bit RGB, assuming the image file is 16 bit to begin with.
3. Open the file in Photo Shop and then create the following Levels adjustment layers by running the appropriate Luminosity Masks actions:
****Lights
****Basic Mid Tones
****Darks
4. Make adjustments to each Levels layer in turn just to see the effect that each mask has on the image.
5. Save this file.
6. Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the luminosity mask layers, and adjust as needed.
7. Apply any Nik or Topaz filters after making your tonal and Hue/Sat adjustments.
The main idea here is to see how the masks work so that you can make a prediction as to which of the other masks you may need. I have found that it's best to create all the masks you might need before making any other adjustments.
Note: As with any Curves or Levels layer, any adjustments to them will affect color. If you do not want these adjustments to affect color, set the Blending Mode of the layer to 'Luminosity'.
--P
I have not bought Sean's tutorial yet but plan to. I could not tell from the tutorial write up if it would address how to integrate Nik and other filters into the new workflow. Preston, your comments above on workflow are exactly the input I was looking for. Thanks so much for taking the time to help a Kupyer novice.
Maria
But having said that, in my opinion, there is a much simpler way than using luminosity masks to do the kinds of things Tony illustrates. This is nothing against Tony's excellent tutorials. The simpler way is to just use the curves tool. With the curves tool, one has more control than just light, darks, mid tones and refinements of such. I illustrate these concepts in a tutorial on night photography image processing, but the concepts apply to all image processing.
http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/night.photography.image.processing/
Roger
The latest version of Tony's masks includes the masks for Levels layers and Curves layers. Also, there are several different masks under each major category that cover a broad range of possible tonal value adjustments. For example, in the set that I have, the Lights include the following masks as either Curves or Levels adjustment layers.
Expanded Lights, Lights, Light Lights, Bright Lights, and Super Lights.
Before I had TK's masks, I used Curves for adjustments, creating layer masks using selections with the lasso, quick mask, or painting on the mask using a soft brush of varying opacity. While this was good way to adjust the curve for a specific area, I found it difficult to control the selection edges with either feathering or painting.
TK's masks solved this problem, for me, anyway, because the masks are 'self-feathering'. This feature alone has saved me many hours of work on complex images: The 'self-feathering' feature is, I think, the real power of Tony's masks.
The Curve tool in Photo Shop is a powerful tool, and it becomes even more so with Tony's Masks.
As with any image adjustment tool, using Tony's masks effectively and efficiently requires study and hands-on work. I have been using them for several years and I still find new ways of using them, and discovering more in terms of their power.
I certainly have no issue with anyone's methods of image editing. I do know that Tony's masks fill the bill for me.
--P