If you’ve taken one of my workshops, you’ve seen how valuable tone curves are in Photoshop. So why can’t you do the same thing in Lightroom? Because not enough people have requested it!
If you’d like to see this feature added to Lightroom, click here and tell them!
Lots of other programs from other vendors allow local tone curves, like On1 and Affinity Photo, so it’s time Adobe adds this. Until then, you have to use Photoshop or switch vendors to get it. But I’ll let you in on a secret. Photoshop isn’t as hard as people make it out to be, and once you spend the time to learn it, it’s faster and offers more control than Lightroom. So either bark at Adobe to add it, learn Photoshop, or switch applications…those are your options for now if you want local tone curves.
I’ll be returning to Looking Glass Photo in February to teach my four session class on creating the Classic look of Black and White using digital tools.
Black and White photography offers us so many unique ways to communicate. Removing color can be a good thing, as it helps us focus more clearly on the shapes, lines, and forms that can be used to tell our story. It’s been a central part of my journey since the first time I saw a print “appear” from the developer in my friend’s basement around 1984. I continue to find new and exciting ways for black and white to tell my stories, and the materials continue to reveal new qualities and possibilities.
I teach these classes using Photoshop, which is my preferred tool, but I focus on fundamental concepts that transcend what software package you use. Every software package gives you tools to address the fundamentals I’ll teach.
Click on the links above for an extended description of what will be covered in each class.
My thanks to Jon and Jen at Looking Glass for having me back. Camera stores like Looking Glass are an important part of a vibrant, healthy photo community and I encourage you to support them when by purchasing your equipment and supplies through them, and dealers like them, that support the photo community.
I haven’t been posting as many articles lately because because I’ve been working on curriculum for my online classes. Zoom has turned out to be an amazing way to teach my processing classes online, but repurposing and reformatting everything to fit into four 2-hour sessions does take a bit of effort!
What’s great about these Zoom classes is they offer bite sized opportunities to learn and engage in an ongoing conversation about the tools and process of making great photographs that fit with most people’s schedules and our need to follow COVID guidelines.
My Classic Black and White with Digital class is a chance to learn how I approach the decision making process to make a photograph that achieves a “gallery quality” black and white print. Of course we learn some tools and how to use them, but the “why” we do something, and “what” we should do to our photographs is always central to the process.
I’ll be adding a color class soon that will draw on the lessons I learned helping make hundreds of thousands of prints at West Coast Imaging that will help you take greater control over your own photographs.
Join my email list over on the top left column of my page if you want to receive notification of new workshops and join me for one of these new online workshops! Looking forward to seeing you on Zoom soon!
Tillman Crane and I will be leading you in the amazing opportunities spring presents us in the Smokies from blooming dogwood trees, roaring rivers, and hopefully some misty morning vistas.
If you haven’t seen Tillman’s website, be sure to check out his amazing B&W work that he prints in platinum from digital negatives made with a digital camera. I’ve long admired his work and look forward to instructing with him and seeing more of his prints in person.
Visionary Wild’s leader Justin Black taught in the Smokies last fall and has put together an excellent plan so we can be COVID safe and still learn while enjoying this magnificent landscape. We’ll be visiting mid week which should help us avoid the crowds too!
Check out the Visionary Wild page for this class to learn more and to register.
