Get 15% Off Tony Kuyper's TK8 PLUGIN For PHOTOSHOP and Videos here: goodlight.us/panels-and-videos.html Use Promo Code DK15 Download a Free Linear Profile for your Camera here: goodlight.us/linear-profiles.html Tony Kuyper's Blog (Good Light Journal): tonykuyper.wordpress.com I had a lot of response last week about doing a tutorial on Exposure Blending using the TK8 PLUGIN FOR PHOTOSHOP. Here is that video. Today I have two different examples. One is a hard edged blend and the other is a more typical blend. Both of these images were submitted from TK FRIDAY Viewers. A special thanks to Michele Verilhac, France and Mathias Jung, Germany... Lighthouse Image Dark Exposure Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/7gtt26utc1wbmgp/Dark%20EXP_16A10579.dng?dl=0 Lighthouse Image Light Exposure Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/sfe3s8wfr41mw8d/Light%20EXP_16A10577.dng?dl=0 Canon 5D Mark III Linear Profile Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/qohunxqjtuju7n9/linear-canon_eos_5d_mark_iii.zip?dl=0 Germany Sunrise Image Dark Exposure Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/0ubi5aq08p6v02i/Dark%20EXP_DSC2469.NEF?dl=0 Germany Sunrise Image Light Exposure Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/wrke1582uyce5vf/Light%20EXP_DSC2471.NEF?dl=0 Nikon Z 50 Linear Profile Dropbox Link: www.dropbox.com/s/u5pt1ueci4m9cr1/linear-nikon_z_50.zip?dl=0 Affiliate Links For Software I use and recommend: ATTENTION TOPAZ DENOISE AI ON SALE NOW $59.99 Reg $79.99 Plus SAVE 15% EXTRA by Clicking My Affiliate Link and use PROMO CODE DAVIDKELLY: topazlabs.com/ref/434/ ATTENTION IMAGE QUALITY BUNDLE IS ON SALE NOW $199.99 PLUS SAVE 15% EXTRA by Clicking My Affiliate Link and use PROMO CODE DAVIDKELLY: topazlabs.com/ref/434/ SALE ENDS April 15,2022 Topaz Affiliate Link: Get 15% OFF Topaz Labs Products here: topazlabs.com/ref/434/ Use Promo Code davidkelly TK8 PLUGIN FOR PHOTOSHOP Links: Get 15% Off Tony Kuyper's TK8 PLUGIN For PHOTOSHOP and Videos here: goodlight.us/panels-and-videos.html Use Promo Code DK15 Download a Free Linear Profile for your Camera here: goodlight.us/linear-profiles.html Tony Kuyper's Blog (Good Light Journal): tonykuyper.wordpress.com ON1 Software Affiliate Link: Get 20% OFF ON1 Software Here: on1.sjv.io/kjbNBM Use PROMO CODE DAVIDKELLY Coupon valid for 20% off a purchase at ON1 Coupon is not applicable to subscriptions and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions. DXO Affiliate Links: DXO PhotoLab 5 Affiliate Link: tidd.ly/3lSV91M DXO Pure Raw 2: tidd.ly/3wlE5KC NIK COLLECTION 4 Affiliate Link: tidd.ly/2Rr4pRr DXO Filmpack 6 Affiliate Link: tidd.ly/2UGHsrc DXO ViewPoint Affiliate Link: tidd.ly/3fmMUZZ Skylum Software Affiliate Links: LUMINAR AI Affiliate Link: skylum.evyy.net/c/2066209/880106/3255 Use Promo Code DAVEKELLY to receive a $10 Discount Discount does not apply to sale items... Skylum Luminar Neo: skylum.evyy.net/9WQe6y Use Promo Code DAVEKELLY to receive a $10 Discount Discount does not apply to sale items... EXPOSURE BLENDING INSTRUCTIONS Starting with Lightroom: 1. Apply Linear Profile 2. Click Auto Adjust 3. Exposure Match using Lightroom's RA View... (Adjust both images until they look similar.) Start by adjusting the Dark Image and getting it to look as close to the lighter image as possible... 4. Select both images and send them into Photoshop as Smart Objects... 5. Use the TK Stack Action to stack the images. 6. Place the Dark Image above the Light Image. 7. Reduce Opacity of the Light Image to 50% 8. Use the UP, DOWN, LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS on your keyboard to Nudge the images into alignment, if needed... 9. Set the Opacity of the Light Image back to 100% (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT) 10. Put a Black Mask on the Light Image to hide it... 11. Open up the Luminosity Masks in the TK8 MultiMask Panel. 12. Find the Channel that gives you the most Contrast between the Sky and the Foreground. (the Blue Channel generally works well for this step) Tweak the Mask if needed... 13. Output the Mask to the Layer. 14. You can now use the TK8 MultiMask Panel's Layer Mask Mode to further refine your mask like I did in the video tutorial...

Every Friday I push my PS skills forward! Great work, Dave!

Thank you for another great video. I do a lot of exposure blending but you taught me a new way to do it as well. When I think of masks - exposure blending is what I think of first. Another way to get a good clean sky mask is to use your smart object, lighter image and overexpose the sky in ACR and then make the mask back in PS. Then open ACR again and put the exposer back to normal. That way your sky mask is pure white and easier to separate the background.

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

Though getting older, it's somewhat depressing to have time fly by so fast, but TK Friday's never fail to bring me back to reality. Another fantastic tutorial with a different more practical way of doing exposure blending. You never cease to impress!!! BTW, you can also use Difference blend mode to align smart objects - not necesarily better, but easier to remember to convert back to Normal. Also love your added notes for the instructions. Thanks so much!

Thank you for diving into blending Dave. Great tutorial - yet again. Love the RA working in Lr. It was there in my face and I couldn't see it - till now. Keep 'em coming Dave.

Nice. I especially liked the tip on painting over the mask using the Overlay mode. And of course, the "right before our eyes" RA feature in LR.

Excellent lesson, crucial information to remember, I must write this down. Love your tk fridays. I need a photographic memory to remember all of the steps. 🧐🤪

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Phillip. If you look in the description below the video I listed all of the steps.

Thanks for another really useful TK8 video Dave. Looking forward to trying these techniques.

Thank you Dave for this tutorial, bravo for the selection of the sky a delicate operation to realize, very clear tutorial with always full of novelties.

Excellent tutorial. Helpful workflow with great tips and tricks. Thanks Dave!

Thank you very much !❤💚💙

Excellent lesson, Dave. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Thank you Dave, I will definitely be using this technique. Great tutorial as usual.

Excellent

Thank you very much ❤💙💚

Thanks Dave. Some of us use Adobe Camera Raw. Would you consider another video on exposure blending using ACR?

Great tutorial. A real keeper.

Another great video. While I have been doing exposure blending before, I haven't been doing it properly by using LR to set the image up in advance of going into PS. Thanks for the wonderful workflow tips. Keep well. Cheers, Keith

Awesome tutorial. I recommend not to use more than 2 or 3 images at most for this technique. I believe more are not necessary. Thanks Dave

Very nice. I usually use Lightroom for blending by selecting the images to blend and pressing CTL-H (H for HDR) - note it also has CTLR-M for merging panoramas. It does a very decent job most of the time.

I know I am a little late here, but I just got the TK8 and I am learning right now :) One question , how are you doing the blend with more than two images? I usulay take 3 images like -2/0/+2 in the Exp.Bracketing. Thx

Thanks - that was useful. What was the importance of doing the linear profile? I didn’t get that.

Why is this better than Lightroom's HDR merge?

Thanks again Dave on another great video. This wasn't the path I thought you would go with the matching exposure in Lightroom. I was expecting more blending in Photoshop using Lights, Darks and midtone Luminosity masks in TK8 with the blending. Also with bringing the images in Photoshop from Lightroom I just tried highlighting the images in Lightroom, right click, Edit images as layers in photoshop. Align images in photoshop using Auto - Align images, then making them smart objects individually. This saves on manual alignment. It seemed to work.

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome Tony. That will work. The only difference is you won't be working with RAW Files if you need to tweak the Smart Objects.

I have been using linear profiles as a base starting place for my editing and I have just started using DxO pure raw to do some initial noise reduction prior to sending to PS. Do you think it makes a difference whether you apply the linear profile prior to sending to Pure Raw or do the Pure Raw as the initial step and then change the profile?

Dave, I was curious how differently the images would have looked using the HDR function in LR and then making the desired adjustments? I assume that doing that would have made an image that looked less natural and that is why you did it in PS?

Danke!

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Werner.

Hello Dave! You think it will be possible to make us a tutorial how to blend a tracked Milky Way photo with a Foreground photo with the TK8? That would be awesome!!!!

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

I have to work on that one. I haven’t shot any Milky Way images yet. If you have some Milky Way images and don’t mind sharing, just send me an email at edenbridgephotography@gmail.com and let me know.

@boyokos1

2 жыл бұрын

@@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly next week I travel to Greece for 2 weeks and planning to take some Milky Way photos. With pleasure I will send you!!! Thanks a lot

Hi Dave, I've been using the linear profiles for some time now. Although they take some practise to get the best results out of, I do like the extra range you seem to get with your processing. One thing bothers me though, and that is regarding images that have been taken in what we would call beautiful warm light. When I use the linear profiles with those, the highlights turn into an almost full yellow color. The only way to counter that is by setting a really low white balance such as 3400. That helps with the whites but the rest of the image turns too blue. How do you deal with those images?

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

Have you tried targeting that yellow with the HSL in Lightroom or ACR and taming the yellow with the Yellow Saturation Slider.

@doodles1977

2 жыл бұрын

@@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly Yes I have, but that seems to create a very odd color balance within the image. The solution appears to be using a white balance that is way cooler than usual. Weird how the linear profiles react to different to images taken in warm light and all other images.

Dave, another excellent tutorial. One question though: why is it important to use the linear profiles to do this? Can’t you just use any other of the camera profiles? Thanks.

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

You can use other profiles but I feel It is easier to blend with the linear profiles.

Hi Dave. I've been following your videos since TK8 came out. I share your enthusiasm for it. I've also been using linear profiles for my cameras for about a year and a half and clearly they solve previous unsolvable problems. Recently, I watched your video on DxO Photo Lab because I've used the NIK software for years. And, all my photographs are cataloged in LR date to LR3. I do not see myself ever leaving LR since I can find what I need easily. But, I remain open to other RAW developers. Photos can be sent to LR from DxO. And, I understand any adjustments made in LR are not sent to DxO PL. Am I correct, then, in assuming that if a linear profile is needed it would have to be used after the photo comes back to LR? Thus, only some of the functions in DxO would be useful before returning the image back to LR.

@markr5073

2 жыл бұрын

Going a bit further, if my assumption above is correct, and a linear profile is needed/desired, then DxO Pure RAW 2 would be the better route to go from LR and back to LR?

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

That is correct. If you have PL5 you can just send the image back to LR with Prime Noise Reduction, Lens Corrections and Sharpening. You would then be able to use your Linear Profile in LR and continue with your normal LR editing. If you don't need all of the editing features of PL5 then I would suggest just getting DXO Pure RAW2 which would do the same as PL5 regarding the Noise Reduction, Lens Corrections and Sharpening. Like yourself, I love working out of LR with Linear Profiles and I don't think I would change that workflow. I do however think that PL5 is a great piece of software and every now and again I do like working with it just to change things up a bit.

@markr5073

2 жыл бұрын

@@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly Thank you, Dave

Thank you, Dave. Btw, Isn't it easier to just open the files as layers in Photoshop, do the alignment, and then convert them into smart objects?

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

Good question Jack. You can certainly do that and you would be able to use the Auto Align Layers feature in Photoshop. The downside is once you open as layers in Photoshop you are no longer able to edit the layers in Photoshop as RAW Files. By using my method when you Double Click on the Smart Objects in Photoshop you are now working on the actual RAW Files which gives you more control of the blending process. You are actually not using the Camera RAW Filter when you double click on the Smart Object but are using Camera RAW . Once you open as layers in Photoshop all of your Lightroom adjustments are baked into the files. You can use the Camera RAW Filter to alter the exposures but the files are no longer RAW Files, more than likely TIFF Files or PSD files depending how you have Lightroom set up...

@jackeckhart386

2 жыл бұрын

There is always a good explanation when all you see is spending some less time. Thanks a lot for expanding my understanding on this subject matter.

Hey Dave thanks for doing these tutorials few questions to match exposures in LR why not use Match Exposure command under Develop Menu? Second for aligning easier to do this using difference blending mode

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

Good question AM. When you use the Match Total Exposure in LR (Found under Settings when you are in the Develop Module) it only works with the exposure and doesn't give me the results I need and the image will still need tweaked. I believe my method gives you a better starting point. On the lighthouse image if you use Match Total Exposures it just raises the darker image exposure up 4 stops and now the sky is totally gone. You will still need to adjust your image and bring the sky back. It would be great if it did that for you. Match Total Exposure only works with the Exposure Slider. If you choose the darker image and match it with the Lighter image it will darken the Lighter exposure down 4 stops. I don't think this is a great starting point. Maybe at some point Adobe will bring AI into the match exposure and then it might be an option for this exposure blending technique. As far as using the Difference Blend Mode versus lowering the opacity to 50%, they both will be viable options. I prefer the method I used but you can substitute the Difference Blend mode if you prefer that method.

@doodles1977

2 жыл бұрын

I second the tip of using the difference blend mode. Makes it much easier to align!

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

2 жыл бұрын

It's really a matter of choice and which one best suits your needs. One thing I will say is that with the Difference Blend mode you don't have to worry about forgetting to turn the opacity back up to 100% when you are done. (That's a plus)

What does clicking the "auto" button do in your LR workflow?

@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly

Жыл бұрын

It gets the images close to each other so that the blending of the images will look natural.

@douggardner5165

Жыл бұрын

@@thejoyofeditingwithdavekelly Thanks your videos are very helpful

Maybe it's just me, but over the last month or so you seem to be speeding up all of your edits and it's hard for me to follow without constantly stopping and starting over.Also, I use ACR so I'm not sure how to replicate what you did in LR . I do enjoy your TK Friday's though.