For those using Lightroom... what are your settings

[Pinchers of Peril]

First off, I realize this question is very general and there are many variables to it, but I was just looking for some general information.  I currently shoot with a 5DIII and shoot in RAW then do all my post processing in Lightroom 4.  My basic question is what parameters are you usually changing on your photos in lightroom.  Specifically what are you usually doing with saturation and vibrance?  I know this will vary tremendously depending on lighting and the subject shot, but I was just curious what most of you do for the average picture.  I almost always have to mess with whitebalance and then usually up the saturation and vibrance about +5-+10.  Sometimes I find myself oversaturating my pictures if I'm not careful and then I make a good shot look bad.  Also what are you guys usually doing for contrast settings?  Thanks

[Renzokuken]

Lightroom renders Canon raw files very differently from how DPP does.

I always find myself messing with the Saturation and hue, and vibrance as well

To minimize the different between Lightroom and DPP outputs, they actually created a "Camera Calibration" module. Just got to develop and scroll all the way down, "Camera Standard" tries to emulate the Standard Picture Style Jpeg output of the DPP, so try messing around with that as well.


I always find "adobe standard" making photos slightly pinkish and dull

hope this helps

[kbmelb]

It depends on the shot and what my intensions are but I usually adjust my saturations by color not globally. I usually bump the contrast slightly, contrary to popular belief, the 5D3 has a fair bit of DR so I like to throw a bit of it out (not always). I like to use the Clarity slider modestly to help with contrast also.

[Pinchers of Peril]

Lightroom renders Canon raw files very differently from how DPP does.

I always find myself messing with the Saturation and hue, and vibrance as well

To minimize the different between Lightroom and DPP outputs, they actually created a "Camera Calibration" module. Just got to develop and scroll all the way down, "Camera Standard" tries to emulate the Standard Picture Style Jpeg output of the DPP, so try messing around with that as well.


I always find "adobe standard" making photos slightly pinkish and dull

hope this helps

Thanks for the quick response.  I will definitely try the "Camera Standard" module to see how that looks.  Yeah I've noticed the RAW files look very different if I open them in DPP.  Usually I like the way DPP renders them better than lightroom does before I mess around with anything.  I just wish DPP had localized brush adjustments then I would prob use that instead of lightroom.

[jhaces]

I almost always have to mess with whitebalance and then usually up the saturation and vibrance about +5-+10.  Sometimes I find myself oversaturating my pictures if I'm not careful and then I make a good shot look bad.  Also what are you guys usually doing for contrast settings?  Thanks

The WB dropper is always a good starting point, then fine-tune as needed.
Work your way from the top from the options.   Contrast is usually + around 20. Setting whites+/blacks-/shades-/highlights+ is important.

I usually go +vibrance (around 20) and -saturation (around 10, yeah, minus.) and clarity is important (please don't over-do it! pet peeve of mine) around 20.    These settings of course vary WILDLY from picture to picture, but basically the + and - stay the same (that is, I mostly +whites, -shades, etc. )

[scottkinfw]

A bit off topic, but be sure to calibrate the monitor regularly.  Nothing worse than getting things "just right", send them off to print, and have them come back green or whatever.

[Brendon]

I find that the "camera calibration" settings for my 5diii are best on neutral when shooting scenes with skin tones in them.  You will have to add some contrast back into the scene after changing this but it's worth it.

I find that scenes with skin tones are the most difficult to adjust.  Here is my work flow for wedding photos:

1) Get the skin exposure right with the exposure slider
2) Get the color temp, this is often the hardest one of the bunch!
3) Adjust the white and black sliders while holding down the cntrl key so that whites are pure white and blacks are pure black.  This kind of stretches the DR a bit and adds contrast.
4) I will usually bump the vibrance up to 40-50 and the saturation to 10-15 to start.  Doing this screws up the skin tones so I will go into the color saturation panel and use the dropper to click on the skin and draw down the saturation of just the skin tones.  (I have a couple of presets for this and will tweak the presets for each wedding couple)  This process adds the "pop" to the colors.
5) Add a little bit of contrast.  You can do this with the slider but I find that adjusting the curve to an S curve is more natural.  (just use the pre-programed curves)  The amount of contrast is going to depend on the lighting and on your lens.
6) Tweak the white and black sliders again to get the final effect i'm looking for.
7) Tweak the noise reduction with the picture at 100%

Obviously I jump around these steps and use a little different settings based on lighting but for a "standard" picture this is basically it.  Some might say that colors (particularly reds) become too saturated using these settings so you have to adjust for the scene but most people today are looking for the photos that "pop" rather than a very natural look.

FYI, I also use a 50d for weddings and the settings are totally different for it.  The tones are rendered very differently between the two cameras.  Most of the photos I take with the 50d end up as black and whites. 

[Seanlucky]

I'm pretty much always shooting with a 5D III, 5D II, or 1DS III and working the RAWs in Lightroom. As you said, things will vary quite a bit, but I guess I often go through very similar motions.

-Adjust Exposure, Blacks, Shadows, Highlights, Whites as needed. This is one thing I really can't lock down into a consistent setting.
-Increase contrast either through the slider, or the curves
-Bias towards reducing saturation and vibrance, only by small amounts. Sometimes I go the other way though.
-Tiny bit of clarity increase, I really don't like to overdo this one though.
-In the color sliders, I always tend to desaturate the reds and oranges just a little, especially if there's people in the shot (which 90% of my photos do have). I really find that Canon's tend to overdue these skin tones. I play around with all of these just a little bit, taking care not to overdo it.
-little bit of sharpening and noise reduction, often dig a subtle vignette

That being said, I quite often start with a VSCO film preset as I quite like them, and play with them from there as a starting point.

[ChilledXpress]

Pickup a X‑Rite ColorChecker Passport and make profiles based on the Camera body, lens and lighting conditions.

This is a good starting point... build profiles based on your needs. I think you answered your own question though, there will never be a "setting" that is universal. Only a good point from which you can evaluate and build on based on the situation.

[crasher8]

depends if it's a soft proof or for my printer/online. Different every time. One thing I have noticed is that the LR settings for the 135 f/2L are a huge difference compared to my other lenses.

[TriGGy]

Also don't overlook monitor calibration like Spyder Pro. That will help alot for color consistency and exposure adjustments.

[Pinchers of Peril]

Wow everybody thanks so much for all the info.  I have not ever calibrated my monitor so that is definitely something I will look into.

[bholliman]

Also don't overlook monitor calibration like Spyder Pro. That will help alot for color consistency and exposure adjustments.

+1  Before I purchased a Spyder Pro, I was seeing a huge difference between how pictures looked on various PC's and printed.  This is an excellent investment.

This is my workflow for landscape pictures, similar to some of the other posters above.
1. adjust overall brightness level
2. adjust color temperature
3. adjust blacks and whites (use ALT key on a PC and left click on the slider, move until totally black)
4. adjust shadows and highlights depending on the picture
5. apply s-curve for contrast
6. apply color specific saturation depending on the picture
7. apply vibrance (normally 5 to 10, but as much as 20 for back-lit or cloudy day pictures)
8. apply clarity (normally 2-5)
9. reduce saturation (0 to -5)
10. Apply noise reduction for high ISO pictures, either globally (5-15) or using the paintbrush tool if in specific areas of the picture
11. apply lens and CA correction for lenses that need it (24-105 at wider aperatures, 15-85)
12. straighten and crop as needed

I typically do less post processing for portraits.  Normally, I do not add vibrance or clarity and adjust shadows and highlights less.

[Shawn L]

What I end up doing is based on what's in the photos. For instance, I process files from a trip to the zoo different than photos from an ice show. Anyhow...

If I don't like the overall color or tone of the image, I'll play with WB and/or camera calibration. I'll note that "adobe standard" really blows out saturated reds. I find "camera standard" much better for that. For pictures with crowds, "portrait" calibration brings out flesh tones (though sometimes too much). The "landscape" setting makes greens and blues pop. By trying each of these, you can get some nice results for images you weren't initially fond of.

Then, I work my way from the top of the settings downward.

For the 1DX, I find that Shadows at +50 to 75 -- especially for bright outdoor scenes -- helps bring out detail.

I'll drop vibrance back a bit for high ISO, low light images. Otherwise, colors tend to feel muddy.

In order to "fill the histogram" (when that's appropriate to do),  I've found that "exposure" often blows things out too much for my taste (ruining the darks). So I often use "white" and "highlights." When those don't work, I'll open the tone curve and drag the upper right edge of the curve toward the left until the histogram is filled. This often produces much nicer results while preserving overall tonality.

Your mileage may vary .

Shawn L.

[munkymorgy]

I did not think it would be common to use Vibrance and Saturation at the same time. Vibrance is just saturation but set to only effect Red, Green and Blue. Giving you a saturation control when skin tones are present. It lets you adjust saturation without altering skin tones or at least that what it said in the Lightroom Adventure.