Dark clipped areas

[southwestform]

1. For clarification, are the blue overlayed areas on the photo indicating clipped parts of the blacks?

2. Generally, if the detail in the black areas that is showing as clipped is not key to the photo, do you just ignore it?

3. If I'm happy with the overall exposure of the photo, what would you do to bring back some of the detail in the black/clipped areas? Is the adjustment brush the only real option here?

Thanks.

[GoldingD]

Julieanne Kost's Blog | Setting White and Black Points in Lightroom CC

[JP Hess]

1. Yes.

2. Everything that is done in Lightroom is subjective. If you are satisfied with how things are, then leave it alone. Nobody is going to arrest you if the blacks are clipped. It's just there as a warning.

3. The adjustment brush is one option. It's possible to work with exposure, or the blacks slighter,, or you can work with the tone curve.

If you don't want to be bothered with the blue clipping overlay, just click on the little blue box in the upper left-hand corner of the histogram to disable the warning altogether. Another way to enable/disable clipping indicators is to simply press the J key.

[Todd Shaner]

southwestform  wrote

3. If I'm happy with the overall exposure of the photo, what would you do to bring back some of the detail in the black/clipped areas? Is the adjustment brush the only real option here?

Thanks.

There are many things you can do using just the LR Basic panel Tone controls to achieve that objective. In general you can "quickly" reveal more shadow and highlight detail in the image by simply applying -50 Highlights and +50 Shadows as a starting point.

More suggestions here:

Tone Control Adjustment Procedure

[D Fosse]

southwestform  wrote

2. Generally, if the detail in the black areas that is showing as clipped is not key to the photo, do you just ignore it?

Your choice. You can always go back to the original raw file if you change your mind. The shadows slider is the go-to tool here, as Todd suggests.

Solid blacks can work to your advantage in some cases. In other cases it can ruin a shot. There really is no stock answer, it's a decision you have to make every time.

[Ian Lyons]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote

Solid blacks can work to your advantage in some cases. In other cases it can ruin a shot. There really is no stock answer, it's a decision you have to make every time.

Very true. The trick is knowing when one or other is best.

[John Waller]

Would you say it's purely a subjective visual decision based on the merits of each image, Ian?

Or have you established a workflow with some guidelines?

[Ian Lyons]

It's a subjective visual decision. There's really no set formulae or workflow. Some images will benefit from a little black clipping and others require a significant amount of black clipping (crush the blacks).

[Todd Shaner]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/John+Waller  wrote

Would you say it's purely a subjective visual decision based on the merits of each image, Ian?

Or have you established a workflow with some guidelines?

John I cover the Basic panel Tone Control Adjustment workflow in detail at the Adobe Helpx link provided. This is a new initiative to have ACP members create Help documents based on real-world experience using the Adobe application. Give it a read.

Tone Control Adjustment Procedure

[TheDigitalDog]

Totally subjective and, in many cases, a key to making an image more appealing artistically.

Look at this very well know photographer's work and total disregard for clipped black:

https://www.gormanphotography.com/