Feature Description: I am requesting an enhancement to the Auto White Balance feature in Lightroom Classic to make it more flexible and targeted, particularly when dealing with images containing people. Currently, the Auto White Balance adjustment applies uniformly across the entire image. I propose adding functionality to focus the Auto White Balance on specific subjects within the image, such as skin tones, or to selectively apply it through masking.
Justification: In my professional workflow, starting edits with auto settings significantly speeds up my process. However, the current one-size-fits-all approach to Auto White Balance often does not suit images with people, as it does not adequately balance skin tones. This requires additional manual adjustments, reducing the efficiency of using the auto settings.
Current Limitations: The existing Auto White Balance lacks precision when it comes to images with mixed lighting or diverse elements (like landscapes with people), often resulting in suboptimal color balance for human subjects.
Proposed Solution:
- Introduce a "Selective Auto White Balance" option where users can apply auto balance based on detected subjects in the image, such as 'People' or 'Landscape'.
- Allow Auto White Balance to be applied to user-defined masks, enabling more control over which areas of the image are affected by the auto adjustments.
- Expand this selective auto adjustment feature to other settings like Exposure, Blacks, and Whites, allowing for finer control based on content type within the image.
Potential Benefits: This feature would greatly enhance the usability of Lightroom Classic for professional photographers who frequently work with portraits and mixed-composition shots. It would streamline the editing process by reducing the need for extensive manual color corrections, leading to faster workflow and more consistent results. Additionally, this feature could serve as a strong selling point for Adobe, appealing to both new and existing users who seek more intelligent and adaptable editing tools.