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xedative
Participant
September 12, 2020
Answered

Lightroom applies B/W settings to RAW color image

  • September 12, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 543 views

I photographed a concert with both JPEG and RAW enabled so that, if necessary, I'd have a broader editing range for photos that need saving. When importing a color (intended and shot in color on the camera) photo in RAW format, Lightroom seems to automatically apply settings that look great for B/W, but not for color. What is causing this and can I somehow change it?

 

 

 

 

 

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Correct answer JP Hess

Lightroom applies the default settings that have been established for raw images, whatever those settings might be. The JPEG images have been affected by the in-camera settings, and they could be notably different from what the raw default settings are in Lightroom.

2 replies

JP Hess
JP Hess
Inspiring
September 13, 2020

Assuming that you're using LrC 9.4, here is an excellent tutorial that I followed to set up default settings. I'm kind of a slow learner, so I had to watch it a couple of times. But it works very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGCnR9qEqA4&t=29s

As far as editing goes, that's what Lightroom is for. You have complete freedom to modify the image as needed without fear of ruining it because any work you perform in Lightroom is completely nondestructive.

    JP Hess
    JP HessCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    September 12, 2020

    Lightroom applies the default settings that have been established for raw images, whatever those settings might be. The JPEG images have been affected by the in-camera settings, and they could be notably different from what the raw default settings are in Lightroom.

      X
      xedativeAuthor
      Participant
      September 12, 2020

      So my suspicions were in the right direction. However, I'm fairly new to Lightroom—can these default settings be changed in Lightroom? And additionally, if not, then how would I go about editing this photo? I've only done fairly minor fix-ups until now, I'm not sure reverse-engineering a good photo out of this oversaturated mess is within my skill range.

      X
      xedativeAuthor
      Participant
      September 16, 2020

      The easiest way to reset the image back to the default SOOC settings is to use the "Adobe Default" preset, which is available in the Presets>Defaults group.

      It's not clear which version of Lightroom you are using, but the method is the same in either, so just use that preset which will reset the image, then proceed to develop the image as normal.

      You'll also need to look at what caused the problem in the first place. Either you have set the default develop settings to apply a monochrome preset, or you have applied a monochrome preset during import (if using Classic).


      Apologes for the slow reply back.
      I use Lightroom 3.4, so as far as I understand, not Classic. As for the presets, the oversatured image I posted is the Adobe Default preset. I also tried Neutral and Portrait, and while they slightly altered the tone, the overall problems still remained. 

      As for the develop settings, I'm unsure how and where to change those. However, I did manage to fix it by using one of the Camera Matching presets that were present with RAW files.

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