Lightroom Classic (and Premire) Auto-correcting my Log files-Help

Report · Mar 06, 2024

I am trying to track out a string in After Effects. I used "replace with After Effects Comp" for the clip. My color grading was all on an adjustment layer above the files to save playback space and me having to change each file's grading per every minor tweak. When I was working on the Ae comp the footege I was working with was Log footage. I had taken photos without the string (or my reflection) in it with the same settings so I could replace some of the background to make it easier. The video footege has my reflection in it so I can't use that. Bringing it into both Lightroom Classic and Camera RAW un-Logifies it. It resaturates and re-contrasts it and now I have to try and match the settings of the log footege I'm working with to finish the comp. When I open it in Lightroom Classic it, for a moment, it's still in log form before it "fixes" it. Funnily enough, however, when I preview it in file explorer it does the same thing, as well as opening the file in the Mac photo app. The pictures I took on-site were all .Cr3 and I've had the same issue with .Cr2 files as well. I guess next time I could try to remember taking .jpgs, but I feel like this should be working?

Report · Mar 06, 2024

You're mashing up a workflow between Ae, Ps, Lr ... ?

Report · Mar 06, 2024

Lr and Ps were just to export the RAW file to a Jpg or PNG. My workflow is between Premire and Ae

Report · Mar 06, 2024

Ahh, thanks, that wasn't clear in the original post.

Log is a camera format, really, used to compress data storage and ranges. But once in post, it is mostly linearized to display space. As you can do so retaining all data, but linearized for display.

This is an issue at times where you are working with log media in editing, but are passing off final grades to a colorist in another app. But then, proxies or t-codes with identical names have worked for years for that purpose while editing.

An issue with that Ae/Pr workflow that I can see right off is that it is somewhat difficult to match Ae and Pr color management settings for certain things at this time. So doing the color work in Ae introduces potential problems.

Curiosity here, why are you doing the color in Ae?

Report · Mar 06, 2024

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I am only color correcting in premire, I'm working with the uncolored log files in Ae. What I'm trying to do is use a RAW image I took in the same environment to combine them but when I open the file to export it it's already been somwhat pre-edited so it no longer matches the scene. My reflection is in the video which is why I took the photo, so I could set it on a timer and leave the area.

Report · May 03, 2024

I think I figured out what caused it but there are still some issues I'm not sure about. It seems like LrC sets RAW photos with color profiles on import. I think what was happening is when I imported my file it was set to the default Adobe color profile which is why it was resaturating it and other stuff. What I can do is set it to my camera's profile (Rebel Sl3). What's confusing me is A: there are a bunch of preset color profiles built into the camera already; B: is it using the one I have set? Because I imported my own profile onto it through the EOS Utility app. If it's taking the profile from the camera then why is it still correcting my custom profile? Maybe there's info it gets from default profiles or the in-camera custom ones. I'm assuming I could import the camera's profile onto LrC but then if I take photos with a different camera or profile I'd run into issues. It just seems really innefficiant and makes my life more of a pain so if there's a way to amend this that'd be great. The real issue I had, however, was I was taking photos in a standard Canon profile but when I imported it into LrC as part of the auto-adjustment it added a crazy amount of vigetting (I saw it happen while I was watching too). Because of zoom lenses there wass no easy way to apply a consistant or quick fixing of the vignetting to all the images I took which was a big workflow issue for me. Any ideas? Thanks.