This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using the Graduated Filter tool
The Graduated Filter tool lets you apply adjustments to part of a picture in a linear direction. The effect uses sliders that are similar to the ones in the Basic panel, but that let you fade out the effect in the direction you drag. In this exercise, you’ll apply two Graduated Filter tool adjustments to a single photo.
TIP
This exercise file is a great candidate for using the Dehaze slider at the bottom of the Basic panel. Try setting it at +25 to give the photo a much-needed contrast and color boost.
Select the picture labeled slc.dng, an image of Salt Lake City, Utah. The sky is a little bright in this image. We want to darken that sky a bit, slowly fading the darkening as it reaches the horizon. This will draw the viewer’s attention toward the horizon.
Activate the Graduated Filter tool in the tool strip beneath the Histogram panel (it’s the fourth tool from the left), or press M on your keyboard. The Graduated Filter panel appears beneath the tool strip.
NOTEIf you prefer to work through this adjustment, activate the Graduated Filter tool, and click Reset at the bottom of the Graduated Filter panel to delete the ones that were applied for you. If you already clicked the Reset button and want to return to the edited version, click Snapshot 1 in the Snapshots panel.
In the Graduated Filter panel, double-click the Effect label at the upper left to set all the sliders to 0 (you can also Alt-click/Option-click the Effect label, which changes to Reset, to do the same thing).
The sliders for all the local adjustment tools are sticky, so it’s important to remember to reset them. To reset an individual slider to its default value, double-click the slider label or the slider itself.
Drag the Exposure slider to the left to about –1.00. Setting one (or several) sliders before you use the tool loads it with those settings so they’re applied as soon as you drag on your photo.
TIPPress O on your keyboard to turn on the gradient mask overlay in light red. Press the same key to turn it back off (alternatively, turn on Show Selected Mask Overlay at the left side of the toolbar, beneath the photo). To change the mask color, press Shift+O on your keyboard (this is helpful when the mask color also appears in your photo).
To apply the filter, Shift-drag from the top middle of the photo down to slightly past the top of the trees, so the adjustment covers the sky and mountains (holding down the Shift key keeps the filter straight).
Lightroom adds a mask in a linear gradient over the area where you dragged. This gradient mask controls where the adjustment is visible. Drag the pin in the middle of the gradient to reposition the filter. When the pin is selected, it’s black, and you can adjust the filter’s sliders. When it’s unselected, it’s light gray. To delete a filter, click its pin and press the Backspace/Delete key.
The filter’s three white lines represent the strength of the adjustment: 100%, fading to 50%, and then down to 0%. You can contract or extend the filter’s gradient by dragging the top or bottom lines toward or away from the center line. To rotate the filter, move your cursor near the center line, and when it turns into a curved arrow, drag it clockwise or counterclockwise.
TIPLightroom automatically hides the pins when you move your mouse away from the preview area. To change this, use the Show Edit Pins menu in the toolbar at the lower left of the photo. (If you don’t see the toolbar beneath your photo, press T on your keyboard to turn it on.
To add another graduated filter, click New at the upper right of the panel, and then drag another filter from the bottom of the picture to the center of it. This deselects the first pin, which changes to light gray.
Double-click Effect to reset all the sliders, and then drag the Exposure slider to the left, to about –1.00, to darken the foreground.
TIPYou can create overlapping graduated filters, too!
Click the panel switch at the bottom left of the Graduated Filter panel to turn both filters off, and then click it again to turn both filters back on.
To finish this off, click the top gradient’s pin and drag the Dehaze slider to 33. This is a much better way to add Dehaze, as it only applies it where you need it—on the sky. Drag the Whites slider to 43 to bring back some brightness.
To close the Graduated Filter panel, click Close at the lower right of the panel or click the Graduated Filter tool itself in the tool strip to put it away.
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The Graduated Filter tool can help accentuate portions of your picture and make them stand out. Here are a few more things that are helpful to know about using this tool (these tips work with the Radial Filter and Adjustment Brush, too):
You can use a brush to erase portions of a filter. If the filter bleeds onto an area where you don’t want it, click the filter’s pin to select it. Click Brush at the upper right of the filter’s panel (shown on the next page). Click Erase in the Brush section at the bottom of the panel to switch to Erase mode. Paint over any areas where you want to remove the filter (notice the minus sign [–] inside your brush cursor).
You can lower the strength of all the settings of a single filter at once by selecting its pin and clicking the black triangle at the upper right of the tool panel (just above the sliders; shown circled on the next page) to reveal an Amount slider. Drag it to the left to reduce the opacity of all the settings you applied with that filter.
You can save tool settings as a preset. To do that, click the Effect menu near the top of the tool’s panel (shown on the next page) and choose Save Current Settings as New Preset. In the resulting dialog box, enter a meaningful name and click Create. From this point on, your preset will be available in the Effect menu. This also is useful if you’re making several adjustments with a single filter.
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The next section teaches you how to use the Radial Filter tool, which works in a similar manner.
