Blacks Slider

Just spent a couple of hours investigating the new develop module in a bit more detail. I've been trying to simulate my LR3 presets (both colour and black and white) using the LR4b 2012 process. Here are some thoughts:
1. The new process certainly has it's strengths.
2. It's a much bigger change, both in terms of how you apply adjustments and the underlying code than the 2003 to 2010 change. I could update most 2003 edits to 2010 with only barely visible perceptual differences. Not so with 2010-2012.
3. There seems to be much more localised adjustment going on in LR4b. It's hard to quantify, and I certainly see the power of it, but it's possible to end up with an image that looks 'over-processed' much more easily then in LR3. Specifically:
- Adjustments rarely seem to apply in a linear fashion. Obviously the sliders target different points of the histogram/image, but the response seems not to be linear.
- While the highlight tool in LR3 used to pull back the highlights, used in larger amounts it could be used to flatten the lighting image overall. I have yet to find an analogue for this in LR4b. Reducing the contrast slider has a different effect as does clarity. The closest thing is reducing the whites but the effect is somewhat different.
4. In b&w editing the blacks slider has an excessively limited range. I am bottoming out while trying to add sufficient black levels to well exposed images. This is a big problem for me as I like to produce deep rich b/w images. I never got NEAR the top of the blacks slider in LR3 but am bottoming the LR4b blacks out at -100 and wanting more from time to time.
Thoughts welcome!

You don't have to update your existing photos - in fact, I'd suggest not doing so unless you want to reprocess. Leave them on PV2010 and when you come to a photo that you want to use the new sliders on, then you reprocess. It's a completely different process so there isn't a simple one-button-upgrade as there was for 2003-2010.
Yes, the new sliders are image-adaptive rather than linear. Just be gentle with them.
For your B&W's, try the Tone Curve and see how that does for you.

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Keep getting black slides after exporting a time-lapse in LightRoom

No matter what camera I use, I continue to get black slides in between frames of timelapses I make using Lightroom 5. I'm using a plug in that allows me to export the slideshow at 30fps. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT!

Me too. Would love to find an answer to this. As far as I can tell it's not to do with viewing it on a screen at the wrong fps, Lightroom is actually inserting black frames between the frames we put in...

How can I remove the black slide?

I created a slide show in iPhoto and saved it as a movie, .mov
Apparently in the conversion, a black slide was created at the beginning. This slide is not visible in iPhoto, but it is in .mov and MPEG-4
Does anyone know how to remove that black slide?
Thanks,
Jeanie

Jeanie:
Do you have Quicktime Pro? If so you can move the play head arrows in Quicktime Player to each side of the black frame and cut it out. If you don't have QT Pro try it anyway with QT Player. It might allow that type of editing. Otherwise try using iMovie to trim the black start frame off.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
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ACR Blacks slider problem?

Hi
When i use the "Blacks" slider in ACR the darkest parts of the image "block up" and look very noisy. Unlike setting the black point or creating shadow clipping with the levels tool in PS, which gives a smooth effect, the black slider in camera raw seems to make the shadows crunchy and often with red pixels around the black ones.
I use both PS5 and PS6 and on both programs i have the same "problem". I also have used ACR 6.2, 6.7, 7.0 and 7.2. All with the same effect.
Up to ACR 7.0 the blacks slider had a range of 0-100 with the default being 5, and from 7.0 onward the slider can be set to either a plus or minus figure. In either version the default value often makes my shadows look pretty awful on screen. My question is - is this normal? In every book i read it says the blacks slider can be used ruthlessly to sett he black point but if i do that it creates a pretty blocked up result compared to the Levels black slider in PS.
I shoot with a Canon EOS 5d mk2 and the RAW files appear to have quite noisy shadows when compared to the out of camera Jpegs which have silky smooth ones. Not sure if that is part of the problem?

You have several issues swirling around...first off, the old Blacks slider in Process Version 2003/2010 is completely different than Process Version 2012. Yes, any Blacks moves in the earlier process versions tended to really clamp the Blacks...that is now considerably different in the new PV 2012.
So, which do you want to learn how to use?
The Blacks slider of PV 2012 is prolly the last slider you want to use in the tone controls in the Basic panel. If you use it too early, you are not taking an optimal approach to tone mapping. There are plenty of tutorial (Adobe TV) to learn how to use the PV 2012 adjustments...if you learn how to use PV 2012, I suspect your clamped Blacks issue will go away.
As far as the noise in the shadows, the camera JPGs get a dose of noise reduction in-camera. In ACR/LR, luminance noise reduction is set to zero (no luminance noise reduction at all). This would explain why your JPGs seem smoother than the default rendering in ACR/LR. I suggest learning how to adjust the luminance noise reduction in ACR/LR to optimize the noise in your raw captures. Some decent tutorials out there for that too...

Local Adjustment Tool - need a Blacks slider

Is it possible to put a blacks slider in the local adjustment tool? Does anyone else wish this would happen?

+1... I would love to see this feature!

Does lightroom 3 have black slider?

Does lightroom 3 have a black slider?

Yes:
Why do you ask?
I mean, it's behavior, along with many others (e.g. exposure, clarity, ..), changed, starting with Lightroom 4 (process version 2012), but all Lightroom versions since 1 have a blacks slider in basic section.
Or am I missing the thrust of the question?
Rob

Blacks Slider Problem!

Hey,
I shoot with a Nikon D300s and use lightroom to process my images. I was recently trying some grided portraits where I was exposing the model's face and letting everything in the background go pure black. I chimped a lot and also confirmed that the background was truly black, by zooming in so I can see just the background, then using the RGBL histograms to make sure they all read 0. However, when I opened the RAW images in Lightroom and pulled the blacks slider that defaults to 5, back to 0, the histogram miraculously showed no clipping in the shadows and my background was now a murky gray. Does this mean that lightroom is actually pulling detail out of the RAW, or is it just shifting the blacks to ~90% gray.
My light meter told me, that in several of my shots, the background was almost 6 stops or more underexposed, which to my knowledge translates to pure black, where the sensor is picking up no light and hence no detail. I hope someone here can clarify my doubt and tell me if I am missing something or doing something.In fact I took and image at f8.0 1/250th with the lens cap on and Lightroom still pulled back "something from nothing". 'Black' @ 5 gave me R:0 G:0 B:0, where 'Blacks' @ 0 gave me R:5 G:2 B:3. Could someone please explain what the issue is here?

Nikon D300 has more than 6 F stop dynamic range:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond300/page20.asp
Sensitivity
Shadow range
Highlight range
Usable range
ISO 100*
-5.2 EV
3.3 EV
8.5 EV
ISO 200
-4.7 EV
4.1 EV
8.8 EV
ISO 400
-5.1 EV
4.1 EV
9.2 EV
ISO 800
-5.1 EV
4.1 EV
9.2 EV
ISO 1600
-4.3 EV
4.1 EV
8.4 EV
ISO 3200
-4.0 EV
4.0 EV
8.0 EV
ISO 6400*
-3.7 EV
3.9 EV
7.6 EV
As already mentioned camera histogram displays are created using a JPEG processed RAW image, so not a good indicator of the RAW data!
Download a copy of RAWnalyze 2.10.4.0 to view your RAW images "in the raw" and determine your camera's black levels.
http://dave-anderson-photo.com/blog/2010/08/23/gabor-rawnalyze-author-rip/#more-163
Suggest also reading the documentation:
http://www.oitregor.com/numeric/Rawnalyze/Rawnalyse_doc/datas/RawnalyzeGuide.htm
You may also be interested in using UniWB:
http://www.malch.com/nikon/UniWB.html
By trying to expose for deeper blacks you are actually doing the opposite of UniWB! The objective of UniWB is to use the maxium signal highlight range of your camera when determing exposure settings. This lowers noise in the shadow areas, especially at higher ISO settings. How you set the Black slider and tone adjustments to "crush" blacks is up to you!
Message was edited by: trshaner
Added comment about UniWB.

The tone 'black' slider is it black

using a canon 5d when they are imported into lightroom, the files get a 5 point black (by default)in the basic tone control. This slider seems to turn some of the lower tones before black a dark red? has anyone else notice this?
If I turn this slider control to '0' and use the contrast slider below in the basic develop tone control, I get a much more neutral lower tone and the dark red effect does not appear.
If I export the adjusted file with a value on the black slider with a value other than 0 it also appears in the file
anyone have any ideas why this happens? Without using the black slider it become difficult (more steps) to adjust the lower portion of the file
thanks

>Do you, by chance, know why? The only reason I can think of is that it allows a little leeway with which to reduce shadow clipping.
The defaults were apparently designed to give a fairly neutral rendering with average contrast and probably represent a simple compromise. I know they tested this with hundreds and hundreds of images from different types of photography. Most well-exposed images should have only a tiny bit below 5 blacks. That said, it is normal (and often desirable) to have some real black in your images and there really is no reason in general to decrease that slider. Don't worry too much about the warnings. If it is just in a few shadow areas, it is fine. I rarely decrease the black slider, but I often increase it to get better contrast and nicer shadows, especially after adding a little shadow fill.

Inserting Black Slide With No Music

Using iWork08, I opened a PowerPoint (PP) presentation and saved it in Keynote 08 (KN).
When running presentation in PP it is possible to have the first slide BLACK with no music, make a few comments, and when I want to proceed just hit the return key and the presentation continues with music.
In KN the presentation plays music with the first BLACK slide. If I turn music off, it turns it off for the remainder of the presentation. Is there a way to insert a BLACK slide at the beginning of KN with no music and have music commence with the second slide forward?
jzach52

Given the way that the current version of Keynote deals with audio tracks, what you are trying to do is not possible - directly. There are a couple of workarounds I could suggest, but both are rather cumbersome:
1) Determine how much time you need for your opening comments under the black slide and when Recording the Soundtrack, include that much silence at the head of the audio track before the music starts; have the first "real" slide begin with the music.
2) Create a silent, black slideshow: one single black slide with no audio. Then Hyperlink the end of this to the first slide in your regular presentation. This will allow you to have as much time as you need for the introductory comments.
CAVEAT: The slideshow will NOT retain any of your Recorded Synchronization when played back via a hyperlink. You will need to advance all of your Builds and Transitions manually. Thus, this is not likely a solution to your problem if you want your slideshow to playback fully automatically.

Organizer 8 Slideshow - Help - black slides in .wmv output?

Greetings. I recently purchased Elements 8 (both Photoshop and Premiere). My primary reason was to create slideshows in an easy fast manner with lots of features (i.e. pan/zoom). I have used Photoshop for years. I created my first slideshow and output to .WMV file. When I playback the slideshow in Windows Media Player v11, the first 3 or 4 slides play fine, with transitions and zoom/pan, then the slide show goes 100% black. After about15 to 20 seconds, a few more slide appear and function as designed. I can see that during the "blackout", slides were being prcessed because when they appear again, I am about 10 slides into the sequence, even though the blackout occurred after 3 or 4 slides. This repeats itself, blackout, then slides appear, blackout, etc etc. It was a 20 minute slide show.
The output was at 1024 x 768.
The original slides are 8 x10, 360 DPI, which is the resolution I have worked at for years in PS.
So... I created a smaller slide show with no transitions and no zoom/pans, and only about 20 slides. I still got the blackout issue.
I also launched the .WMV file in Nero and had the same issue, so the file itself has the blackout in it. It is not the player.
I then output to .WMV at 800 x 600 and this time it worked, even with the transitions and zoom/pan. No more blackouts.
Unfortunately, the quality is noticibly worse. I really need to stay at a higher resolution. So, I guess I have a myriad of questions and am for the most part looking for feedback, suggestion, etc.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?
Are there any ways to convert the slide show to a format other than .WMV? (i.e. AVI). I beleive to edit the slideshow in Premiere Elements where I could create other format, it first has to be converted to a .WMV file. This conversion is where the problem lies.
Thanks in advance....

My initial and probably most significant comment is
Seems like you now have 2880x3660 pixels in your photo files.I understand that it is a good resolution for printing however, .....
The odds are overwhelming that your photo file resolution is too high for slide show processing either in Photoshop Elements or Premiere Elements. And the black "photos" in your slide show output are symptomatic of that problem.
How many and when black photos appear in the slide show output will vary according to the resources of your computer (temporary files disk space can be very significant) as well as the number of photos, their resolution and the resolution of the output.
As an example, when the final outout will be a standard definition DVD( which is 640x480) for playback on TV or computer DVD player software, the recommended starting resolution for photo files is approx 1000 x 750 is for full screen 4:3 output. You want a higher resolution playback, so yes your initial resolution would be proportionally higher so that you can have sufficient resolution to zoom and pan.
What is the playback method and resolution that you want? Approximately how many photos are in the slide show?
You are probably familiar with the Process Multiple Fiels command that is in the Photoshop Elements Editor: it is a possibility for making the recommended descrease in photo file resolution to a copy of the photo. There is also an Export command in the Elements Organizer.
My second comment for now is that
there is an alternative to making a wmv file: it is a command that sends the definition of the slideshow to Premiere Elements 8 without ever making the intermediate wmv file. Depending on where you are in PSE 8 Organizer or Slide Show Editor, this command may be either Edit in Premiere Elementsor Send to Premiere Elements. However, I highly recommend that you not try this command until you have downsized the resolution of your photo files.
FYI: there are many more comments that are appropriate to discuss a slide show workflow from PSE to PRE and some of this discussion might bounce back and forth between the Photoshop Elements and the Premiere Elements forum.

Blank/black slides appeared throughout my slide presentation

I have been working on a slideshow with music for a gift and was in the final stages of it when all of a sudden blank slides (solid black background) appeared intermittently throughout my slideshow. Why did this happen? I am afraid to delete them for fear of them actually being photos underneath. I hope someone can help! Thanks.

Change the resolution to 1000 x 750 if the resolution greater than this.

I get black slides when outputting to WMV ??

In Photoshop elements 10, I am preparing a large slide show (diaporama) with about 130 slides.
When previewing the show, everything is as I want it, but when I do the final output to WMV format, the first 50 slides are OK including transitions and music, but about 10% of the slides after that are missing, the screen is only black (music remains OK).
My PC has an Intel i5-2500K, 8Gb RAM, c: disk is 64 Gb SSD (9 free), Windows 7 64bits.
The Slides are on an external 1Tb disk, in 3456x5184 pixels, stored as JPG high quality (not max), i.e. about 1.2 Mb per slide.
Can someone please help ??

The plugin is incompatible. Delete it and relaunch Safari.

How can I prevent the final black slide?

I have created a series of keynote presentations that I export as .MOV files (for eventual uploading to YouTube, after some additional processing in iMovie). In 10 of the .mov files the end of the generated QT movie is a blank white slide (which is what I want). However, one of the .mov movies ends with 2 seconds of black, which I do NOT want. I have searched for the setting that is causing this black at the end but cannot spot anything.
The one difference in this movie, from the others that do not have a black effect at the end, is that this movie has embedded sound, which I am exporting as part of the Export to Quicktime. That is the only difference that I can think of.
Of course I can trim the black part off the end of the QT movie but I'd prefer to have a clean export from Keynote. Any ideas for how to get this movie to end with a blank WHITE screen? (And, yes, I've tried adding a final blank slide, but the black still is added after that one.)
Thanks!!

keriah,
The only things I can think of that would cause your QT Player to not show the Play Controls is that your mouse pointer is not within the QT screen area as moving the pointer out-of-screen will cause the play controls to vanish after a few seconds. Be sure that you are using the latest QT (mine is v 10.0) as well.
When I exprt a .mov from Keynote and doubleclick it in the Finder I get the opening frame of the movie and the play controls appear in front of the frame.
You are right that there would be no easy access to QT timeline since access to this is on the QT Player Play Controls panel (trim features are accessed from the "share" box -oddly enough) though you can access the trim "timeline" via the Edit > Trim menu in QT.
Good Luck.

Exposure, Contrast and Blacks slider behavior

In the Basic panel of the Develop module, when you double click on "Exposure", "Contrast" and "Blacks" the values default to +0.70, +29 and +15 respectively. Does anyone know the rationale for this?

Can't reproduce - they all go to zero for me.
win7/64

Slideshow is not working, it only shows one black slide. what to do?

In the new downloaded I photo life 11, slideshow is not working, nor making an album. What to do?
tnx

Try a reset:
1. Hold the Sleep and Home button down (together)
2. For about 10 seconds
3. Until you see the Apple logo (very important)
4. Ignore the red slider

Blacks Slider

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