Left over marks from Adjustment brush, how do i fix?

Question

Hey, just got lightroom 4 and was playing around with the adjustment brush making a photo have a splash of color in black and white. but i can see faint lines left from the brush and i don't know how to get rid of them, any suggestions?

Answer 1

The adjustment brush has a softness setting as well as a size setting, and it takes a little practice and manual skill to develop expertise with it. Ctrl+Shift+ [ ] keys to change this.
Rather than a lot of overlapping strokes, it is normally easier to get a smooth outcome by brushing over a relatively large and diffuse area, and then by more firmly erasing out the parts that you do not want the effect applied to, rather than laboriously painting up to the outline of that.
Also, in my experience it works better to apply a strong amount (relatively opaque brush) of a weak adjustment effect, rather than setting the adjustment to a strong effect and then trying to mute its effect through the use of transparency in the brushstrokes. The former method lets you exaggerate the strength so you can see what you are doing, and then dial it back to taste afterwards. The latter method is relatively hard to be precise with, and there is no way to smooth it out if you get it wrong.
But... IMHPBHFO (in my highly personal but heartfelt opinion) this one particular effect runs counter to the whole idea of colour photography, and also to the whole idea of black-and-white photography, in a rather insidious and fundamental way. Definitely no offense intended here ... and I am not speaking from elitism or purism. We've probably all gone there at some point. But - purleeze - never again (grin). Black-and-white is more than just an "effect"; it's a whole, lovely, independent medium of its own - if appreciated for itself.