LR4 auto recovery - can it be switched off?

Question

Is there any way to turn off auto-recovery in LR4 2012 process engine? When shooting on white seamless, I gradually bring up the background lights until I see the raw file just blowing out as I want it, at my shooting aperture. With LR4 and auto-recovery - using this method of 'metering' if you like - I'm adding 2-3 extra stops of light than I would expect before this happens, which then gives me wrap around and flare problems. I'd like to take back control of this, so I'm not guessing where my pure white is any more. Thanks.

Answer 1

I know where you're coming from, having shot and processed my own film and print images starting in 1970. I also understand what you're trying to do, but disagree with your approach on two points:
1) Use of the raw processor histogram to determine raw clipping.
2) Expecting the raw processor to understand that you want a specific area to be 100% clipped. Normally this is NOT the case.
For #1: The following link explains how you can set your camera to make its histogram accurately display raw clipping. It's called Universal White Balance (UniWB) and once you've established the proper in-camera settings you can save them to a  "custom function" dial setting (C1, etc.). When set properly the camera's preview image will have an ugly green cast, but will correctly indicate highlight clipping. By using a custom function for these settings you can easily switch between normal camera preview mode and UniWB mode.
http://www.guillermoluijk.com/tutorial/uniwb/index_en.htm
You can find camera specific UniWB information by doing a Google search on uniwb + camera model, for example uniwb D800.
For #2:  Use the top-down approach for setting PV2012's Basic panel controls with your white clipped images:
1) Exposure: Set for natural looking 'midtones.'
2) Contrast: I find it easier to adjust  after making all of the other settings,  but rarely use more than ±25.
3) Highlights: Set negative to maximize the highlight detail against the backdrop, such as hair.
4) Shadows: Set positive to the same value as Highlights works well (EX- +20 with -20 Highlights).
5) Whites: This is where you reestablish the backdrop white clipping level that PV2012's autohighlight recovery removed. (Holding the ALT key down lets you see the clipping real-time.)
6) Blacks: Set negative to establish the desired black clipping level (Holding the ALT key down lets you see the clipping real-time.)
7) Clarity: For models a slightly negative -Clarity setting can help to bring out highlights in hair, and nicely softens the image while maintaining detail.
8) Vibrance & Saturation: Don't be afraid to use these together with "opposing" (+-, -+) settings to help correct specific colors that are over or under saturated.
We haven't even touched on the proper Camera Profile for this subject, which affects the overall appearance of the image.
Once you've established the proper Basic panel settings for a particular lighting setup, I suggest saving it as a Develop preset with all of the Basic panel settings and any other settings you made that deviate from your LR Develop default settings. You can then easily apply the Develop preset to images from a previous or future assignment.