Color: It's All Relative, Part 3: Lightness
Submitted by mitch on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 20:06.
This is the third episode in a TLR video series on understanding color from the perspective of a digital photographer. In this episode, Mitch discusses lightness, how it is relative when viewing a photograph, and why it is such a critical color component.
Technorati Tags: color theory
URL Fixed
Sorry, the URL for this was pointing to the previous video. It's fixed now.
Terrific!
You really have a knack for penetrating the scar tissue in my gray-matter! Well done, Mitch.
Saturation Next
Glad to hear you liked the video on lightness. Saturation is next. Hopefuly, mid-week.
I know that my videos and stuf have slowed down. The move in my work from Tampa to Tallahassee plus the Florida Legislature being in session has had me working 60-70 hours each week.
Life is very good right now. The best work situation since I left graduate school. So, my frme of mind is very optimistic. Just lots of work. I'm training people and catching up, so I will get more productive with videos and tutorials soon!
Another great series and a question
The first three videos in this series leave me eager for more. Mitch, I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your training materials. The results are excellent. This site is a goldmine for anyone wanting to learn more about photography.
I have been working my way through the Dan Marguis Professional Photoshop book (no mean feat) and I have a question about converting back and forth between color spaces. I see some claims that this can seriously degrade images, but when I've done it, using 16 bit images, I don't see any significant changes. Am I missing something here? I'm curious what others think about this.
Re. Another great series and a question
Glad you're enjoying the series.
Just my opinion, but often digital photographers sweat small stuff. I guess some are academics and some are academic wannabes or guru wannabes. They have to show off just how smart they are by throwing out hair-splitting caveats.
I believe Andrew Rodney and the color management people are correct. In theory, trips between colorspaces can lead to a loss of fidelity. So, you want to avoid unnecessary trips between colorspaces.
Theory aside, there's the practical question of what's a necessary trip between colorspaces AND also the empirical question about whether there is any noticeable damage to your photograph.
Going to L*a*b for difficult color casts, noise reduction, and blurs makes good sense. Things like big adjustments to saturation can also benefit.
Theory tells me what to expect. I prefer empirical evidence when it comes to photography. If you think a photograph will benefit from some work in L*a*b, give it a try and see if you're happy with the result.
Just my thoughts. I hope we hear some others.