16 bit TIFF problems

JC
Posted By
James_Cripps
Feb 8, 2007
Views
288
Replies
6
Status
Closed
Hi everyone,

I’ve had an ongoing problem with all my Adobe programs for a few weeks and haven’t been able to get any help for it. They stopped properly converting my RAW files from my Rebel XT. Because of this, I have started opening the RAWs in Canon RAW Image Task and then transferring them to CS2 using the "transfer" button in Image Task. It works perfectly, however; Today I used the "shadow/highlight" tool on one of these 16 bit TIFF files transferred over, and as soon as I move either slider from the "0" value to "1", not only do I start seeing shadow or highlight recovery but it suddenly bursts the other (shadow if I’m adjusting highlight and highlight if I’m adjusting shadow) option. Like if I move highlight recovery from 0 to 1, the shadows reveal a great deal more detail at the same time or they darken. Highlight should only affect the highlights and I know this, but now it is changing highlights and shadows at the same time. I then opened an old jpeg and used the shadow/highlight tool it worked as it is supposed to. Is there some incompatability here or just something I’m not realizing? Thanks.

For the record: some RAWs from the same shoot seem to work perfectly! It can’t just be the way the certain images look though because it’s odd behaviour. When going from 0 to just 1, the whole image changes dramtically… as if I went from 0 to 50 on both tabs at once.

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

C
chrisjbirchall
Feb 8, 2007
James.

The first step in trouble-shooting, especially with strange unexplained behaviour, is to reset the Preferences File (as per the FAQs)

Then make sure you have all the latest updates to Bridge, Photoshop and ACR.

Come back and let us know if the problem persists.
JC
James_Cripps
Feb 8, 2007
Chris,

I have tried this and it didn’t seem to change it. I think I may have just realized my foolishness though. Is it that shadow/highlight in CS2 will attempt to just draw out more overall detail if the image is a very even exposure. That is to say that it is exposed quite well. Such as a picture of my light brown dog in the snow. When attempting to revover highlight detail in the snow, it shows the dogs fur darkening as well. Is it just because it’s not exactly a "shadow"? The thing is, when I go to recover shadow detail, it darkens the snow… but that is most definitely a highlight. Is this normal for images without huge bounderies in shadows and highlights?
JC
James_Cripps
Feb 8, 2007
Ok to be very specific; when taking the shadows slider from "0" to "1" the midtones-shadows get very dark, instantly. They Only THEN proceed to get lighter as the slider progresses. Why is it darkening as soon as I go to "1" and then progressively lightening? It only does this on some pictures.
C
chrisjbirchall
Feb 8, 2007
James. There is a better way.

Let’s say you have this shot of your dark brown dog in the rather "light" snow. Clearly the dynamic range is too great for detail to record in both the snow and fido’s coat.

Here’s where we harness the power of ACR, which is much better than resorting to Highlight/Shadow.

Open the Image in ACR and set the highlight slider to show just the right amount of texture in the snow. If the dog just goes black, worry not at this stage. Click Open.

With the image now open in Photoshop, go File>Place and navigate to the very same raw file. This time adjust the exposure and shadow sliders to bring out the right amount of texture in fido’s fur. Click Open.

This will "place" the new version of the image as a layer, aligned above the original. Press Enter to dismiss the bounding box.

Now hold the Alt key and click the "add layer mask" button (at the bottom of the Layers Palette). This will put a "hide all" mask which will effectively make the newly added top (dog fur) layer invisible.

Now take a soft round brush set to about 50% opacity and "paint" out the layer mask to reveal fido’s fur in all its glory, leaving the snow crisp and pristine.

Once you are happy with the result, flatten the layers.

Hope this does the trick for you (and Fido of course).

Chris.
JC
James_Cripps
Feb 10, 2007
Thanks Chris! Took me a while to get back to read this but I see what you’re saying. I’ll have to try that. Any thoughts on what I said just before your last response? Still seems odd to me.
C
chrisjbirchall
Feb 10, 2007
I don’t use Highlight/Shadow that much, because the ACR approach to extending the dynamic range works so much better. I guess it is a handy rescue for a file shot as a jpeg with little detail in the shadows though.

If you care to post a link to an image that behaves this way, I’ll have a look at it for you. <http://www.pixentral.com> is good for doing this.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections