Applying Presets Questions

[Souwalker]

This may seem a stupid question but, here goes....

Do I apply presets before or after I do basic adjustments (i.e. exposure, recovery....down to Tone curves)?

I normally do my basic adjustments first, then I apply a preset that I feel will look good on my picture. What I always see after I apply a preset, my picture displays either some very much blown blacks or overexpure. I then go and make some more adjustments to the presets to either bring down the blacks or exposure, maybe the tone curve etc. 'But' by doing this, my pciture may not look like what the chosen preset was supposed to do.

How does all this work? Am I suppose to leave the settings of the chosen preset?

Do I only do adjustments after I apply a preset?

Why would some preset, in fact alot of the presets I use, would cause blwon blacks or overexpusre? Some presets I understand are meant to increase exposure so I guess we have to adjust the preset settings to apply to the picture I am using on, I suppose. If I do that, my pics do not look like what the presets was supposed to do?

Rgds
Patrick

 

[Denis de Gannes]

Presets apply specific settings contained therein, i.e if the preset has +25 clarity, -5 saturation, + 25 exposure, specific sharpening settings, and you apply the preset, then whatever you have done with these specific settings will be overwritten, and not applied in addition. So you should apply presets then make further adjustments you consider necessary.

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Pat I apply presets before adjustments generally so that if further adjustment is necessary then I make them.
Presets affect different develop tools so there is no hard and fast method to know what the result is apart from checking in the navigator and hovering over the preset in the preset panel which will preview the effect in the navigator.
If you find you are making consistent changes after applying a preset you can update that preset with the changes or save a new preset.
Also older presets such as ones created with LR1 can give different effects, as well some are designed for use with jpegs and these give unexpected results with raw files and vice versa.

 

[Souwalker]

then whatever you have done with these specific settings will be overwritten, and not applied in addition. So you should apply presets then make further adjustments you consider necessary.

Wow, I thought that the presets would be applied with additions to my prior adjustment that's why I thought that would be the reason why my pictures do not look right after I apply them.

Thanks
Pat

 

[Souwalker]

Pat I apply presets before adjustments generally so that if further adjustment is necessary then I make them.
Presets affect different develop tools so there is no hard and fast method to know what the result is apart from checking in the navigator and hovering over the preset in the preset panel which will preview the effect in the navigator.
If you find you are making consistent changes after applying a preset you can update that preset with the changes or save a new preset.
Also older presets such as ones created with LR1 can give different effects, as well some are designed for use with jpegs and these give unexpected results with raw files and vice versa.

Thanks Geoff.
You're right. Even when I hover over the presets, the navigator shows some presets looks really bad. I suppose the preset author did the presets to suit his conditions and we have to edit to make it apply to our pics.

Do you 'always' make changes to a preset after application?

There is a preset called New York State of Mind which looks reall good, on the author's blog, on people walking in the streets of NY. I applied the same preset to a picture where I had a bunch of Netball players shaking hands with their opponent after the game, and it looked weird!! so the leason is to make further adjustmeents after application if I like the preset? My problem is after I make some changes, the preset is not what it supposed to be

Rgds
Pat

 

[Mark Sirota]

What you're missing is that some presets include settings for things like Exposure or Blacks. Especially those you get for free off the web. People make these and include everything, even when they only need to include a small number of sliders.

 

[Denis de Gannes]

By the same token, presets created by someone working with Canon raw files which provide good results may not necessarily work for Nikon or Olympus raw files. The tools are there for you to create the presets that work best for the camera files you work with.

Hey, working with raw files is about being creative and reproducing what you recall from your minds eye.

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Love it Denis, is the is a new concept or are talking presets not precepts!!:lol::lol::lol::cheesy:

 

[Denis de Gannes]

Edit made, good one.