Burried Under My Lr / Ps Workflow- Help!

[Schiminiello]

Hi
I am getting burried under my workflow. There has got to be an easier way to do this! Here is the issue (you will quickly see I don't know a ton about PS4)...

When I import my RAW photos into LR they ALL come out milky, washed out and flat. From what I have read this is common. My problem is that I need a LR Preset or a PS4 action that will make them POP. Right now I am going into each image and selectively burning the midtones and then the shadows and touching up the highlights. It's as if I am actually painting each image. As you can imaging this is taking WAY too long but it's the only way I can make them POP (show depth and detail).

What do you do first off with your RAW images. Is there a camera setting I could have wrong, a LR preset I need or an action I don't know about? I can't imagine that anyone is spending close to 1/2 hour on each of their images!

Any advice to quickly get me started? These milky, washed out, drab RAW files are about to make me start shooting jpeg again!

Thanks!
Shannon

 

[uffehagen]

I choose a preset (Develope setting) that makes the POP I like, and apply it under import.
It's in the import dialog in the lover third. I normaly use Nikon Auto Enhance, which is a nice place to start

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Mod note: thread moved to appropriate forum.
Look for Lightroom Ruined my Photos in the Tips Forum.

 

[photoKandy]

I've read a lot of complaints about this as well, but maybe I'm lucky - my RAW images don't seem to be milky, washed out, or anything upon an import. Not quite what the camera would give me in JPG if I used any of the camera's presets, but I gave that up log ago and pretty much end up on the Neutral setting in-camera. Perhaps that is creating a JPG preview that is closer to the RAW images, and so doesn't result in such a drastic change from the library to develop.

As far as my typical workflow, I'm not likely to spend 3' minutes on every picture. (Some, yes. Most, no.) I will generally hit up the White-balance first (if needed), then the Exposure (if necessary), and then up the Vibrance (usualy +2' to 3'), adjust Clarity (+/- 15 to 3'), adjust the sharpening, and apply (or remove) a vignette. Usually that takes ~5 minutes.

If an image needs some more work, I'll stay in Lr as long as I can (adjustment brush, clone brush, gradient tool). Only if I can't achieve something in Lr will I drop to Ps. But this would usually only be for a picture that I have a specific look in mind, or an artistic look etc., that I can't get some other way.

On a side note, what glass are you shooting with? I'm not sure, but to me my lower-quality glass will consistently look more washed-out and milky, esp when compared to my good glass. Maybe the camera profile you normally use when rendering JPG images is compensating (and thus making the equivalent RAW look milky and washed-out)? Not sure there - just taking a guess.

 

[ernie]

Do you have another raw viewer you can look at your files with? Are they washed out there too? (Faststone viewer is free and VERY good if you need/want one).
Just checking, but are you sure they are not overexposed? Also be sure there is not some kind of preset being applied to the files on import. I like the camera standard profile for most of my shots. Have you tried the camera profiles?
Just a bunch of random thoughts to try. Good luck.