Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Step 11:
One thing we haven't talked about thus far
is the Auto Tone button, which appears
above the Exposure slider (shown circled
here in red). This function has been getting
better and better since Lightroom 1 (where
clicking it was a huge mistake), and now in
Lightroom 3, they've made it even better
by adding in the ability to also adjust the
Fill Light amount when it does an auto
toning of your image. Anytime you're stuck
not knowing what to do with a photo, at
least give Auto Tone a try. It's now a lot
better than you'd think.
TIP: Resetting Your Sliders
You c an re s et any slider to it s orig inal
setting by double-clicking on the little
slider “nub” (that thing that you drag),
but I find it's easier just to double-click on
the name of the slider—that resets it, too.
Step 12:
Here's the image after clicking the Auto
Tone button. You can see that while it
doesn't do a totally kick-butt job, it doesn't
do a rotten job either (so it's at least usable
as a starting point, if you're stuck about
where to start). Sometimes it works great,
other times…not so much, but at least now
it's usable. One thing to watch out for:
I can't explain why, but sometimes when
you use it, it will actually tweak the image,
so it now has clipped highlights. I know—
ideally it should know better, but some-
times it just doesn't, so keep an eye out
for that, and if it does clip your highlights,
drag the Recovery slider to the right until
they go away.
Okay, that's the basic three sliders you'll
use to adjust your exposure. I wind up
using the Exposure slider the most, the
Blacks second most, and the Brightness
the least of the three. You'll find that some
images need just a tweak of the Exposure
slider, and some need all three, but luckily
now you know what they do.
