Hi,
I searched for this topic but only old posts where found that the content no longer exists.
What is the best way to adjust the highlights and shadows (like in Premiere)...brightness/contrast isn't it...
Thanks
Levels FX.
Have you looked at Color Curves.
The tinkering is infinite.
"The tinkering is infinite" That's what I am afraid of...it's gonna take me forever to adjust....having a Highlight slider is so much easier and faster.
Thanks I'll check that out.
@Julius_ And then there’s the 3rd Party ColorFast 2. $99 of awesome adaptability. It can use Masks to allow me to retain Levels or Tint or Saturation to Highlights/Brights to Mids to Darks/Shadows. I just find it organic and natural. I’ve clawed back shots I’d made that were truly unacceptable.
Both gentlemen have waaaay more experience than I and their advice is correct for VegasPlugs. But please explore NB CF2 too: https://newbluefx.com/blog/introducing-colorfast-2-color-corrector/
Thanks Grazie. I'll look into that as well...
I just spent 10 minutes fiddling on Color Curves,,maybe I'm just tired but it's too time consuming....plus this is the hour where I make the most mistakes :)
Maybe it's not doable....a screen shot of the original.
After: meh...
My little levels project allows you to adjust highlight and shadow details while previewing, and has high-low clipping indicators to boot. John_dennis, Grazie, and Marco were contributors.
https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/new-free-video-levels-tool-for-ms-platinum--120709/
OOOooo. .I do like a challenge 😎
This took me 3 minutes, say 5 in ColorFast 2:
Before
After
Tamed the Brights, brought back colour into the Brights; Flesh Tones brought back.
All the Sliders you could ever wish for.
What exactly are you trying to do with the screenshot you posted above? You're right brightness/contrast isn't worth spending time with.
I've pushed hard on what Vegas can do for color correction and truthfully, none of the Fx in Vegas can reduce contrast in the way Premiere does with shadows/highlights without negatively impacting the rest of the image.
There's no equivalent to a fill light that only affects shadows (you can brighten shadows with curves but that's not the same effect.) Ditto to pulling down just the highlights.
Curves and similar tools are best used to add contrast (for example, darken shadows while brightening midtones) so if you shoot flat to begin with it will work just fine.
I'm not a fan of how Vegas implemented curves with the tangents. It's slow to make precise adjustments and easy to mess up. If you can afford it I recommend Graide Color Curves which are better curves, and also give you the ability to adjust the hue/saturation/luminence of individual colors without dealing with masking and the danger of discontinuities you have with ColorCorrector Secondary (you select one color to change but then introduce artifacts where it meets and adjacent color). This is the biggest thing missing from Vegas for color correction in my opinion.
ColorFast 2 as mentioned above looks good, as you can adjust thresholds for what is affected, though I have never used it. Watch out for halos around edges.
Looking at your screenshot, I'd set a point near the bottom of the curve to make the shoes/pants darker and then a second one like what you did (but less extreme- you can use tangents to smooth out the shape of the curve) to bring down the highlights. One you do that, you might want a third point near the middle to get the skin and shirts to the desired brightness.
I am in full agreement with @Grazie re NBFX ColorFast 2 - it has been my Go To plugin for this sort of thing for years.
Before CF and CF2, I used the Custom setting in VP's Color Corrector (Secondary), but it is very fiddly by having to set the mask area first before adjusting the Gain slider (and others). And it needs to be added as an FX twice if both shadows and highlights need to be corrected. In comparison, CF2 is a breeze.
What exactly are you trying to do with the screenshot you posted above? You're right brightness/contrast isn't worth spending time with.
@RogerS - But in CF2 they are 😉
I've pushed hard on what Vegas can do for color correction and truthfully, none of the Fx in Vegas can reduce contrast in the way Premiere does with shadows/highlights without negatively impacting the rest of the image.
@RogerS - Duno know - never Premmed-Up!
There's no equivalent to a fill light that only affects shadows (you can brighten shadows with curves but that's not the same effect.) Ditto to pulling down just the highlights.
@RogerS - Agreed - But then there's CF2.
I'm not a fan of how Vegas implemented curves with the tangents. It's slow to make precise adjustments and easy to mess up.
@RogerS - It's doable - sure.
ColorFast 2 as mentioned above looks good, as you can adjust thresholds for what is affected, though I have never used it.
@RogerS - That would be ME. What am I "Chopped Liver"? Judge Judy 😏
Watch out for halos around edges.
@RogerS - Oh yes. I do tame stuff down to get those "Halos to Slip"!
Looking at your screenshot, I'd set a point near the bottom of the curve to make the shoes/pants darker and then a second one like what you did (but less extreme- you can use tangents to smooth out the shape of the curve) to bring down the highlights. One you do that, you might want a third point near the middle to get the skin and shirts to the desired brightness.
@RogerS et al, and here's the thing: CF2 does ALL this in real frame temporal timing: CF2 FOLLOWS the ACTION! As your two Subjects walk across the Mall area all the CF2 Adjusts follow them, no need for Keyframing, it's done.
What setting were this shot with? Assuming this is a camera which outputs 8-bit files, I think you'd be better off with a profile that has more saturation built into it (if you're on Sony try Cine 2/Still rather than S-LOG for example).
Here's an attempt using levels to set the black point and then a few curves to fix contrast. Finally I increased saturation overall and tweaked hue and saturation for skin tones. There's a good bit of noise and jpeg artifacts in this screenshot so it falls apart quickly, and I'm not in love with skin tones.There's no great way to both correct the background and subject with a curve without masking so I prioritized the people.
Hi Grazie I'm not trying to take away from your contributions but rather focusing on solutions vs who said what. I'm happy to tag/mention you in the future : )
In the spirit of learning, one peer critique- in the edited example you posted the blacks on the pants are lifted to the point where noise is visible and it looks like halos besides both of their jeans. The original file appears to have some minor halos already (was sharpening on in the camera?) Perhaps it looks better in motion, but I'd bring down deep shadows a bit as it looks unrealistically flattened to my eyes.
It looks like CF 2 is reconstructing the color of the image (like the color of the Modelo sign and writing on the screen in the background and slats of the ceiling in the background). These details are barely there in the original screenshot. Impressive.
When you say CF2 follows the action does that mean you are able to adjust the corrections done to these two women as they walk without affecting the background? Or do you mean that the adjustments themselves vary automatically as the scene changes?
There's no great way to both correct the background and subject with a curve without masking so I prioritized the people.
@RogerS - And CF2 does this. It will automatically CREATE Masks based on Chroma and Luminosity! - Zah-mazing!
It looks like CF 2 is reconstructing the color of the image (like the color of the Modelo sign and writing on the screen in the background and slats of the ceiling in the background). These details are barely there in the original screenshot. Impressive.
@RogerS - Impressive? Pure VooDoo . . . .
When you say CF2 follows the action does that mean you are able to adjust the corrections done to these two women as they walk without affecting the background?
@RogerS - Indeed. However, I don't have a Video to play with, only this Still image. If I could use the Video then I'd be in a better position to wrangle more of your questions to fit what CF2 can do.
Or do you mean that the adjustments themselves vary automatically as the scene changes?
@RogerS - Indeed. And again, I don't have the Video to play with, only this Still image. If I could use the Video then I'd be in a better position to wrangle more of your questions to fit what CF2 can do.
I just CF2-ed a Talking Head; Sun high up behind the Subject under an Africa High noon Sun; Subject wearing a broad-brimmed Safari hat, muchly face shadows - yeah right! - And, well, CF2 just did it and gave me back my moving image with the good audio to make the Viewing experience just pluasible, sensible and viable enough to fit the narrative - job done! Oh yes, moving backdrop of people some 3 metres behind, in FULL Sun. Sun Hat and People remained as I set them up. SunHat swiveling and nodding, CF2 Mask tracked all through and kept my CF2 Adjusts. Magic.
@RogerS - See if you can get a Demo. Try it and I'm sure you could, and I do, pick holes in it, but for the pure release of timed creativity and pulling back Clips from the Floor, it is magic. It won't fit all occasions, shots etc, but it goes a long way down our road to remedial activity.
Hi Grazie I'm not trying to take away from your contributions but rather focusing on solutions vs who said what. I'm happy to tag/mention you in the future : )
@RogerS - Understood, but I need ALL the strokes I can get. I'm very needy.
ColorFast 2 trial is available from:
I don't have Premiere here but here's the result in Lightroom. Highlight recovery at 100%, shadows at ~30%. Global saturation increased and some tweaks to red/magenta.
Since your source is a jpeg, apply a Computer->Studio RGB levels filter before rendering.
One of the (many) advantages of Graide Color Curves is that with the pipette you can pick either a color/luma value or a color/luma range which then is represented by one or two keyframes in the curves. Thus it is very easy to correct a particular color or luma area.
I use 3DLuT Creator plugin to fix harsh highlight. It does work with VEGAS Pro
Thanks everyone for there help. Thank you Grazie and RogerS!
I am trying to pull down the highlights in the back of the subject (the elevator shaft is too bright), without lowering the brightness of the 2 people.
RogerS: Yes, lightroom/Premiere Pro would be easy and that's what I was wishing for in Vegas..a simple slider. It's not perfect, but close enough and loved the outcome you provided.
This footage was shot on a sony a6500 4K@24p Cine4 in the S-Gamut color space. It does have s-log2/3 but I find it's difficult to use when filming for exposure and can easily mess up the shot (by not having the right settings). Do you think this is good enough for grading?
Grazie: I like the software and wish it was somehow included in Vegas. I'll have to take a closer look at CF2. Thanks for always being there..you seem to always be online!
P.S. I just gave CF2 a try and it did a good job on reducing the highlights in the back...with a slider! Cool!
Grazie: I like the software and wish it was somehow included in Vegas. I'll have to take a closer look at CF2. Thanks for always being there..you seem to always be online!
@Julius_ You’re welcome. Being online, I’m obsessed with VegasPro.
P.S. I just gave CF2 a try and it did a good job on reducing the highlights in the back...with a slider! Cool!
@Julius_ Many sliders.
I'm just wondering how sharp your eyes are and YOU do the job following your great feelings!
Nice job Yellandkeil! What did you use?
CC1: increased some color and adjusted the skin tone; CC2: applied Darken Mids. By the way, the problem of this scene is not shadow or highlights but the midtones, as you can take the refer from videoscopes. That's the point I just wondered!