How to Use HSL for Beautiful Sunsets without Color Banding

[@Viet959]

This is the best video about this I've found and the only one that describes the differences between LR and PS, Thanks!!!

[@Photoracer1]

That was my point, that sometimes LR users don’t realize or forget that color isn’t linear as the controls show. Well done!

[@Retset]

Many thanks. Setting the sliders in ACR/LR reminds me of setting sliders on a graphic equaliser for music ... you wouldn't push just one to the top because the music would sound dreadful!

[@stevocem]

Useful, many thanks

[@alexfurer]

Another splendid video! So well done and explained. Thank you Greg!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks, Alex!

[@MegaDwilkinson]

excellent instruction - thank you - a very good blend of "how to use the tools in PS and LR" but also "why to use them" (the technical plus the artistic) - thanks again

[@Photoracer1]

A very fine tutorial Greg. One thing caught my attention that most LR users probably have not thought about: and that is, that the Red channel is really adjacent to the Magenta channel, and not seemingly as distant as the sliders' position in the module would lead one to believe. Your tutorial really presents this close association concisely! Kudos for that clarity of explanation.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Yeah, hard to represent the color “wheel” with a linear arrangement. Don’t know how to do that better, just important to know.

[@chrisbakerphotography4017]

Thanks Greg, that was really informative and makes complete sense.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Great!

[@ShakeelNaim]

This is brilliant. Thanks for sharing

[@mauibeachscapes2274]

You did a really good job on this subject. I much appreciate it.

[@john3Lee]

You always produce some really informative tutorials... Thank you :)

[@gregbenzphotography]

I try. :)

[@lillitnn92]

I have some new knowledge now, always great to have. Thanks!!

[@mrsusan893]

Great tutorial Greg. I'd love to see some more Lumenzia tutorials. Maybe a seascape sunrise workflow using multiple exposures.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Great, thanks for the feedback!

[@bruceturner9662]

Appreciate your teaching style. Good explanation of what the software is actually doing.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thank you.

[@EyesSquared]

Hey Greg. Once again, a very clear explanation on video. You are a very good teacher. Thanks so much! If I might make an addition to the Lightroom part? In adjusting that sky, were not limited to just changing saturation. While staying within this method we can also adjust the luminance for each of those 8 color channels (darker colors tend to look more saturated), but also we can shift the color of each of those 8 color channels around by a fair amount (Hue tab). A nice tool to bring colors closer together (and prevent banding) or create color separation (depending on what’s required in the image)

[@gregbenzphotography]

You can certainly create nice hue / color shifts that way, but it probably won’t reduce any banding that existed outside of your luminosity adjustment.

[@jensvielmann7662]

Thanks. In this particular case I would probably have used a mask with a general saturation adjustment... Anyways, along the same lines, is their a quick and easy way to see when you run into this kinds of problems with the general saturation/vibrance... With every new version of LR/PS I am still hoping that they implement something like they did for e.g. Highlight/Shadows. Where you can hold the alt/opt key and see when 1 or more colors are a 100% saturated etc. In PS you can use a saturation map. But it would sitll be kind of nice to have this in LR/ACR or even all of the adjustment layers that deal with color. P.S. (should check again if its maybe in 2018)

[@gregbenzphotography]

That would certainly work here due to gradual transitions. In other photos, a simple mask might be a lot of work. In Lumenzia, you can click the “Sat” button to see relative saturation in black and white. In Photoshop, you might try playing with gamut warnings, but it’s certainly not quite the same thing.

[@hknick1]

Thank you Greg; I've just got to this as a result of your recent email. When using the HSL sliders in LR I've not had too much trouble with colour banding (I nearly always use the colour picker as a start) but I have run into obvious halos on edges of high contrast, for example, when improving a blue sky around a white building. Strangely I've noticed this more in recent versions of LR but perhaps it's always been there. Apart from pulling back on the sliders is there anything else I could easily do to avoid this issue?

[@gregbenzphotography]

Another approach would be to use HSL in Photoshop and customize its color definitions (sliders at bottom), or use another method to enhance color, such as Camera Calibration: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXTao4qLeNFrl5Y

[@hknick1]

Thank you Greg, I'll revisit your video on Camera Calibration and try HSL in PS as you suggest above.

[@gatsby498]

This is great--thanks. Just to confirm: You are not advising to work with the smart object in PS in this case? I know in many of your tutorials working with RAW is generally preferred. Thanks again!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Wouldn’t matter either way to the quality of results. See gregbenzphotography.com/photography-tips/3-common-misconceptions-about-camera-raw-smart-objects

[@gatsby498]

Thanks

[@dougedwards7570]

good stuff

[@BillGong]

@GregBenz - you rock.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Thanks, Bill!

[@hamidrastin5895]

I Know that I am probably wrong but tell me how I'm wrong. Isn't the point you are trying to make to saturate all the colors (and not just some of them) involved in say a sunset to avoid banding? if so? isn't it easier to just use the master slider in HS and then mask it out so that only the sky is affected? from there we can refine our mask to make sure that banding doesn't occur! I mean we paint black on more saturated areas.

[@gregbenzphotography]

That’s a perfectly valid approach. However, if (for example) the sun is setting behind a green tree, can be easier to use the color to automatically mask. Really depends on the image. This particular image could have been edited several different ways. Other images aren’t so flexible.

[@hamidrastin5895]

Thank you for your quick reply. I got it now :)

[@christopherjordan6380]

What if I can't really see the banding in lightroom but in my exported image it's noticeable? I have an exported image set for social media (long edge 1200 pixels; 72 pixels per inch) and it's emphasized more on my phone screen than in lightroom.

[@gregbenzphotography]

Could be 8-bits, lower quality display that doesn’t handle it, or other such issues. Should generally be fine. Can add a little noise to obscure banding.

[@Argyll9846]

HSL: Hue, Saturation and Luminance (not lightness)?

[@gregbenzphotography]

Adobe labels it “luminance” in Lightroom/ACR, and “lightness” in Photoshop.

[@gmansshadow]

To separate colors that are close: LAB man from mars?

[@gregbenzphotography]

I’m not following. This is about increasing saturation without changing hue.

[@gmansshadow]

You talked about the separation of colors, Dan Margulis touched on a technique in LAB to separated colors that were close to each other. Just expanding on your thought.

[@gregbenzphotography]

My point was more about how HSL color definitions are more narrow in LR/ACR than PS, which makes the tool more prone to banding when working on the RAW file.

[@spookysandwich1355]

Hi Greg thank you so much As a landscape tog I too hate this banding but one question Ive noticed banding when i sometimes do deep low key BnW here is a link to my page on Flickr of a woodland shot www.flickr.com/photos/155067484@N04/38594947941/in/dateposted-public/ you can see some banding here Now when using this method of yours in PS would i see a huge difference when converting to BnW and stretching the image about? or will banding still be present as of up to now ive been using a separate layer and adding noise to help counter the issue Can you make a tut on BnW conversion please and if you have a method to counter banding in BnW Many thanks Greg top video btw :)

[@rkasnake]

Defuse that light dude!!

[@gregbenzphotography]

Huh?

[@rkasnake]

your environment light. It's harsh.

[@gregbenzphotography]

It’s a demo of how to use the HSL tool without causing issues. Since that tool is in the RAW phase, you’re seeing a very incomplete image. Just meant for learning.