Nov
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Video – The Adjustment Brush Color Swatch
I’ve got another video up that goes over an area I struggled with until recently. That little color swatch in the Adjustment Brush tool (in LR 2 only), always acted kinda weird for me. Then I sat down and had a talk with it and said “Listen here color swatch thingee, we need to have a talk…” – kidding. I did sit down one afternoon and start messing around with it at extreme settings and it was then I figured out what was going on behind the scenes and I’m able to get more predictable results from it.
Well I hope you have a great weekend. The Bucs have a bye week here in Tampa Bay so I guess I’ll actually have to get the lawn mower out and cut the grass this Sunday but I’ll be in front of the TV in spirit 
See ya!
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68 Comments to “Video – The Adjustment Brush Color Swatch”
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Lightroom Killer Tips
Get your weekly dose of the coolest Adobe® Lightroom® tutorials, tips, time-saving shortcuts, photographic inspiration, and undocumented tricks with Matt Kloskowski from Kelby Media Sites
Don’t you think that SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE: Adobe, the ultimate image processing software company, produces and sells Lightroom, and, as far as I know, doesn’t publish, in paper or electronically, instructions. I assume that if such instructions existed, you, Matt, would know about them and know them cold. They don’t even tell you what this color doodad actually does! Then,its function is so non-intuitive that virtually nobody has it figured out, and it takes considerable time and effort from a primo Photoshop guru (you) to figure out what it does and how! Didn’t the Adobe engineers who made Lightroom discuss this? – of course they did. I realize you make a living on explaining Adobe’s products, but shouldn’t Adobe be more “user friendly”? Do you discuss this with them? Amazing to me…
Don’t you think that SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE: Adobe, the ultimate image processing software company, produces and sells Lightroom, and, as far as I know, doesn’t publish, in paper or electronically, instructions. I assume that if such instructions existed, you, Matt, would know about them and know them cold. They don’t even tell you what this color doodad actually does! Then,its function is so non-intuitive that virtually nobody has it figured out, and it takes considerable time and effort from a primo Photoshop guru (you) to figure out what it does and how! Didn’t the Adobe engineers who made Lightroom discuss this? – of course they did. I realize you make a living on explaining Adobe’s products, but shouldn’t Adobe be more “user friendly”? Do you discuss this with them? Amazing to me…
Don’t you think that SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE: Adobe, the ultimate image processing software company, produces and sells Lightroom, and, as far as I know, doesn’t publish, in paper or electronically, instructions. I assume that if such instructions existed, you, Matt, would know about them and know them cold. They don’t even tell you what this color doodad actually does! Then,its function is so non-intuitive that virtually nobody has it figured out, and it takes considerable time and effort from a primo Photoshop guru (you) to figure out what it does and how! Didn’t the Adobe engineers who made Lightroom discuss this? – of course they did. I realize you make a living on explaining Adobe’s products, but shouldn’t Adobe be more “user friendly”? Do you discuss this with them? Amazing to me…
I think this might be the most helpful video you’ve ever made.
Seriously, what an insight, thank you for simplifying this so much. You rock.
@swankFoto: thanks a million!…that tip works (in the official release as well)!
And I’d like to second Paul Barcewicz: I remember the time when software came with a manual, in paper… I’d understand that for all kinds of reasons (printing and shipping costs, ecology etc) a printed version would be replaced by an electronic one (PDF), but right now all we have is a sometimes very limited “Help” web site.
Sandra I use iTunes for PC there is also a freeware called VLC that works well too.
Great video! When I first noticed that color swatch I used it to fix a weird color cast in my image.
Hey Matt, Great video!!
It’s such a coincidence that I was talking with a friend of mine about the same thing demonstrated in this video.
We’re equally baffle by the sharpness control on the brush adjustment. Why does it have color under it and how does it work.
Any chance of a video tutorial for that one?
Thanks again for the great BLOG!!
Hi Matt,
Couldn’t find your e-mail so let’s try it this way. Using the brush in Lightroom made me think for another effect.
I want to make a black and white image and brush a detail back into the original color. It’s like in PS using 2 layers. Top BW and under that the original. Then mask out the part what you want in color.
So for instance I have a couple with a flower. I ant everything black and white except the flower.
How do I do that?!?
I really hope you read my question. It’s often asked over here but I can’t figure t out.
Stef
info@stefansegers.nl
http://www.stefansegers.nl
Thanks great tip. Only complaint(no it’s not about slow brush), check your adjustments on audio so that yhou do not pick up the lip smacks.
Please Lightroom development department –
Please add a skin tone picker similar to the one in Capture One Pro 4. Even Adobe Elements has a skin tone corrector. You would think this would be one of the first tools they would add to a new version. but maybe they’re getting advice from Canon’s R&D department.
@ Khuram Malik: I just saw a tutorial in which the color swatch was used to blend in a little orange on a woman’s face to simulate the effect of a particular light gel. In this case blending the colors was exactly what was desired.
@ Stefan Segers: I haven’t tried it yet, but I suppose you could use a desaturation brush and then erase over the part you want in color. But I don’t know how you’d gain control of the “Grayscale Mix” settings that way.
@ Paul Barcewicz: It’s not much in terms of instructions, but there is http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/2.0/
@Joe
I totally agree! A color temperature option would be a fantastic update to the brush!
haha I thought I was the only on who thought that… I was actually really surprised when I saw that they didn’t already have it included.
@ Joe and Clayton
So by just using the color swatch option, that’s not really useful as far as correcting the color temperature goes??
let’s say when I took the photo, I used flash and the indoor lights were all tungsten, but I forgot to use gel, the Color Swatch option wouldn’t help me to correct the color??
ie. the white shirt is always bluer than the tungsten, so wouldn’t it help if I add the orange/yellow color to the shirt to take away some of the blue tint?
Hi Matt,
What if you want to replace the color of an object with black? Maybe this is just too easy, but I’ve looked and looked and don’t see it. Do you use a -100 exposure? Anyway, if there is another way, please let me know. Thanks for your time, and keep up the excellent work.
I use it for changning temp on mixed lighted walls on interiors for instance.
Problems accure with the accuracy of the auto function though. If the room is lit by window light and has a wooden floor, the whole room will be allmost totally orange and the auto function starts to fail. I paint big areas and erase back the small ones. Works ok.
I wouldn´t use this for demanding costumors and nether should any one else.
I miss recovery as an option on the brush, what say you?
Thanks Jason Miller for telling me about the adjustment brush. Mine disappeared and I couldn’t find it. Thanks for telling me that H toggles it on and off. Also O toggles the masked area selection view on and off.
Seriously, I’ve been using LR pretty much since it debuted, and I NEVER REALIZED THE AUTO MASK FUNCTION!!! That makes things so much easier! Holy mole… dude, great discovery! Thanks for sharing
PS. But the brush is sooo sloowww… haha jk