#nice lightroom presets

[fereldanwench]

I saw someone recently ask why their shots weren't turning out how they wanted them to despite being able to support the highest graphical settings, so I thought I could share a little behind-the-scenes tidbit re: my approach to lighting and post-editing in VP in case it's useful.

And for my money, lighting is one of the most important factors in getting a shot that I'm happy with. Yes, a high-end graphics card can absolutely help, but that's just one tool of many that can make a difference.

(This info is probably most relevant to folks who can mod their game, but the overall principle can also be applied to vanilla photomode, too. You'll just have to find good in-game light sources since you won't be able to spawn your own, and it might require a little more finagling with the vanilla photomode exposure and contrast settings. Here are some 100% vanilla shots I took recently that I think turned out pretty decent even with those limitations, just to give you some ideas if that's what you're working with.)

Lighting & Exposure

So referencing the photos above, from left to right:

A purely vanilla shot with ray-trace enabled but no lighting tools

The same shot with lighting tools on Valerie

The same shot with lighting tools + some Lightroom editing

Beefy graphics cards can certainly make a difference here since they'll be able to render more nuanced light and shadows, but as you can see in the purely vanilla shot, that ray tracing on its own ain't doing much when it comes to lighting Valerie. The neon lights in the background are pretty, but she's barely even visible in that dark ass street.

In the second shot, Valerie is in the exact same location but has multiple light sources on her. I mostly use CharLi lights these days, which is a free suite of lighting tools available on Nexus, and the customizable ambient lights in AMM, also free on Nexus.

I didn't think to screencap my exact lighting setup, but I'm pretty sure it was something like this:

CharLi spotlight on the left and right of Valerie, tinted pink/magenta

CharLi spotlight on the upper right, tinted teal

(I think I might have had an orange CharLi spotlight too, but it wasn't visible from this angle)

2 CharLi white spotlights directly on Valerie

Probably 1 or 2 AMM customizable point lights on her face (I like using the point lights at very low brightness to accentuate faces and give them a nice glow)

Now putting all these lights on a character could end up way too bright at the default vanilla exposure, especially if you aren't using any kind of major Reshade overhaul (which I do not).

Instead, I just use the vanilla photomode exposure settings to make a scene really dark and then light it back up with my own tools. (This is also a great way to shoot in areas that might have weird lighting effects, and it can be done indoors or outdoors and at all hours of the day.)

Just a simple example of that in these shots:

On the left, Valerie has a spotlight on her face and chest--It's pretty bright, too bright for my tastes. On the right, she has the same spotlight, but the overall exposure has been dropped down to -90 and the highlights have been dropped to -60 (now it's a little too dark for my taste--If this was gonna be a real shot, I'd build up more lights, but just wanted to show how much altering the exposure can affect a shot).

Post-Editing

As for making further adjustments to colors, shadow levels, sharpness, etc. of a shot, I know a lot of folks prefer to do that with Reshade presets, but... I don't, haha. I did make a basic shader to reduce the green tint of the game, and I use the Cinematic DOF and Real Long Exposure shaders to get a nice depth of field and reduce hair pixelating. Otherwise, all other adjustments I make are in Adobe Lightroom (or Photoshop if I need to make more precise adjustments).

And it's just a personal preference here. I just don't like having to mess with too many mods and menus in-game--I feel like it increases the chance of something freezing or crashing or me accidentally closing out of photomode. It also helps to give me a new perspective to see the shot outside of the game, especially if it's a portrait-oriented shot. Plus, I just like the process. Gives me one more reason to stare at the blorbos for a little while. :3

I adjust each Lightroom preset as needed depending on the color and exposure of the shots I'm working with, but these are some of the more common settings I modify:

I almost always finetune the exposure and shadows/highlights.

I like to do a global increase for saturation and vibrance.

A lot of my presets increase the saturation of reds and blues and decrease the saturation of yellows and greens, but this can vary; e.g. i like the greens to be vibrant if it's a nature shot.

I also usually make the white balance a little cooler.

I love tinkering with the global curves settings to "flatten" the shadow levels.

And I like really crispy shots, so I always increase the sharpness, and I'll usually bump the texture and add some noise, too.

These are all things that can be done in other similar programs/apps or even with Reshade. If you're just starting out, I think using pre-made presets and filters is a great way to go, and as you get more comfortable with the tools, you can start to make little tweaks and edits to personalize the style.

So anyway, there's some of my process! Everyone's got their own, and what works for me might not work for you--Don't feel like you have to take any of this as gospel or work exactly the way I do. But maybe this will... shed some light (ha ha, I'll see myself out) on how to get started with some VP tools. <3

[aristenfromwarsaw]

Hey!!! Im a little shy (sorry for anon) but I was wondering how did you learn to take bg3 screenshots THAT LOOK SO AMAZING! I can’t seem to find anywhere on your blog if you already talked about it before. If it’s not too much trouble (and if it’s not your own creative secret) could you at least briefly describe your process? I get absolutely baffled and amazed when I see your posts. Like the angles, the lightning, the colors, the poses look absolutely stunning! I’m so glad I found your blog ❤️

Hi ! Thank you for the kind words :) . Technique depends on the photos - what kind of photo is it, what effect do I want to achieve. I have a tutorial on YouTube on how to take screenshots, but it is a bit outdated (I improved my skills) and it is in Polish. The topic is quite extensive, so it would probably be easier to explain how I achieved a specific effect in a specific photo. You can send me a DM - you don't have to be shy, I don't bite :D. I helped one person in taking screenshots, so I'll be happy to help you too :). From general information, the tools we use are important for taking screenshots. I use ReShade and Otis free camera mod. For editing Lightroom and Photoshop - I used to work as a photographer, so I know these programs. Sometimes I use ready-made presets from Nexus for ReShade, which I slightly modify, and then edit the screenshot in Lightroom and Photoshop. Lightroom and Photoshop is my main working tools.

A trick I can recommend to have nice, delicate light for portraits - talk to the character, make a quick save and do a quick load - then the light will be better for photos :) .

As for the rest, as I mentioned, the topic is extensive, so you can send me a DM and we will talk there, or you can send the questions about how I took a specific photo and how to achieve such an effect.

I hope everything is understandable - English is not my native language.

[nijigasakilove]

Best episode so far for sure. The love triangle is officially formed and I can’t express how jealous I am that the MC has his flat chested childhood best friend and a hot kouhai who’s into the exact same stuff as him and cosplays his waifu 😭 still a lot of censorship going on which I wish wasn’t the case, but the show is still good.

Mikari wanting to cosplay Lilliel and then realising her titties were too small made me crack up. But as Okumura said, real otaku like flat chests and nice asses. Flat is justice! She pulled off the Mirelia cosplay so well! fits her and her personality and I think she’s found a new hobby.

It’s totally plot relevant to have two hot girls groping each other and moaning for a mana transfer, trust me!

Good thing Mikari understands now that if you want to get closer to someone, you should probably try and understand the things they like. She was so desperate to make him like her, she skipped out on understanding what makes him him.

Both girls starting to get a little jealous over Okumura praising either one more than the other lol. Ririsa who was so focused on cosrom and otaku stuff is starting to see Okumura as a little more than just an otaku buddy that takes photos.. I know the face of a maiden in love when I see it!

I hope Ririsa knows how to use presets in lightroom/photoshop otherwise that 500 photo editing session will be hell 😂

[dailyastarionpics]

Hi! When using dof addon and camera mod (assuming you use it by the look on your screenshots) what are you’re go to settings for making the picture look so good and the dof shader settings etc? I know it varies depending on the pic but just curious!! SUCH pretty screenshots ^^

And also; do you turn off the game own’s dof or not? Thanks a lot!

Hi, Anon! Thank you so much :3

You're correct, I'm using the DOF addon with the camera mod :D

I'm using the reShade addons shown below along with the preset called Gleaming Sun which you can find here

Depending on the shot, I will toggle Lightroom and curves for adjustments and DepthDarkness for the dark vignette look. I try my best to let the game itself do most of the legwork for lighting/shadows because I want to showcase how beautiful the game is on its own.

That being said I also try to keep my shots as true to color as possible with some minor adjustments here and there. The preset I mentioned above is specifically used to remove some of the greenish tint that BG3 tends to have. It bothers me which leads me to have to adjust it for screenshots, so I figured why not use a preset that does most of the work for me. (the whole work smarter not harder thing ya know?)

I was using the in game DOF along with Otis's addon for it, but I realized that the in game DOF doesn't play nice with the addon so I turned it off. I turn it back on for gifs whenever I remember to though.

[radioradio]

Full Moon

So as @sirfrogsworth pointed out yesterday, My D600 had a case of SENSOR DUST.

You can see the spots here. Shooting at a very high aperture, like f/22 seen here, will make them stand out like a sore thumb. The D600 had a reputation for being particularly bad at this, throwing oil on the sensor to the point where Nikon offered a free shutter replacement, and eventually scrapping the 600 all together in favor of the D610, which was essentially just the D600 with an upgraded shutter.

Learning the history of the D600 after I'd already placed the order, I quickly added a full-frame sensor cleaning kit to my toolkit. It's a pack of single use swabs and a bottle of cleaning solution you can dole out by the drop. Why the main cleaning kit came with just a spray bottle, I cannot explain.

Anyway, two drops of solution, one pass in the same direction with each side of the swab later, and...

Much better! Both shot with the 50mm f/1.8D @ f/22, btw.

Fast forward to evening. I work nights, so it's just after breakfast, and I have the night off. It's about a 40 minute drive into the city and the West End Overlook. I go there a lot, because it's a good place to put any new knowledge into practice and compare it to previous visits. Plus, I spent good money on that Manfrotto tripod, and want to get use out of it.

Tonight was a full moon, which was both good and bad. You'll see in a moment.

For the most part, I'm shooting f/5.6 at ISO 200 aperture priority. Why? Because that's the combines result of assorted googling and photography book reading on night photography.

Once more with the moon in the shot.

Thanks to the full moon, Lightroom is a little bit confused. The sky is way brighter than it actually is...

Never mind the shaking, that was just a phone pic to tell friends what I was doing at the time. But it shows what it looked like in real life.

I started looking through my presets, but nothing really came close to rendering an accurate version of the scene.

I think that second one comes close maybe? I usually just stick with Auto, but Auto isn't doing it tonight.

I moved on to the Duquesne Incline Overlook. Not seen here, but I'm starting to run into a little bit of gear trouble.

And one in 16:9.

I moved on to Station Square, and here's where I ran into a problem. The 28-70mm lens did NOT want to autofocus on the buildings across the river. I fiddled with settings, turned the camera on and off, and even removed and reseated the lens. Could not get it to play nice.

So in order to salvage that stop, I broke out the 50mm f/1.8D that has mainly just been along for the ride when I go out. Tonight was it's chance to shine.

Oh, and that autofocus issue? Just out of shot here is a tall iron fence. Tall enough that I had to raise the center pole of the tripod a good foot to clear it. The camera STILL kept wanting to latch onto it for focusing. So it goes.

A few years ago I took a short course in Photoshop sponsored by WVU as part of Continuing Education. I should see if any of the local unis have anything similar for Lightroom.

[peacozy]

hey! I want ask, how do you edit your pics? they are so nice, and which app?

I use Adobe lightroom! You can buy filter presets on etsy 😊

[harrywavycurly]

I know you were asked this already and I've saved the ask and response but now I can't find it😢. So I'll ask again because of my scatter brain, what program do you use to create your story header graphics?

Hiii lovey!! I use 3 apps but honestly you can do it all on one I’m just extra and have all 3 so might as well use them😂 they are:

-Picsart for actually creating the banners like blending the photos all together and making them look decent

-Typorama for titles because it has nice fonts (but Picsart also has nice fonts)

-Lightroom is where I add the adjustments to the coloring and the contrast and brightness I have presets saves (you can also adjust this on Picsart as well)

Hope this helps you!💖

[luzlapine]

I always feel I don't have much interesting stuff to share, but I figured I should post what I have been up to lately. On the candle side, I'm still testing wooden wicks. I sadly had to give up on my dream of white wicks, as they were sooting far too much. I was able to find other wooden wicks that seem to work much better so fingers crossed. On the photography side, I recently found lightroom presents on creativemarket, so here's a preview of one said preset. Not sure if I like it, but it's nice not having to mess with all the setting haha

[newgenrephotography]

Hazy Soft Light / Lightroom Preset

So, I was in the mood to edit some pictures today. In the process, I ended up making this preset.

I was aiming for a "fairytale-esque" style and I definitely think I got that spot on.

This preset has a very smooth light to it, it also skin softens.

I would not recommend using this on EVERY picture but it is definitely a nice preset to have for any soft outdoors pictures. I also tested it on some sports photography and concert photography and it looks really nice on those as well! It has a lot of different uses.

Where to download: patreon.com/NewGenrePhotography

[semdeals]

Brown & Aqua Lightroom Presets

Brown & Aqua color grade is used in photography with lovely warm tones with a cinematic look. Get various brown & Aqua Lightroom preset downloads of the brown and aqua preset to assist your editing workflow. Today I give away one of the best-crafted presets created by major photography artists. The aqua tones compliment the brown color which has a nice complementing look. Freely download these…

[victoriabeepresets]

Desktop presets:

Upgrade your photography game using Victoria Bee's desktop presets Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC. These presets are also Adobe Camera Raw-friendly & they play nice with both Mac and PC. Get ready for seamless installation with Victoria Bee presets user-friendly instructions. Don't miss out! Enhance your photos effortlessly. Download now at victoriabeepresets.com and unleash your inner photographer.

[cjsantiago1101]

Shout out to @selfiegram.malolos for their great studio and wonderful sir Andrew Ortega and Ma'am @ortegaelizabeth ! Nice knowing with you and see you on the next shoots! Also, I hope to look forward to working with you sir and ma'am! . . Open for Paid Works/Commissions and Ambassadorships/Sponsorships! Here's my FACEBOOK PAGE for more unseen shots of my paid works: Wax Renditions ii . . For my website link for those who are interested in buying my Lr Presets and more, to my bio here at my Instagram profile or here this link: (Para Bilin ang aking mga Lightroom Presets at ibang Produkto, narito ang aking Link para sa iyong pagbabasihan) https://beacons.ai/wax_santiago . . #waxxrenditions #waxrenditions #wheninmalolos #malolosphotographer #wheninbulacan #gramslayers #doports #bulacanphptographer #visualslayers #nftphotographer #instagrammarketing #facebookmarketing #bulacanshooter #selfiegrammalolos #marketingdigital (at SelfieGram) https://www.instagram.com/p/Co85yYwP40A/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[chezanais]

Nice, France

edited using Chez Anais preset for Lightroom desktop and mobile

[presetsandmore]

Retro Style preset. I love it, and you?

Link preset and stock : https://bit.ly/2LRrntA

[nate-the-photographer]

Barrel Craftsman, Mystic, Connecticut

[twopoppies]

Is Lloyd seriously asking $35 for four Lightroom presets what are just slight adjustments? I was able to replicate his "preset" fairly closely with just one adjustment. He does add a ton of grain, and his is more green... But $35!???

Wouldn't it be nice if the people Harry worked with wouldn't use him for clout & cash?

Hi love. Thanks for this. So, I don't know enough about presets or camera adjustments to really comment, so I'm just going to share. Below is the original photo on the left and on the right, the same photo with Lloyd's preset used on it

x

Below is your recreation of his preset on the left, made with just one adjustment on your camera. And his on the right using the $35 preset he's selling. They look pretty much the same to me. I guess if someone has zero knowledge of taking photos, it's worth it. But otherwise it does seems like a rip off.