I’ve expanded the range of the current LRB Grad Filter presets. When I upload them after a little voting here, there’ll be an additional Middle to go with each Top third and Bottom third, and 9 new Sunset Presets.
Current they are named by:
Colour Strength Position Hardness Orientation e.g. Blue 0.3 Top Hard Landscape (or an abbrev, thereof)
Matt K argues that 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 should be replaced with -1, -2, and -3. While it is indeed accurate, my naming is based on conventional Resin filters, which carry the notation 0.3, 0.6, 0.9. In fact Cokin calls them ND2, ND4, ND8 instead.
Which is the more critical for you the user?
And which order?
Strength Position Colour
Strength Colour Position
Colour Strength Position
Colour Position Strength
Position Strength Colour
Position Colour Strength
(The hardness and Orientation are the filter folders anyway, but are needed for Lightroom to distinguish them)
Each has advantages.
The last option for instance groups the Tops together, then individual colour, then strength of that colour. Or is Strength more important here than colour?
or Cokin ND2 ND4
As rellates to your question on hierarchy I would keep Position, Color, Strenght
I found it easy to remember that a 1.2 would let me change my shuttter speed by 4 stops and also feel it’s best to label them 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 etc. even though I refer to them as ND2 ND4 ND8 in conversations, when you get to 3.0 (good for solar eclipses)that’s 10 stops.
I say Position, Colour, Strength, because it lets you adjust the colour your mixing with the other colors to your personal preferance.
I’m beginning to think the last one is the most appropriate.
The first thing you know immediately is where the filter needs to go… Top Middle or Bottom.
After that it’s a toss up, but colour then strength seems good to me.
I’ve just sent in the last bit of book edit for the layout so I’ll get on this over the weekend.
I think your current order is appropriate. However, I agree with Matt K that they should be named according to their f-stop effect. That would make more sense to photogs with no experience with the resin filters (and to someone like me who prefers to forget the “bad old days”).
Position first, I can manage either way on color/strength.
My feeling is for:
1. colour
2. strength (+x -x stops)
3. position
The Sunset filters are dual.
They’ve a soft grad on the bottom and a darker hard grad on the top.
Sean, once you complete the current part of your project would you consider including a dual filter or two? In a video tutorial for the graduated filters there was one applied from the top to balance the contrast and one from the bottom to warm up that area of the image. Just wondering. Regards.
You can’t. That’s not the nature of the tool.
Hello. Regarding the presets in particular the graduated filters how does one erase part of the effect around certain objects?
After thinking about it, I think they should be grouped by position, then broken down by colour, which would then be sorted by strength. That seems to be a good work-flow process.
Sean,
I decide for the color first, because this sets the mood for the image. After that the strength is the most important and the last decision would be the placement of the GND filter. So I would opt for the Colour Strength Position order.
Joop
My vote is:
1.Position, 2.Strength, 3.Colour
vote for Position Colour Strength