Hi,
I’m really new to DxO Photolab. I just dowloaded version 5 and trying it. It seems good but I read something on a forum that kind of matches my first tests: “when I‘m working on the highlights or shadows, I don‘t want the software to adjust the midtones, that is the was how C1, LR and others are working and assume that is the way it should be.”
Is it true that Photolab is also adjusting midtones ?
Kind regards,
Tchak
It depends on which tool you use. The Selective Tone tool does have some overlap but using the Tone Curve, you can define precisely what gets affected.
Depending on one’s intentions the amount of tone control overlap may be very significant which is why I often use Local Adjustments to target the specific areas I want to adjust with minimum overlap. I find it most useful for extracting deep shadow detail without affecting the whole image but it is just as effective for midtones…The mask I’ll use will depend on what I want to accomplish, but most often I use control points.
Mark
Yes, Selective Tone highlight and shadow adjustments in PhotoLab (and in PhotoLab’s predecessor, OpticsPro) also adjust the midtones to some extent. Besides the advice you’ve been given above, you can also simply adjust the midtones in the opposite direction that you’ve adjusted highlights or shadows in order to compensate. Or use exposure compensation to adjust one end of the histogram and selective tone to adjust the rest. The possibilities are manifold.