How to eliminate or reduce Color Banding

[Tailgunner]

I have read and researched this topic a little and still don't have a definitive idea as to how to eliminate color banding. I understand ways or methods on removing it from a photo, this seems more like a band aide for a problem vs a solution. I have adjusted my monitors as well.

Thanks for all your help.

Equipment/settings

Nikon D800
Nikon 18-35mm
Nikon 28-70mm
Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR II

Shooting in Adobe RGB, usually F8-16 with shutter speeds from slow/long night time speeds to fast day light speeds.

 

[Buckster]

Are you getting color banding straight from the camera? Are you shooting RAW? If so, what are you using to convert it, and at what bit depth? At what point do you first see banding?

 

[480sparky]

A sample image would help.

 

[KmH]

Banding is also known as posterization.
Image Posterization

 

[Tailgunner]

Shooting in RAW Adobe RGB

Are you getting color banding straight from the camera? Are you shooting RAW? If so, what are you using to convert it, and at what bit depth? At what point do you first see banding?

RAW Adobe RGB
CS6
LR5.7 (64 Bit)

My process is to open file in CS6 (16 Bit) and adjust the basic WB and finish up in LR.

Anyhow, I generally don't see Color Banding until the file is finished or close to finish in LR. My monitor display settings are set to Adobe RGB as well.

 

[Alexr25]

My process is to open file in CS6 (16 Bit) and adjust the basic WB and finish up in LR.

Why are you opening the file in CS6 if all you are doing is adjusting the white balance? Why not do the WB and all other adjustments in LR, that way the image file remains untouched and does not get saved as a TIF or PSD file.

My monitor display settings are set to Adobe RGB as well.

How did you do that? Adobe RGB is not a monitor colour space. If you have profiled your monitor the display should be set to the monitor profile you created, if you have not profiled your monitor the display should be set to the default profile for your monitor brand/model.
If you really are using adobeRGB as you monitor colour space then that is probably what is causing the banding.

 

[Tailgunner]

My process is to open file in CS6 (16 Bit) and adjust the basic WB and finish up in LR.

Why are you opening the file in CS6 if all you are doing is adjusting the white balance? Why not do the WB and all other adjustments in LR, that way the image file remains untouched and does not get saved as a TIF or PSD file.

My monitor display settings are set to Adobe RGB as well.

How did you do that? Adobe RGB is not a monitor colour space. If you have profiled your monitor the display should be set to the monitor profile you created, if you have not profiled your monitor the display should be set to the default profile for your monitor brand/model.
If you really are using adobeRGB as you monitor colour space then that is probably what is causing the banding.

So is opening my files first in CS6 first and saving them as Tiff/PSD files causing color banding or is this a personal preference? Anyhow, no real reason, just something I do.

As for monitor settings: Click System Preference > Displays > Colors > Adobe RGB

 

[Tailgunner]

Here is a sample photo:

Nikon 18-35mm
Nikon D800
F/10
ISO 100

Edited exclusively in LR 5.7

 

[photoguy99]

That looks like a large radius unsharp mask applied to a smooth gradient.

While I suppose it's possible it's a bit depth issue someplace that's been through some processing, the first thing I would check would be to see if you've got some out of whack sharpening settings applied somewhere in your pipeline.

It is not purely posterization, note how each band exhibits a gradient that is in the reverse direction of the overall gradient.

 

[Tailgunner]

That looks like a large radius unsharp mask applied to a smooth gradient.

While I suppose it's possible it's a bit depth issue someplace that's been through some processing, the first thing I would check would be to see if you've got some out of whack sharpening settings applied somewhere in your pipeline.

It is not purely posterization, note how each band exhibits a gradient that is in the reverse direction of the overall gradient.

That was done using basic editing in LR (exposure, highlights, sharping, lens correctness etc)

Anyhow, I was able to finally get a decent edit by switching the color spacing from Adobe RGB to sRGB in LR and very lightly editing it.

 

[unpopular]

This can be caused by any number of edits, including hilights and exposure adjustments. If I were to guess, it *might* come from trying to make the clouds pop while not accounting for the horizon or trying to make the sky super blue.