RAW import processing in LR help

[Braineack]

I've noticed a lot in LR, that the image preview looks great, then when I open it up to develop LR applies the default Nikon D3100 RAW settings to the image, and it almost always looks awful IMHO. I end up spending a good amount of time to get it to look like it did on the LCD. I can't figure out a way to change the default processing of the RAW images.

What makes it even worse is that most of the time, when I open the image in NX2, it looks MUCH better and in a lot of cases, better than the edits I do in LR just to bring it back to how the image preview looked in LR.

here's an example:



This is the file as opened in LR. You can see the colors are dull and it's appears over exposed. (default brightness always goes to 50.)

when I open the same in NX2, it looks like this:



the exposure looks better, and the colors are more realistic and this image would only require minor edits.

and here's my image in LR after spending maybe 10 minutes fooling around with it:



I'm not sure it looks any better than the NX2 default import.


What am I doing wrong here?

 

[Braineack]

Okay, and here's what I'm talking about with the thumbnails.

When I view the images, before LR applies automatic processing to them, they tend to look much better:



Notice the "loading" widget.

And once it loads:



then I gotta spend the next 5-10 minutes to get it back to remotely resemble the image as I first saw it and liked it.

 

[Ysarex]

You're seeing the difference between the camera processed JPEG (LR thumbnail/the photo in NX2) and LR's default for the the raw file. NX2 applies the same processing to the image that the camera JPEG engine applies -- LR's default is different.

Joe

 

[Braineack]

I figured that was the issue, as I see in NX2 there's an option for as "shot" then all the standard, natural, vivid, etc. But I can't seem to find "as shot" in LR. I really prefer the editing capabilities in LR, but I hate how much work it takes just to edit the shot back to how the camera already worked it.

 

[Ysarex]

I figured that was the issue, as I see in NX2 there's an option for as "shot" then all the standard, natural, vivid, etc. But I can't seem to find "as shot" in LR. I really prefer the editing capabilities in LR, but I hate how much work it takes just to edit the shot back to how the camera already worked it.

If you're editing the image back to the camera JPEG then just save the JPEG in the first place. The point of having the raw file is to be able to edit the photo to a result better than the camera processed JPEG.

Joe

 

[Braineack]

But if I have over/underexposed parts of the photo that I'm able to pull back in RAW, then all the better. Is there at least a way to change the default import? I pretty much add 30 clarity, 20 vibrance, and 0-6 saturation to ever image I import.

 

[KmH]

But I can't seem to find "as shot" in LR.

You can't find it because there isn't one.

Adobe (Thomas Knoll and Mark Hamburg) decided that Lightroom would not mimic the camera maker software's Raw rendering.

Yes, you can set the default LR values.
With LR open press your keyboard's F1 key to access Adobe Community help.

In the Develop module, on the Applications bar click on Develop > Set Default Settings.

There really is no substitute for having a good reference book at hand:
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers

 

[Ysarex]

You can save a basic set of defaults as a preset to use for your camera. How to create your own LR presets » Elizabeth Halford Photography {the blog}

Joe