Keep detail in Capture NX-D
Claw back missing info in Raw files
It can be tough to get your Nikon to capture detail in the brightest and darkest parts of a scene. Certain in-camera Picture Controls can also cause a photo to lose tonal detail, due to the high-contrast results that they produce, leading to clipped shadows and highlights.
To capture detail in the brightest highlights and darkest shadows, shoot with your Nikon set to Raw. This creates image files with more information about a shot’s colours and tones. A Raw file contains all the information captured in a photo, whereas a JPEG only uses a small amount of information. It’s also a good idea to shoot using a Neutral or Faithful Picture Control setting. This creates a flatter contrast, meaning less danger of clipping shadows or highlights. Take our tutorial’s start image for example. Due to a Neutral Picture Control setting we have flat-looking contrast and drab colours. This makes it easier to selectively claw back missing highlights in the ocean spray.
We’ll also demonstrate how to selectively darken the sea’s cyan colours to make the spray particles stand out even more in contrast. A little post-production sharpening will also help reveal more texture and detail in the shot, as we’ll demonstrate.
Selective tonal tweaks
Browse to our supplied Raw detail_start.nef image. Click on the Edit panel’s Tone (Detail) icon. Set Highlight Protection to 49 to restore sea spray detail. Lighten Shadow Protection to 29. Using a D-lighting HS value of 31 will help create more contrast.
Global adjustments
Go to the Tone panel and boost the Saturation slider to 60. The more vibrant colours help draw attention to the rocks and separate the cyan sea from the spray. Boost Contrast to 9, to help various objects and shape stand out against each other.
LCH panel
Go to the LCH panel. Set the drop-down menu to Color Lightness. Click to place a control point where the straight line overlaps the ocean’s cyan. Drag the point down to darken this colour. Increase Width to 0.15 to include more ocean colours in the adjustment.
Sharpen details
Zoom to view the shot at 100%. Click the Unsharp Mask icon, then set the Intensity to 26 to increase the contrast around edges. This will help various textures stand out a little more. Push Radius to 20 to increase the spread of the contrast change for more impact.