gradient

frogfish

• November 10, 2014 10:05

Hi everyone,

is there a possibility to adjust the increase/decrease when using gradient? I often use it to darken the sky but I often find it to dark in the top and too weak near the end of the gradient. Can I adjust that somewhere?

Can I use the gradient to paint a color?

thank you,

heiko

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  ---

  • November 10, 2014 11:13

  sorry, in both cases no. c1 has only rudimentary paint tools. you could try to use very large brushes and build the gradient with more than one layer or you use the hdr tool to control the effect.

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  Alexander Svet

  • November 10, 2014 11:21

  When you are drawing gradient mask all the space above white cross has 100% opacity and below it - 90%, 80%,70%,60% etc to 0% opacity. But you can increase/decrease opacity of any gradient area with Draw and Erase Mask tools. Just "draw" or "erase" additional opacity - it's very handy thing 😊

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  Ian Wilson

  Moderator

  • November 10, 2014 11:23

  

  Let's assume, for example, that you want to darken the sky in an image in comparison with the foreground. If you draw the gradient from the top of the frame down to just below the horizon, then the strength of the effect gradually changes over that range; the top of the sky gets darkened a lot, and the lower part of the sky not so much. But you don't have to start the gradient at the top of the frame. You could, for example, start it just above the horizon and finish just below it. That way, most of the sky gets darkened by the same amount, down to where the gradient starts, and the fall-off of the effect only begins just above the horizon. Does that help?
  
  Also, as an alternative to the gradient tool, you could use a very large brush with a soft edge (useful for example if the horizon isn't very straight - perhaps with a hill or building in it). Or you can draw the mask with the gradient tool, then add to or subtract from it with a brush.
  
  Ian

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  frogfish

  • November 10, 2014 11:37

  thanks for the input so far.
  
  brush takes time (wedding photog), but to start with the gradient at a lower point I´ll try.
  
  Any change to have something like split-toning?
  
  heiko

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  Alexander Svet

  • November 10, 2014 11:49

  [quote="frogfish" wrote:
  Any change to have something like split-toning?

  
  
  RGB channels of the Curve tool is good for split-toning, not so "friendly" like in Lightroom, but much powerful.

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  Dominic

  • November 13, 2014 14:35

  Nikon Capture NX 2 had a simple yet effective gradient tool. Once you set the size of the gradient you could move a midpoint slider to adjust its transition. That's all C1 needs — nothing more complicated than that.
  
  It's also worth keeping in mind you can move a layer. Hold down shift and move the gradient mask vertically.

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  Westdale

  • November 13, 2014 16:57

  @frogfish
  I guess you have tried the split toning built in to C1 (second tab in black&white conversion) ?
  Not as flexible as in Aftershot which I use to adjust photos for its better masking and layering
  but it is easily used if the rest of your workflow is in C1.
  If you do it a lot then building a few presets for RGB curves is useful (add tool Curve to the menus)

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