The Secret to High Detailed Photography
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2021
- Download the source files for FREE here:
www.joelgrimes.com/how-to-und...
Understanding Bit Depth for Photographers may not be the most exciting topic to cover.
It could still change how you look at processing your images, giving you a much greater quality in the final results.
When my students ask me about bit depth this always comes up, “If we view our images in 8 bit, why do we need to start in a higher bit like 14, 16, or even 32 bit”?
Follow me and see why I process my images in 32 bit, how to do this, and what difference that makes to our final results
As I always say, “The proof is in the pudding.”
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Years ago, I founded a photo group through a local art center. At one of the meetings, I challenged the group to do true black and white, as close as possible. I heard a lot of groans. So, I offered a 16x20 gallery wrap print paid from my own wallet to the winner as judged by me. When I reviewed all of the entrances, one really stunned me. The submission was done by an inexperienced lady who was just learning photography. When I brought the print to present the winner… a collective gasp followed by silence and then standing applause. The moral of this story is to go beyond what you think you can do and stretch your imagination. And that’s how I view your work and your commitment to DO and stretch your abilities.
I "knew" about bit depth and dynamic range.. but your examples showing with and without high bit depth... THAT was an eye opener to me!! thank you!!
I just discovered the most amazing, underrated channel on TH-cam!!!
This man here has been the greatest influence on my art and workflow. I owe so much to him.
Even more amazing is that he is color blind.
Same herre!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
joel, good stuff, i have shot hdr for more than ten years and like you nearly all that i do is hdr or suedo hdr. yes, hdr has been given a bad wrap until the viewer sees the light, and the light is the bit depth, and the detail in the shadows. great topic, StevePower
Many thanks, for this! What a difference, the higher/highest bit depth makes!
I have been following you for 16 years+ and have a lot of respect for your photography skills, your processing skills are superb thx for sharing your knowledge it has helped make me a better photographer.
@S Tra Haha that's side splitting stuff. and a very predictable answer well done.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Thank you. I'm not sure quite how to do this practically, but I'll have a go as the results are worth putting the effort in. Thanks again Joel. Much appreciated as always.
Thanks for the presentation Joel! Important information for maximizing the technical quality of digital capture.
The sRGB colour space has a "reduced colour gamut" compared to Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB, as you mention. Important for all to know: colour information is compressed and lost or thrown away, not only by the bit depth option but also by the colour space selection when generating an image from a Camera RAW file (14bit or true 16bit MF capture ). sRGB is best for digital presentation; monitors, the web etc. Adobe or ProPhoto RGB is best for print purposes. With my 25+ years of pre-press and imaging experience, I've learned a couple things about maximizing images and processing and was fortunate enough to study under Dan Margulis, the ultimate master of colour and imaging quality who I'm sure you're familiar with :)
tks to explanation shared! I had thinking about if sRGB or Adobe RGB is the best colour space to use when I was watching another tutorial about it.
Love your teachings and how you share your expertise. This subject is powerful. 💖🙏🌟
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Joel - your work is very, very good. Also your images have that "spice" mixture right to my taste. I love them!
At 76 I am learning digital photography and discovered bit depth today.
Many thanks for your video and for your ten steps e-book!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Thank you, I am excited to try this with my many raw files that I shot in my 5Div HDR will be even better than before. Subscribed
GREAT TUTORIAL! I never knew about bit depth, etc. Thanks!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
I had to chuckle at your 5th wheel analogy. I lived in a 5th wheel for a year and a half and now a motorhome. More power is never a bad thing!!
Thanks Joel, being an old editorial news photographer and after 30 years shooting jpegs now I finally get it. Well done!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Yes! Awesome explanation on bit depth. Thank you for your time and expertise.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This unlocked something in my brain for me. Thanks Joel! Another master to watch and learn from
Awesome, thank you!
Honestly, the best lesson I've learned in the last 10 years. I shoot editorial entertainment, celebs. But, I've had to diversify as competition gets more fierce with less going on due to covid. This lesson is just one more tool to rise above the rest and get amazing results. Thanks so much for this.
Thanks so much for that, glad to be helpful!
Extremely useful, clear and succinct information. Thanks so much.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Fantastic, and very important video. Thanks Joel!
Definitely going to spend a lot of time learning from you, Joel. Thank you.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Thanks for this video. Very educational and practical. I just did my first B&W HDR and I’m really happy with the dynamic range but especially with the smooth gradation of greys in the sky.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Hi Joel. My first visit to your channel, what a great find! While I do know the math of bit depth and have worked with HDR as the situation warrants, I had not considered the benefits of shooting bracketed photos to increase overall editable data depth. Very valuable ip, thank you for sharing. Like and a sub for you today.
Thank you for the well-explained information. Question about bit-depth and dynamic range. I have an older Leica monochrom with a bit-depth of 14 but the dynamic range is only 8.5. So if I bracket 3 exposures +/- 2 and combine them in Photoshop with 14/16 bit will I have more information than say a newer M246 with its 12-bit?
Thank you for your informative videos Joel. Your techniques have got me excited again as I was looking for something new to try, and you did just that. Been a photographer for 60 years now so this is great knowledge you are sharing. Subscribed and looking forward to viewing your collection of videos. Cheers from Australia.
Thanks Barry!
Thank you very much for all the important info. Where can I find your HDR 32 bit process video?
Very informative video. I like to think about bit depth in terms of sculpting a statue out of marble...or even carving a figure out of a piece of wood. You need a very large chunk of marble (32 bit depth) in order to be able to chip away (process) at it until you are left with your desired final product. If the starting piece (capture file) is too small (8 bit) then after chipping away at it you might end up with a statue that doesn't have a nose.....clipped in a way.
Perfect, the best instruction. Grateful!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Congratulations to all. Amazing images.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
I watched this video to the end and checked my Ps and LrC settings. Sure enough, they had defaulted to 8 bit just like Joel said they would. Thanks Joel! You saved me a world of headaches.
you are so welcome Jeff!
Many thanks for this video and the files. Great explanation.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Very educational. Thank you. Going to try it straight away
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Started with PS5 a long time ago. Back then I was doing "composite" images layering bracketed exposures and revealing highlight and shadow details with the tablet. I have one of those here somewhere...
Nicely done Sir. Love it, Who knew. Thank you
Joel, excellent tutorial. I have one question for you. In working /adjusting in the 32 bit environment within LR, Is the final saved image as 16 bit or 32 bit ? My reason for asking is this, I make large prints on an Epson SC P-8000 44" printer, similar to your own Canon ipf4000. These printers can work with 16 bit files but not 32 bit. As such I believe once you send a file to the printer the very best output you ll get is 16 bit. Are you then diminishing any of the 32 bit quality you worked in on the software? I was hoping you might explain this out for me. Thanks! -Paul.
Thanks for your video first time at your channel. You mentioned you have video how to process 32 bit from how to take 32 bit photos. would you please share that video \ I don't see where do you have that video.
Thank you for sharing this... It excellent video... lots of learning... and this is called experience makes perfect...
I had no idea, thank you so much!
So refreshing! Thank you.
You are so welcome!
Thanks so much for this video! It explains a lot and is very helpful.
You're very welcome!
Thank you. Very informative.
You always get me hyped up to shoot
Thanks for the eye opener.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Great stuff Joel, Thank you.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Incredibly informative. Didn't realise about bit depth, or 16bit processing. Plus ISO bracketing is a great tip. Cheers Joel 👏
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
ThankU very much for this incredibly informative video!
Excellent video, thanks!
Bit depth is the number of samples that represent the tone and/or colour stored in any pixel!
Where was your vid that showed how you used a grey backdrop with blend modes to change background.
I mean I already know a little about using overlay with grey, but I think you can even use blend ifs to refine.
I just wanted to rewatch that segment of yours to refresh memory on your method.
Great information in this video, thank you Joel.
Glad you enjoyed it!
To make a long story short, Vital, vital, vital !
You are my man. Thankyou for this, Joel !
🤯👍
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Amazing information. Thank you for sharing the bit depth concept. Cheers !! 😊
You're very welcome!
I'm wondering if any of this is practical if we don't have the big expensive printer?
Gorgeous photographs! Plus great tips - thanks a lot JG! Roger
Thanks Roger. Very much appreciated
G'day Joel. I know I'm late to this party but would like to ask a question. In a typical landscape photograph, do you meter with the camera, and if so, what metering mode do you use? Thanks mate.
Joel, I love your videos and what I'm able to learn from them. This one left me with a few questions that I hope are not too basic. In this video you go into great detail about bit depth (very convincing). My Canon 5Dm3 camera is set to the largest RAW. I understand there are no conversions... that this will be 14b. This opens in Adobe Camera RAW and my defaults are Adobe RGB (98) and 16b. Do you have to shoot multiple images to work in 32b as described with HDR or can you take a single image, start your work flow, and when it opens in Photoshop convert at that time to 32b with the same result? I'm sorry if I missed this in your video.
If possible, when would you then NOT want to work in 32?
What software are you using to combine your images for HDR?
Yes, you have to shoot multiple images to work in hdr in LR, PS.
I've always admired your work since finding you on Creativelive. You come across a very down to Earth type of teacher, thank you.
Thank you Jason. That means a lot!
Hi Joel ! Love the info about the bit depth. I have a question though, at the end you recommend to check if PS is correctly set as 16 bit after updated, also, to choose Adobe RGB or profoto RGB instead of srgb color profile, but what if the monitor I use it isn’t suitable for 100% Adobe or profoto RGB ? should I still select those ?
Thanks Wesley, Keep in mind, it's not some much the viewing experience that we are effecting, but the ability to increase our detail in the highlights and Shadows. Also, the more bit depth you have the more you can dramatically manipulate the image in Bridge, Lightroom or Photoshop especially in Black and White.
Thank you Joel for this very useful information, great foto's.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great information! Thank you!
You're so welcome!
So instructive! Thank you!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Fan for years and love the detail and education you provide. Do you treat your prints after printing with a spray or anything?
I do whatever the printer suggests if I'm honest
Informative video - thankyou very much. And thanks for the free source files which are very, very helpful. Subscribed.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Joel, Maybe I missed it but I cannot find you video on processing 32 bit images. Can you post a link? Great video.
Same here. Would love to see it!
Great video! Downloaded the raws to test for myself (alot of sensordust on them in the sky though). Really makes a difference.
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Excellent explanation of bit-depth.
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York work is amazing, Great video!
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Thank you! Great video!
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The colours are grey level number to the power 3. For example, 256 grey levels to the power 3 which is 256x256x256. A big number! (not 256 x3). Hope that helps....nice 'proof in the pudding' pictures. Excellent examples
Great video.
Could you explain (maybe in another video) how you expose for shadows?
Thanks.What about Lightroom,if is that a different system?
Same as Samuel, just found your channel. Subscribed immediately. Love HDR when applied correctly. You shooting "35mm" format (as opposed to Medium)?
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
I been trying to explain this to folks forever. Thank you for making a video! So fatigued by junk megapixel marketing these days.
Glad it was helpful!
how can i know how many bits a camera is able to pull out? I searched on the specifications but it doesn't say....
Great info Joel,
Have all your courses, love your teaching style, inspiration and enthusiasm -especially as we are the same young vintage 😉😉📸
wow, thank you so much!
Thanks for the informative video! Part of this process is to have a computer and monitor that supports 10 bit per channel colour output, and wide colour gamet. Not all monitors are created equal. You need a graphics card that supports 10 bit output over display port. And a monitor that can output nearly 100% or at least 97% Adobe RGB - Eizo, Dell, NEC and Ben Q all have options. No monitor, from the last time I researched can output ProPhoto RGB colour space. A classic example of this as you said is “ pushing” greys or skies too much and producing banding (loosing file information). This can be clearly seen on this type of system. I too agree, forgetting to reset Photoshop working colour space after an update has caught me a few times also.
Great stuff dude, you are totally correct
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
On my photo editor I have 16 and 32 bit integer and floating point which should I use?
I would do a side by side test and see which one works best for you.
Joel - Awesome video! I can honestly say that I learned something new about HDR. So question for you - to acheive the same effect as taking 3 pictures with different exposures - could I go back to an old photo and create virtual copies in Lightroom, assign different exposure to those copies, and then process in Photoshop like you describe?
I've not thought about this, I don't know if you can get that extra dynamic range without it being captured in the first place. I'll have to give it a try
Thank you information to use in my work flow
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Where is video mentioned at 20:00? I can't find it :-(
Thank you, thank you! Who knew that during an upgrade in PS it reset to the default workflow setting in the Camera Raw workflow! Yikes!!
Super helpfull! Thank you! Now to your other videos! I’ve got all weekend! :-)
Really, really, really well explained. You are an excellent teacher and clearly possess the empathy required to help students understand complex information. As an educator myself, and I don't wish to be patronising, this is so impressive!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
I use film 35mm in my investigative work because the original negatives or photo's cannot be manipulated. I would like a newer camera with sharper contrast and be able to add a telescopic lense to pull up sharp clear images at a range of under 40,000 ft. What do you recommend?
A range of 7.5 miles? I recommend you become a better investigator or get a satellite?
I’m very interested in getting the highest quality possible. I am no professional but I enjoy my photography. Thanks for the advice here, I was aware of 32bit depth but now I will use it more.
I noticed there is a shiny quality to the edges or surface transitions in the 32 bit images. I am trying to understand where that effect comes from when you use this technique. It almost feels it’s over the surface gradients.
Hi Joel, Very interesting. I pretty well use Lightroom only, can I process 16 bit in Lightroom or will I have to learn Photoshop?
Spruka, I'm not a Lightroom user, but yes you can work in 16 bit in Lightroom. I need to let a Lightroom user fulling answer this question.
If Im shooting food and focus stacking... then 3 sets of exposure but food may melt change etc so is 16 bit ok? Not sure how this would work would love to see a demo.
as long as you shoot quickly you'll make it work!
One more Question ref HDR Panorama ...
When you take 3 groups of 3 frames (9 Images) do you recommend using all 9 photos in Lightroom using "HDR Panorama" or do the groups individually and then take the 3 HDR images and merge them next?
there is no one-size-fits-all. I've developed my own process but whatever gets you the result you want in the least amount of time!
Great video, I only use Capture One Pro for all my editing, not even Photoshop, so I will have to try and figure out how this bit information fits in there.
You can do it!
I searched your videos for the full details on processing photos in photoshop but could not find anything. Have any links for us please?
Same here!
@John Waine hi friends, I found this video and it's show how to do what Joel explain. I tried with Joel's RAW files and did work! th-cam.com/video/YC1nHjWtMZg/w-d-xo.html
Helpful. But I don't see the video he mentions showing how he edits in 32bit.
Try watching any of Joel's video "Start To Finish". You will see how he converts the captures to 32bit file.
@@BrunoKongawoin055 - Hi Bruno - can you post a link to a specific video?
Thats the same thing I've though. Nice but I've watched 23min and still don't know how to do it lol -_- A link to that other video would be appreciated.
What cameras shoot 32bit??
How could I get images like this with a film camera?
🤩 Awesome work of yours. The info at 8:00 depends on brand: Nikon + Fuji GFX have massively more information in shadows as in highlights, Sony & Olympus the opposite (a1 not tested yet). Pls take it as a nerd’s comment only. 😄
Thank-you kindly, Mister !
@@JeraldMYates You're welcome. Depending on what I do, I shoot Nikon (normally) and Olympus (when weight, macro capabilities, flexibility is key). I also had the chance to test the GFX models of Fuji. The GFX has 16 bit RAF raw files (Bayer layer) and is awesome in keeping details in the shadows. Nikon next best. My OM-D EM1 Mk III is the opposite, I can easily overexpose by 1 to 1.7 stops and the detail recovery pushing the highlight slider to the left side is awesome, but I get noisy results trying to recover more than 1.3..1.7 stops underexposed. My Nikons I shoot generally -0.3 to -0.7 at least.
Ok, but, do you take 3 pictures of a model to create an HDR? I can understand in landscape but how does it works when you are working with models?
Joel are you using the 5DSR for capture or the new R5?
I am now all in with the R5.
@@joelgrimes that's awesome. Are you replacing EF with RF? I'm still using an adapter and the EF lenses for now.
Excellent video and beautifully images.
The way I see it is that the key is exposure. Each time you overexpose each time you make low values come out of the noise. Each time you under expose each time you allow high values to come under saturation. Though having 18 or more stops-dynamic range and compressing it in 8 bits is a pity given our monitors and prints outputs 😕
I turned off compressed RAW on my Sony A7r4 because with compression on it only gives you 12bit instead of 14bit. There goes my file space 😂 I didn’t factor that in when buying a 61 megapixel camera, I thought I would just used compressed RAW. I wanted to see how you explains this, you did a good job 👍