# How to match Photoshop Multiply adjustment layer in LR



## eschurr (Jan 18, 2014)

i have some RAW photos i shot in Turkey of some situations in which the rocks and temple stones are overly bright.  It's hard to explain, but it's a different kind of "brightness" than one gets from just too much sun. It's a reflective type of brightness.  If I export the picture to Photoshop and use a multiply adjustment layer the picture looks dramatically better. I can't find a simple way to do this in LR and I'm wondering if anyone has an idea (I don't like jumping out to PS if I don't have to).

I've tried:

-- reducing highlights (it makes the picture grayish)
-- increasing contrast (can only push this so far)
-- using the tone curve to reduce the overly bright area, but that only produces a marginal benefit
-- setting the tone curve to High Contrast, which produces the best result, but doesn't match the PS Multiply layer

This situation is not something in which I'd want to use the Adjustment Brush (it might work but it would be a lot of painting).


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## johnbeardy (Jan 18, 2014)

Can you do a screenshot of your "multiply adjustment layer" from the layers palette and perhaps a small version of the image you're trying to correct? I presume you are adding a layer and switching it to multiply adjustment mode, but the outcome will vary depending on what's on the layer - ie what you are trying to multiply.

Remember that in LR the tone curve has a global effect, while the Basic panel sliders are mostly adaptive - so they apply to certain image areas.

John


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## eschurr (Jan 18, 2014)

sure, and thanks for your help.

here's the original file, untouched:



Here's the file with a multiply layer in PSE11


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## johnbeardy (Jan 19, 2014)

Thanks Eric

OK, so I did understand that you were using a multiply blend mode adjustment layer. Typically Multiply is like moving the whole histogram sharply to the left, but the underlying calculation is literally multiplication and so darkening is not even across all tones. Imagine 99% brightness multiplied by 99% produces 98% whereas 10% brightness multiplied by 10% produces 1%. So bright _tones_ are hardly affected while shadow _tones_ are greatly darkened.

You don't have to worry too much about shadows here - the Mediterranean sun is bouncing into the shadows - so Multiply isn't making them look wrong. Your brighter tones are getting enough of a darkening to make the detail more obvious.

In Lightroom I would start with Highlights, probably dragging it all the way to the left and making detail more obvious in the brighter _areas_ (notice that in LR I'm tackling areas rather than a tonal range). That might be combined with reducing Exposure, maybe Shadows. So we're mimicking what Multiply does, though darkening the brighter areas rather than all the picture's bright tones, and doing the same to shadow areas as Multiply did to shadow tones.

If you want to try with the Tone Curve, which is always my last resort, a point curve like this might work. It's probably darkening brighter _tones_ more than Multiply would do, and you could darken the shadows more than I've done.  



Hope that helps.

John


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## eschurr (Jan 20, 2014)

Thanks for your instructive and helpful reply.  I learned a little about PS Multiply adjustment layers.  Sounds like you know your stuff!

I tried the approach you describe but it's not working very well for me.  Dropping the highlights all the way down makes the picture look flat and gray.  I tried lowering (increasing) the blacks, increasing clarity, and using the tone curve, but none of it produces the effect as the PS Multiply adjustment layer.

So, you might say, "just use the PS layer." I certainly could.  But i really prefer to stay in LR for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is the speed of making the changes as well as the non-destructive nature of the edits.


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## Jimmsp (Jan 20, 2014)

Eric,
I downloaded your original. I think I can get pretty close to what you want by adjusting exposure, et al, along with a small curve adjustment

to get

It looks pretty close, perhaps not as dark, to the PS file on my monitor. I'm sure if I put them side by side (in Develop) I could get closer.
Jim


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## johnbeardy (Jan 20, 2014)

eschurr said:


> Thanks for your instructive and helpful reply.  I learned a little about PS Multiply adjustment layers.



I wrote a book on blending modes and worked out the calculation of every mode - the publisher preferred pictures and dropped those pages!

John


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## eschurr (Jan 26, 2014)

Jimmsp said:


> Eric,
> I downloaded your original. I think I can get pretty close to what you want by adjusting exposure, et al, along with a small curve adjustment
> View attachment 4399
> to get
> ...


wow.  you're did a darn good job.  Did you use the TAT when you did the curve or just adjust each slider?


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## Jimmsp (Jan 27, 2014)

Eric - re curve, I just used the simple point curve. I adjusted each slider. From highlights to shadows, the curve is : -15, -9, 22, 24. I did not play a lot, just tried to get it close to yours. If this were my shot, I'd have brought out some local shadows a bit more using the adjustment brush.


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