# Graduated filter



## Bernard (Aug 14, 2016)

I have a simple question, but maybe difficult to explain.
Let's assume I have a horizontal photo, imagine a horizontal axis numbered from 0 (left border) to 200 (right border), so 100 in the middle.
I use a vertical graduated filter, in order to change something in a vertical zone between 50 and 150.
I put the cursor at 50 and drag it to the right to 150. 
And surprise, the mask starts at 0, not at 50 !
Why ? How can I start the mask at (roughly) 50 ?
Thanks for your help,
Bernard


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## Johan Elzenga (Aug 14, 2016)

The mask always starts at one edge, there is no way around that. The graduated filter is like a real graduated filter from companies like Cokin. You can't have a graduated filter that starts somewhere in the middle of an image. That's just not how these things work.


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## Bernard (Aug 14, 2016)

Thanks Johan, your comparison with Cokin filter helps me understand how graduated filter works.
However, the presence of 3 lines is misleading, you would think they show the limits of the mask as written in Victoria's book :
"The outer lines show where the gradient starts and stops"


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## Johan Elzenga (Aug 14, 2016)

They show where *the gradient* starts and stops. The gradient is the area where the opacity goes from 100% to 0%, so on the one side of those lines is a solid color (100% opacity) on the other side you have effectively 0% opacity, just like with a Cokin filter.


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## clee01l (Aug 14, 2016)

JohanElzenga said:


> They show where *the gradient* starts and stops. The gradient is the area where the opacity goes from 100% to 0%, so on the one side of those lines is a solid color (100% opacity) on the other side you have effectively 0% opacity, just like with a Cokin filter.


The line in the middle represents 50% filter.  The pin is on the 50% line.   You can grab the pin and drag the whole filter such the the 50% line is at the edge of the photo or the 100% line is some where off the edge.  By grabbing one of the 100%/0% lines you can widen the transition region.  And by grabbing the center line you can adjust the angle of the filter.


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## Bernard (Aug 14, 2016)

JohanElzenga said:


> They show where *the gradient* starts and stops. The gradient is the area where the opacity goes from 100% to 0%, so on the one side of those lines is a solid color (100% opacity) on the other side you have effectively 0% opacity, just like with a Cokin filter.


The mask is a representation of the gradient, isn't ?
In my above example, what does the vertical line at position 50 represent ?


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## Johan Elzenga (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard said:


> The mask is a representation of the gradient, isn't ?
> In my above example, what does the vertical line at position 50 represent ?



No, the gradient is only part of the mask. Like I said, the gradient is only the part where the opacity of the mask goes from 100% to 0%. The vertical line represents 50%.

Again, think Cokin filter. The gradient is not the entire filter, but only the part where the color goes from 100% to 0%.


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## Victoria Bampton (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard said:


> However, the presence of 3 lines is misleading, you would think they show the limits of the mask as written in Victoria's book :
> "The outer lines show where the gradient starts and stops"



Thanks for the heads-up. I'll find a better way of wording it.


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## Bernard (Aug 14, 2016)

OK, it took me some time, but I've got it now. Thanks all.
My problem was in fact to change a horizontal area in the middle of the photograph, I know now it cannot be done with LR; I will use my favorite Picture Window Pro.


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## clee01l (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard said:


> OK, it took me some time, but I've got it now. Thanks all.
> My problem was in fact to change a horizontal area in the middle of the photograph, I know now it cannot be done with LR; I will use my favorite Picture Window Pro.


Are you trying to do something like this?


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## Bernard (Aug 14, 2016)

clee01l said:


> Are you trying to do something like this?


No, I don't want to do a border with 'feathered' edges.
It's a wildlife photography showing a cheetah hunting gnous. 
My depth of field was too wide to my liking, I wanted to put some emphasis on the cheetah (clarity, detail,..) and to blur the gnous in the background a bit more.


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## clee01l (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard said:


> No, I don't want to do a border with 'feathered' edges.
> It's a wildlife photography showing a cheetah hunting gnous.
> My depth of field was too wide to my liking, I wanted to put some emphasis on the cheetah (clarity, detail,..) and to blur the gnous in the background a bit more.


My example is what you could do with a series of four graduated filters.  The Black area could be any filter. 
I think you would be able to get what you want with a Radial filter  Set the sharpness to -100 and clarity to -100.  Desaturate slightly and adjust the feather.  In this example I set the feather to zero to show the edge of the radial filter.  You will want a smoother transition.


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## Rob_Cullen (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard, I think you could use the Radial Filter for your purpose.
It can be extended way beyond the photo margins to make a graduation that only affects a horizontal ( or vertical, or diagonal) cross-section of the frame.


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## Johan Elzenga (Aug 14, 2016)

Bernard said:


> No, I don't want to do a border with 'feathered' edges.
> It's a wildlife photography showing a cheetah hunting gnous.
> My depth of field was too wide to my liking, I wanted to put some emphasis on the cheetah (clarity, detail,..) and to blur the gnous in the background a bit more.



Two options for that. One is the radial filter, the other one is the adjustment brush. The adjustment brush takes the most time, but you can get the best separation between the animal and the background.


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## Bernard (Aug 15, 2016)

Thanks for your suggestions.
Bernard


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## CalvinHilton (Nov 2, 2016)

Victoria Bampton said:


> Thanks for the heads-up. I'll find a better way of wording it.


I think that will be helpful because none of my other LR books really explain what to expect.  

I think it would be helpful to be able to start somewhere other than the edge.  I know "new feature request".


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## Adagio (Nov 6, 2016)

Bernard said:


> My problem was in fact to change a horizontal area in the middle of the photograph, I know now it cannot be done with LR; I will use my favorite Picture Window Pro.



Can you not achieve the effect you want by first adjust the whole image to the settings you want for the centre and then using 2 graduated filters, one starting at the top the other at the bottom?


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## Johan Elzenga (Nov 6, 2016)

Changing a horizontal area in the middle of the photo is easy. Use the adjustment brush, set the size, uncheck auto mask, hold down the shift key and drag from one side to the opposite side.


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