Great video, important basics of the panel for editing milky way images. And most of Astro photographers doesn't know it, but its very powerful and with some years of experience, one can find a lot more possibilities to use it :) another great trick for clarity which I have found myself : use the same lights blue mask as you used for the clarity adjustment, but instead of a clarity layer, output it as a pixel layer, and set the blending mode to luminosity. It creates way more finde details, you definitely have to decrease the oppassity :D cheers Lukas
That is a great tip Lukas! Thanks for sharing it. If I get enough additional ideas like that maybe I'll make a follow up to this video. I agree that there are many more uses for TKActions/Luminosity masks with astrophotography for the crafty photographer who takes the time to experiment and try different things. :-)
When I'm editing the next milky way shot, I will make some notes how I've used the tkatctions panel as addition, and write you an email :) Because just in the moment, I wouldn't have an concrete answert, I always use it how I use it, without thinking about why or whatever, you know what I mean :-D its automatically...
Hi Sean, I have made a look at my finished milky way shots, and would have the following contents for a 2nd video of how to use tka for milky way editing :) - Dodging with different blending modes, this is one of the main things for my milky way shots, especially you can be really creative with it. 1st with screen as you showed it in the video, but I also use soft light in combination with a wider mask (inverted lights 2) to emphasize the glow from the stars around the milky way, and I always use a bit of color (color picker), I never dodge with pure white. and I also use hard light for some bigger stars to bring out the glow of the star itself. most of time I end up with 5-7 dodge layers. - orton effect and make it glow action: this is to use with passion, but in many cases at makes a better overall mood, but after these two effects, you need a clarity layer without a mask, I set it to soft or hard light to bring back some of the details - lights 1 levels with blending mode soft light, I only use it in the beginning, it doesn’t looks good always, but in many images it creates a fantastic overall sky contrast. Recommended to use the live mode and adjust the mask a bit after changing to soft light. - kill some light pollution with most of the time a red lights 1 or 2 mask, and set it to multiply. than make a hue/saturation with same mask and desaturate it. - darks trippleplay action for contrast and details in the foreground - customized color zone or rgb masks, to create amazing selections for sky and land, to edit them separately. Especially helpful when you have trees against the sky, no chance with PS quick selection tool :) - customized color zone masks to control some color balance problems, which you can get easily when you edit a lot in the sky. Freehand you have no chance to control it that good, than with the mask. I think this were the important and bigger steps, of course one can find even more cases to use it. And here some links to my milky way images, they are all made with a startracker (ioptron skytracker pro) 500px.com/photo/271598063/milky-way-izana-tenerife-by-lukas-zitz?ctx_page=1&from=user&user_id=15631699 500px.com/photo/266155407/milky-way-by-lukas-zitz 500px.com/photo/272283505/teide-milky-way-mars-moon-shooting-star-by-lukas-zitz Cheers Lukas
Thanks for explaining Milky Way editing in simple terms. There’s so many videos out there I get overwhelmed. I’ve a few images to start a fresh this editing method. Thanks!
another solid video. Especially the noise reduction technique. Have done similar for a few years, but not using the action panel. Still getting used to the action panel. Much to fine tune. Solid videos Sean. Very informative, and easy to follow for many viewers I am sure!
Sean! Thank you very helpful. Just seeing you go thru the process of targeting was the most eye-opening. Often when I've processing MW, while targeting the stars is important I find targeting the rest of the sky vastly more critical- in such of getting the sky dark or darker to 'highlight' the stars gives a more natural contrast to both....and seeing your targeting just gave me so many more options to do just that! Thank you
That was a great video...really learned a few things that I can also apply to other images. I've been using Lumenzia for about six months, and decided to give TK7 a try as well. Still going through a learning curve, but I've been using some of Tony's older actions for quite a while so it's been a little easier going. Your instructional approach is by far one of the best I've seen.
Give it a try. Nothing wrong with experimenting. The color masks select by color and not brightness, so the mask you get will depend on what the colors are, where they are and how saturated they are.
Sean, at the end, why don't you compute the darks mask from the original smart object, where the stars are sharper, and apply it to the duplicate (sharpened) smart object?
As you mentioned the trade-off between raising the ISO or the exposure in post, I can't help but to add to this, Sean. It is worth investigating how your own camera handles under low light. I've found some interesting results in comparing exposures at different ISO values with my own Nikon D750. It turns out that it's not just noise that's affected by your choice of either boosting ISO or doing it in Lightroom. In modern Nikon cameras equipped with Sony sensors, dynamic range suffers by increasing ISO. But it does not if you raise the exposure during post-processing. Furthermore, the white balance changes over various ISO settings, what's very strange in my opinion. There's something to be said to having it right in camera (actually seeing the Milky Way on the back of your camera), but if the results are better in post, you could do worse than underexposing through a lower ISO. Make sure you test your own camera before committing. If you're interested, the entire article can be read here: fstoppers.com/landscapes/iso-review-capture-night-sky-iso-less-nikon-d750-144755
Laanscapes thanks for that great input. I suspected as much and came to a similar conclusion on my own...which is why I think I underexposed the shot in the video. It has been a while since I photographed at night and I tend to forget things quickly these days. 🤣😁
Haha. Not to worry. From what I've gathered though, is that the exception to the rule are Canon sensors. Expose for the highlights with those cameras as you're used to, because it doesn't add much (if any) benefit if you underexpose your images and bring it up in post. That has to do with how ISO is handled in the camera. Not my own information, but have read this somewhere before. Probably ClarkVision: www.clarkvision.com/articles
Sean great video. Any chance you could do the Photoshop part using the new TK7 panel? I am having trouble applying these techniques using the new panel.
Hi John. The TK6 and TK7 layouts are really similar, so the process is essentially the same with the two. What parts are you specifically having trouble translating? My guess is I could point you in the right direction pretty quickly. Feel free to email me if you want (sean@outdoorexposurephoto.com).
@@SeanBagshaw Thanks for getting back with me. I was having trouble applying the Dodge and burn layers. My dodge layer was bleeding over to the darker areas. Some of the problems could have been I was using a hard brush. My paint was leaving very hard edges. Once I switched to a softer brush it worked much better. I added a blur filter to my dodge filter and that really blended nicely. I have used NIK D-noise but applying a mask to it using the TK7 panel and have even tried using Topaz the same way. The method you presented in this video seems to work nicely. As always your videos are the best and most instructive.
@@JohnGilbert49 Awesome! I'm glad you are trying different things and finding various solutions and methods that are working for you. Being able to experiment like that is a big piece of the game. Using luminosity masks to control NIK or Topaz layers is a great idea!
Sean, great tutorial, this will come into a lot of use. I’ve taken several Milky Way photos and would like to share with you some of my techniques that capture more detail and color especially in the nebula regions. I shoot with a modified camera that shoots more toward the upper wave lengths of light. Also have the camera on a mount that tracks with the rotation of the earth enabling longer exposure at lower ISO. With the particular mount I have, I can take vertical panoramas from the horizon all the way up through the North American nebula. Let me know if your interested in hearing more.
Thanks Dave! Yes...I am aware that a modified camera and a tracking mount makes it possible to capture even better night sky images. The ability to use longer shutter speeds with lower ISO settings makes for some super crisp images I bet. Also, not needing to open the aperture up completely probably gives better image clarity too? I don't do a lot of night sky photography myself (I have a hard time staying awake at night 😆) so I don't see myself ever modifying a camera or getting a rotating mount. But I'd love to see more of your photos and I'm sure plenty of people would love to learn more about your techniques if you want to post them here or let people know how to contact you.
Sean, I applied this technique and it sure made a huge difference to a photo I took a couple of years ago. I’ll email you via your website and share more information with you. Let me know how I can get a photo to you.
Glad the tips worked for you as well! Just ping me on my site and when I reply we'll be on an email thread and you can send me a photo. www.outdoorexposurephoto.com See Steve Miller's comment above. He'd like to see what you are up to as well.
Steve Miller , good to see you have an interest in this topic, glad to share with you what I and a friend of mine have come up with. Send me you email address and I’ll include you in the discussion with Sean.
Why selecting the luminosity for painting and not use it as a mask? Would it give different results if one would doge/burn with a mask rather than a selection?
A quick edit of an older image from an X-T1 just following along with Sean in the video. Really popped the contrast with the dust lanes. Spanish Peaks CO. adobe.ly/2EOJnFo
Superb video. However, for some reason, if I open a photo from Lightroom in PS as Smart Object (following your steps), it works strange. When I click on Composite, nothing happens. But, if I do the changes in Adobe Camera Raw instead of Lightroom and open it in PS, converting it to Smart Object and than start following your tutorial, it works. Or if I save the processed file from Lightroom to PSD file, open it in PS, convert it to Smart Object, it works. But something strange is happening on the way from Ligtroom to PS :-/
For some reason my background copy isn't opening up in Camera raw. It opens the copy in another tab in photoshop, and I can't find the detail panel. I have Photoshop CC.
Did you open originally as a Smart Object from Lr? If not, then that could be the issue. Either way, instead, try clicking on the background copy layer and then going to Filter>Camera Raw Filter or just clicking the purple ACR button in the V6 panel if you use that.
Great video, important basics of the panel for editing milky way images. And most of Astro photographers doesn't know it, but its very powerful and with some years of experience, one can find a lot more possibilities to use it :) another great trick for clarity which I have found myself : use the same lights blue mask as you used for the clarity adjustment, but instead of a clarity layer, output it as a pixel layer, and set the blending mode to luminosity. It creates way more finde details, you definitely have to decrease the oppassity :D cheers Lukas
That is a great tip Lukas! Thanks for sharing it. If I get enough additional ideas like that maybe I'll make a follow up to this video. I agree that there are many more uses for TKActions/Luminosity masks with astrophotography for the crafty photographer who takes the time to experiment and try different things. :-)
When I'm editing the next milky way shot, I will make some notes how I've used the tkatctions panel as addition, and write you an email :) Because just in the moment, I wouldn't have an concrete answert, I always use it how I use it, without thinking about why or whatever, you know what I mean :-D its automatically...
Ha! I know exactly what you mean. Me too.
Hi Sean,
I have made a look at my finished milky way shots, and would have the following contents for a 2nd video of how to use tka for milky way editing :)
- Dodging with different blending modes, this is one of the main things for my milky way shots, especially you can be really creative with it. 1st with screen as you showed it in the video, but I also use soft light in combination with a wider mask (inverted lights 2) to emphasize the glow from the stars around the milky way, and I always use a bit of color (color picker), I never dodge with pure white. and I also use hard light for some bigger stars to bring out the glow of the star itself. most of time I end up with 5-7 dodge layers.
- orton effect and make it glow action: this is to use with passion, but in many cases at makes a better overall mood, but after these two effects, you need a clarity layer without a mask, I set it to soft or hard light to bring back some of the details
- lights 1 levels with blending mode soft light, I only use it in the beginning, it doesn’t looks good always, but in many images it creates a fantastic overall sky contrast. Recommended to use the live mode and adjust the mask a bit after changing to soft light.
- kill some light pollution with most of the time a red lights 1 or 2 mask, and set it to multiply. than make a hue/saturation with same mask and desaturate it.
- darks trippleplay action for contrast and details in the foreground
- customized color zone or rgb masks, to create amazing selections for sky and land, to edit them separately. Especially helpful when you have trees against the sky, no chance with PS quick selection tool :)
- customized color zone masks to control some color balance problems, which you can get easily when you edit a lot in the sky. Freehand you have no chance to control it that good, than with the mask.
I think this were the important and bigger steps, of course one can find even more cases to use it.
And here some links to my milky way images, they are all made with a startracker (ioptron skytracker pro)
500px.com/photo/271598063/milky-way-izana-tenerife-by-lukas-zitz?ctx_page=1&from=user&user_id=15631699
500px.com/photo/266155407/milky-way-by-lukas-zitz
500px.com/photo/272283505/teide-milky-way-mars-moon-shooting-star-by-lukas-zitz
Cheers Lukas
Thanks for explaining Milky Way editing in simple terms. There’s so many videos out there I get overwhelmed. I’ve a few images to start a fresh this editing method. Thanks!
you have quickly become my favorite photo channel!
Such an awesome video with a lot of cool tips using Luminosity Masks. Great job, Sean.
This is the best milky way editing tutorial I've come across thusfar on the internet. Great job!
another solid video. Especially the noise reduction technique. Have done similar for a few years, but not using the action panel. Still getting used to the action panel. Much to fine tune. Solid videos Sean. Very informative, and easy to follow for many viewers I am sure!
I communicated with you a while back on processing milky way images. This is a really Great 21 minutes of instruction! Something in every minute.
Joe McDermott Thanks Joe. Yours was one of the questions that motivated me to make the video! 👍
This is very informative. Can you create a newer video using TK8? I'm trying to follow, but some of the TK feature have been changed and improved.
Thank you, Sean. Your video is a great boon to my near-nonexistent night sky photography.
Wow, this is awesome, Sean - thanks! Lots of cool tricks here.. and easy to follow.
Sean! Thank you very helpful. Just seeing you go thru the process of targeting was the most eye-opening. Often when I've processing MW, while targeting the stars is important I find targeting the rest of the sky vastly more critical- in such of getting the sky dark or darker to 'highlight' the stars gives a more natural contrast to both....and seeing your targeting just gave me so many more options to do just that! Thank you
MrMetelhead That’s awesome! So glad it was helpful for you.
Nice tutorials. I recently bought tk actions and your tutorials and my photography got better. 🙏🙏
Nice tutorial Sean.
Excellent video Sean...
That was a great video...really learned a few things that I can also apply to other images. I've been using Lumenzia for about six months, and decided to give TK7 a try as well. Still going through a learning curve, but I've been using some of Tony's older actions for quite a while so it's been a little easier going. Your instructional approach is by far one of the best I've seen.
Great tutorial Sean.
Another incredibly usefull video ! Thanks Sean !
Hi Sean - I bought Tk7 and your great tutorials. Could you do this with the color mask?
Give it a try. Nothing wrong with experimenting. The color masks select by color and not brightness, so the mask you get will depend on what the colors are, where they are and how saturated they are.
Sean, at the end, why don't you compute the darks mask from the original smart object, where the stars are sharper, and apply it to the duplicate (sharpened) smart object?
Thanks Sean for thouse tips 👍🏻
As you mentioned the trade-off between raising the ISO or the exposure in post, I can't help but to add to this, Sean. It is worth investigating how your own camera handles under low light. I've found some interesting results in comparing exposures at different ISO values with my own Nikon D750. It turns out that it's not just noise that's affected by your choice of either boosting ISO or doing it in Lightroom. In modern Nikon cameras equipped with Sony sensors, dynamic range suffers by increasing ISO. But it does not if you raise the exposure during post-processing. Furthermore, the white balance changes over various ISO settings, what's very strange in my opinion. There's something to be said to having it right in camera (actually seeing the Milky Way on the back of your camera), but if the results are better in post, you could do worse than underexposing through a lower ISO. Make sure you test your own camera before committing. If you're interested, the entire article can be read here: fstoppers.com/landscapes/iso-review-capture-night-sky-iso-less-nikon-d750-144755
Laanscapes thanks for that great input. I suspected as much and came to a similar conclusion on my own...which is why I think I underexposed the shot in the video. It has been a while since I photographed at night and I tend to forget things quickly these days. 🤣😁
Haha. Not to worry. From what I've gathered though, is that the exception to the rule are Canon sensors. Expose for the highlights with those cameras as you're used to, because it doesn't add much (if any) benefit if you underexpose your images and bring it up in post. That has to do with how ISO is handled in the camera. Not my own information, but have read this somewhere before. Probably ClarkVision: www.clarkvision.com/articles
Sean great video. Any chance you could do the Photoshop part using the new TK7 panel? I am having trouble applying these techniques using the new panel.
Hi John. The TK6 and TK7 layouts are really similar, so the process is essentially the same with the two. What parts are you specifically having trouble translating? My guess is I could point you in the right direction pretty quickly. Feel free to email me if you want (sean@outdoorexposurephoto.com).
@@SeanBagshaw Thanks for getting back with me. I was having trouble applying the Dodge and burn layers. My dodge layer was bleeding over to the darker areas. Some of the problems could have been I was using a hard brush. My paint was leaving very hard edges. Once I switched to a softer brush it worked much better. I added a blur filter to my dodge filter and that really blended nicely. I have used NIK D-noise but applying a mask to it using the TK7 panel and have even tried using Topaz the same way. The method you presented in this video seems to work nicely. As always your videos are the best and most instructive.
@@JohnGilbert49 Awesome! I'm glad you are trying different things and finding various solutions and methods that are working for you. Being able to experiment like that is a big piece of the game. Using luminosity masks to control NIK or Topaz layers is a great idea!
very helpful
Thanks Sean!
Sean, great tutorial, this will come into a lot of use. I’ve taken several Milky Way photos and would like to share with you some of my techniques that capture more detail and color especially in the nebula regions. I shoot with a modified camera that shoots more toward the upper wave lengths of light. Also have the camera on a mount that tracks with the rotation of the earth enabling longer exposure at lower ISO. With the particular mount I have, I can take vertical panoramas from the horizon all the way up through the North American nebula. Let me know if your interested in hearing more.
Thanks Dave! Yes...I am aware that a modified camera and a tracking mount makes it possible to capture even better night sky images. The ability to use longer shutter speeds with lower ISO settings makes for some super crisp images I bet. Also, not needing to open the aperture up completely probably gives better image clarity too? I don't do a lot of night sky photography myself (I have a hard time staying awake at night 😆) so I don't see myself ever modifying a camera or getting a rotating mount. But I'd love to see more of your photos and I'm sure plenty of people would love to learn more about your techniques if you want to post them here or let people know how to contact you.
Sean, I applied this technique and it sure made a huge difference to a photo I took a couple of years ago. I’ll email you via your website and share more information with you. Let me know how I can get a photo to you.
I'd also like to see those examples.
Glad the tips worked for you as well! Just ping me on my site and when I reply we'll be on an email thread and you can send me a photo. www.outdoorexposurephoto.com
See Steve Miller's comment above. He'd like to see what you are up to as well.
Steve Miller , good to see you have an interest in this topic, glad to share with you what I and a friend of mine have come up with. Send me you email address and I’ll include you in the discussion with Sean.
Why selecting the luminosity for painting and not use it as a mask? Would it give different results if one would doge/burn with a mask rather than a selection?
It does/can give different results. I get that very question often, so I'm now motivated to make a video showing the differences. Stay tuned. :-D
Thank you sir
A quick edit of an older image from an X-T1 just following along with Sean in the video. Really popped the contrast with the dust lanes. Spanish Peaks CO.
adobe.ly/2EOJnFo
i want a sweatshirt like the one you are wearing! if it is a full zippered front!
lara hartley yeah full zip. Not sure he has them in stock. But you could contact the shop and see.
Superb video. However, for some reason, if I open a photo from Lightroom in PS as Smart Object (following your steps), it works strange. When I click on Composite, nothing happens. But, if I do the changes in Adobe Camera Raw instead of Lightroom and open it in PS, converting it to Smart Object and than start following your tutorial, it works. Or if I save the processed file from Lightroom to PSD file, open it in PS, convert it to Smart Object, it works. But something strange is happening on the way from Ligtroom to PS :-/
That is strange. Not sure what's happening. What if you open it from ACR as a smart object?
@@SeanBagshaw it works OK when opening from ACR as a smart object.
For some reason my background copy isn't opening up in Camera raw. It opens the copy in another tab in photoshop, and I can't find the detail panel. I have Photoshop CC.
Did you open originally as a Smart Object from Lr? If not, then that could be the issue. Either way, instead, try clicking on the background copy layer and then going to Filter>Camera Raw Filter or just clicking the purple ACR button in the V6 panel if you use that.
@@SeanBagshaw That was exactly the problem. Thank you so much!