Ever print an image that looked perfect on your screen—but came out too dark, too flat, or with weird color shifts? That's because your screen and your paper don't speak the same language. The solution: soft proofing.
In Lightroom or Photoshop, you can preview how your image will look on a specific paper and printer. Turn on Soft Proofing (in Lightroom's Develop module or under View > Proof Setup in Photoshop), load the right ICC profile for your paper/printer combo, and check "Simulate Paper Color." This lets you make targeted adjustments before printing—especially important for matte papers, which tend to dull highlights and drop shadow detail.
Next-Level Tip: Add Output Sharpening
Even the sharpest images can look a bit soft in print. Ink bleeds slightly when it hits paper—especially with fine art matte stocks. That's where output sharpening comes in.
In Lightroom, set it during export or in the Print module—pick the paper type and use "Standard" or "High" sharpening. In Photoshop, sharpen manually after resizing with Unsharp Mask. Try Amount 150%, Radius 0.8, Threshold 2 as a starting point. It'll vary depending on print size and paper, but this gets you close.
Print a small section first. View it under real light. Adjust from there. Printing isn't magic—it's a controlled experiment.
The video introduces the Point Color tool in Lightroom, highlighting it as a powerful yet underutilized feature for photo editing (0:10).
Here's a summary of its key aspects:
Location and Comparison The Point Color tool is found within the "Color Mixer" section (1:09). While similar to the Color Mixer, Point Color offers more precise control (1:20). The Color Mixer is limited to eight color bands (1:47), making it difficult to isolate specific colors without affecting similar tones elsewhere in the photo (2:01).
Precision and Control Point Color allows users to directly select a specific color from the image (2:30). It provides sliders for Hue, Saturation, and Luminance shifts, similar to the Color Mixer (2:56).
Visualize Range A crucial feature is "Visualize Range," which displays only the selected color in full color, turning other areas black and white (3:20). This helps users refine their selection by adjusting the saturation, luminance, and hue ranges to include or exclude specific tones (3:42).
Practical Application The tool's power is demonstrated by changing the color of a red dress without affecting the model's skin tones, which also contain red hues (4:49). This is a task that is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with the traditional Color Mixer tool (5:08).
Multiple Color Selection Users can select and adjust multiple colors within a single image, adding a new "swatch" for each desired color (7:17).