I’ve made no secret of the fact that I like Velvia. From Bold Color to Vivid Color, and many abandoned recipes along the way, I’ve used this one quite a bit. I always boost the saturation to +4 when I create a recipe. I decided to try something different, this time.
Muted Color is based on Velvia, but with the saturation reduced to -4. This gives me the palette but in a more easily controlled way. One issue I frequently encounter in my pictures is clipped blues. Life under the subtropical ridge, whether at home in Southeast Texas or the deserts of Southwest Texas, means I frequently have bright days with clear, or mostly clear, skies. The blue in the skies is frequently clipped in the highlights, and if the clipping is too severe, I wind up with a very unnatural-looking sky, and not in an aesthetically pleasing way. The problem is compounded by increasing the saturation. Furthermore, I usually boost the blues in the white balance settings. I like vivid skies (and water, when at the beach).
Muted Color doesn’t adjust the blue; the Velvia palette quickly takes on different hues that I don’t like when I reduce the blue. That helps a little, but reducing the saturation is more beneficial.
I posted this image in my Pro Color recipe, so I thought I would use it as an example here to illustrate the differences between these two desaturated recipes.
I’m not sure this will be a long-term member of my current rotation; I still would like to create another B&W recipe to complement my Cleancros recipe. If I am able to create one that I would like, it is probably going to be this or Pro Color that gets replaced.
Here is the album for the full set of examples:
Muted Color Film Simulation: Velvia White Balance: Auto R: +2 B: 0 Dynamic Range: Shoot in DR-P Strong, adjust using in-camera conversion or Raw Studio Highlights: - (Adjust using in-camera conversion or Raw Studio) Shadows: - (Adjust using in-camera conversion or Raw Studio) Color: -4 Sharpness: +2 Noise reduction: -3 Grain Effect: Weak CC Effect: Strong ISO: Auto Exp. Compensation: as-needed
This recipe is licensed: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)