Rendering 32-bit files, ACR / Lightroom?

Started by RRIS, October 30, 2019, 01:23:22 AM

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RRIS

I can't believe it's taken me this long to catch on to the fact that 32-bit files offer so much more possibilities to edit stuff like burned highlights or local contrast.. Normally I render product shots, but nowadays we're using more and more modeled environments to show real-world applications. I'm looking for some workflow tips, since I'm not too well versed in the finer details of floating points and all that.

I used to use ACR or Lightroom to edit my photos, I wonder if there's a way to do the same with these renders?
I rendered some 32-bit PSD's, but funnily enough my Adobe CS6 couldn't open them (CC on a coworkers station was fine though). I had a someone convert them to TIF for me, then convert them to 8-bit images with some local adaption tweaks (mainly the curves to fix burned highlights).

What kind files offer the best results (TIFF / EXR?) and what kind of workflow do you guys use? Any tips for maximum flexibility / least headaches?

RRIS

Alright, I get that this isn't the sexiest topic perhaps, but anyone feel like throwing in some tips anyway?

I now render 32-bit tif files and then switch to 8-bit in Photoshop.. then just mess around with the curves and such using the Local Adaption method.

One thing I've noticed is that when you render interiors as normal 8-bit files, you can get away with using an emissive plane outside your window, set it to 1.5 (so it's nice and white) and then use a bunch of lights inside that are way stronger than that.. both will come out as white in your render and all is well.
Now with in 32-bit, those same emissive planes are now dark gray while the lights in the interior are still hot... so perhaps the regular tricks don't work with these files. Or, I need to create multiple exposures and start stacking them in Photoshop?

Eugen Fetsch

:) not the sexiest and maybe more for the hard core geeks/nerds too?

I do all my final renders in 32-bit, but have found that PS is not the best software for those files. Many filters and adjustments are not available in 32 bit. So I ended up doing 90% of compositing work (stills & animation) in Blackmagic Fusion. It has native 32-bit file support and the amazing non destructive node based workflow. PS is left for some light painting / retouching after 8-bit conversion and AE for the plug-ins, like lens flares and call-out bundles I've bought in the past.
Fact is, that you need a high bit range monitor and an appropriate GPU (like Quadro) to see the spectrum of those HDR files. Hardware can knock you out here. NVIDIA enabled the 10-bit range in the newer consumer GTX and RTX cards in the Studio driver. Check it out on the net.
I have two hardware calibrated monitors for color grading - one for 100% Adobe RGB and one for 100% Rec.709. with 14-bit range. I'm not far deep into the tech part of it, bu I can see a noticeable difference between my old 8-bit monitor and the new models.
What I've learned from printing is that the true white, that we perceive to be white on our monitors, is not "the white" in print. We are tricked by our view and see the more cool monitor white as "the white".
Color Grading is a very deep and nerdy topic IMO. Talking to a developer on a conference can blow your mind on the complexity of this topic.

There is a lot of information on YouTube on this topic:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=32-bit+workflow


RRIS

Thanks for the help! I love a good nerd-out from time to time, so I'll keep this bookmarked for the holidays. As for GPU's, I'm using a Quadro P2000 here, so I miiiight be good in that respect.
I get the feeling that this is something worthwhile to spend some time on (as for money, I'll have to convince my employer ;) ).
As for what kickstarted all this... I was watching a few Blender events and this came up, you might find it a fun watch (and I love how Keyshot has no issues with nurbs surfaces, unlike Blender... no need for Maya just to convert stuff to polygons ;) ):

Kiska use the 32-bit workflow to quite spectacular results (ok, they also spend a spectacular amount of time on each image).

Eugen Fetsch

uuhhh ... Cryptomatte  :-* - love it.
The KTM talk shows almost my workflow, with some exceptions...
- I use KeyShot instead of Maya to convert CAD data to FBX
- I use Fusion instead of Nuke for compositing. Nuke is just too expensive for me.
Main bottleneck is the single core FBX import in Blender. Sometimes it takes hours to import big models. But file linking in Blender works really great and saves you a ton of disk space on such projects. Would love to have such feature in KS.