How to Banish Polarization Blobs When Your Filter Goes Too Far (VIDEO)
The affordable polarizing filter is a favorite accessory among experienced outdoor shooters because of the way it darkens blue skies, improves saturation, and eliminates unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces. All you have to do is turn the rotating ring until you see the effect you desire.
But here’s the problem: if you take things too far, especially with the filter mounted on a wide-angle lens, some really weird banding or blobs can occur in the sky of your images. In this quick tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel you’ll learn two easy Lightroom tricks for banishing this common problem once and for all.
Instructor Christian Mohrle is one of Germany’s most successful landscape photographers, and he’s equally adept when sitting behind the computer. Feel free to follow along by downloading his demonstration Raw file using a link in the description beneath the video.
Mohrle’s edits always begin with a few global adjustments to the photo as a whole, before diving into the masking techniques that selectively enhance specific areas within the frame. He takes this approach today by first targeting the tones. He drops highlights all the way down to reveal more detail, increases whites while paying attention to the histogram, and slightly increases blacks to introduce a somewhat softer look.
Other preliminary modifications include changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Landscape which immediately improves base saturation. The image was captured just dawn, so he plays around with White Balance to emphasize the Golden Light near the top of the frame. Mohrle also boosts Clarity, Texture, and Midtone Contrast for a sharper look.
Now it’s time to confront the pesky polarization banding and Mohrle opens Lightroom’s Masking panel to demonstrate two methods for approaching this important task. One way to remove the unsightly dark area at the top of the photo is to darken top portion of the sky to bring it in line with the offensive polarization blob. Alternatively, you can accomplish the same fix by lightening the banding itself. Both techniques are effective, but Mohrle explains why he prefers taking the first approach.
Once he addresses the main problem Mohrle employs other masks to further refine the image. The transformation concludes with thoughtful color grading, very cautious sharpening, and a bit of final cleanup. Bottom line: This is a quick-and-easy solution that’s simple enough for Lightroom users of all skill levels.
There’s much more to learn about shooting and editing landscape images on the instructional PHLOG Photography YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.
And don’t miss the tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how he stores and backs up his photographs to keep them secure and easy to find.
