Dialing in pop with contrast equalizer

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Local contrast is adds “Umami” for a lot of photos. I like using the “local contrast” module but its display referred nature means that is often messes with highlights and shadows in ways I’d like to avoid. While I like the results of Diffuse or Sharpen I find it unwieldy to use (and my CPU and GPU agree).

I wanted to share a little workflow for contrast equalizer I set up:

Create a new preset based on the “clarity” preset but with “Mix” dialed down to 0.25%. Add a keyboard shortcut for nn to apply this preset. Set n+scroll to modify the “mix”.

This way I can easily plop on some pop with nn and then dial it in with the mouse wheel.

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I often use two attempts. First I push the coarse luma up just a touch. Then a second instance where I add sharpen dialed down to about 4. If needed I include denoise. These settings just work for me.