Capture One Express (For Sony) | Performing Essential Adjustments

Get an overview of the essential image adjustment tools in Capture One Express (for Sony), such as Exposure, High Dynamic Range, White Balance, Levels, Curves, Clarity and the Color Editor.

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Capture One Express (for Sony) offers a variety of essential
image adjustment tools that used together can correct
images in a simple way or even create great effects.
These tools can be found by clicking through the various tool tabs.
The most basic correction tools are found in the Exposure tool tab.
These are, Exposure, High Dynamic Range, Levels and Curves
White Balance is found in the Color Tool Tab along with the extremely
powerful Color Editor and a tool specifically to convert
your images to Black and White.
White balance can be set in a few different ways,
either by manually setting Kelvin and Tint values,
using a preset or picking a neutral tone in the image.
To set the white balance manually, drag the Kelvin and Tint sliders.
To set the white balance with a preset, choose one of the available
options in the ‘Mode’ pull down menu.
The ‘Shot’ option will be the values that were set by your camera
at time of capture.
To set the white balance based on a reference in the image,
select the ‘Pick White Balance’ cursor tool.
Then click on a neutral area of the image, or a grey reference target.
The Exposure tool contains the commonly known sliders of Exposure,
Contrast, Brightness and Saturation.
Incorrect exposure can be adjusted by dragging the slider
to the right or left to compensate.
Contrast, Brightness and Saturation can be adjusted in a similar way.
The Saturation slider is based on an intelligent mode of operation
where already saturated colours receive less treatment than lower saturated colours.
This avoids over saturation of the image.
The HDR tool allows great control over the density
of the shadows and highlight detail.
Simply by using two sliders we can often create results
that normally would have required more than one exposure.
First by dragging the highlight slider to the right,
we can control the density of the highlights,
without affecting the mid tones or shadows of the image.
In this case we can see the detail returning to the highlight areas.
Next use the Shadow slider to brighten the darker parts
of the image, now without affecting the mid tones or the highlights.
The Levels tool is capable of adjusting contrast, brightness and tonal range.
The Levels tool has three adjustments, Black Point, White Point and Midtones.
The position of these sliders redefines the input levels
so they are mapped to the output levels, shown at the top of the Levels tool.
The midtone slider brightens or darkens the midtones.
Also in this tab is a Curve tool which works in a similar way
to many other applications.
The Color Editor is an extremely powerful tool enabling
precise color changes to an image.
Start by selecting the 'Color Correction' picker.
Click on the color of the image in the viewer you wish to edit.
The color wheel is split into six different adjustable sections.
A circle will appear on the color wheel designating the selected color tone.
Each section can be narrowed down or expanded.
Effectively increasing or decreasing the color range to be effected.
To verify exactly what colors in the image will be effected,
check the ‘View Selected Color Range’ box.
Any part of the image that will not be adjusted will be shown as black and white.
The mode can be left on as the range is adjusted to get a very
precise idea of what colors are part of the selection.
When you are happy with the selection, turn off the color range
selection and adjust the parameters.
Smoothness indicates how far in the color spectrum the adjustment
will be applied and how smooth the transition will be.
This ensures that selectively changed colors get a natural look.
The thin black line indicates where the smoothness effect ends.
Use Hue rotation to change the color.
Increase or decrease the saturation.
Use Lightness to change the density.
To add further color changes, use the picker again and adjust.
Individual changes can be previewed by unchecking
and checking the individual adjustments.
The Details tool tab contains common tools, such as
Noise Reduction and Sharpening, as well as the Clarity and Spot Removal tools.
Adding Clarity to an image is a popular method of giving
an image more punch and contrast.
There are four Clarity methods,
‘Natural’, ’Punch’, ‘Neutral’ and 'Classic'.
Any selected Clarity method will have an effect on the mid tone micro contrast
creating an extremely pleasing effect.
Natural is the default adjustment that creates a subtle change to the clarity and colour,
without over saturation.
The other modes have a slightly different effect of Clarity adjustment.
Moving the ‘Structure’ slider will help to increase the definition of complex
structures, like foliage or textiles, in an image.
The Spot Removal tool can be used to remove two kinds of blemishes.
First decide what kind of blemish you need to remove.
The ‘Dust’ setting is used to remove dust spots on the camera’s sensor.
The Spot setting is used to remove blemishes on the subject itself,
for example skin blemishes.
Select the ‘Remove Spot’ cursor tool from the Spot Removal Tool
or from the cursor toolbar.
Zoom the viewer to 100% for the best view of the spots that need correcting.
Right-click on the image and adjust the radius size of the Spot Removal cursor.
Aim to set the radius a little larger than the spot itself.
Click on the spot to remove it.
If necessary, adjust the radius of the spot after it has been placed.
The process is the same for dust removal.
Note that the cursor has a different appearance.
To edit existing dust removal spots, use the selection
arrows or drop down menu, to move between them.
The type and radius can then be adjusted.
With this combination of powerful tools it is not only possible
to maximise the image potential of your Sony camera,
but also add creative flair to your work.