4th and Garfield

[snivlem]

can you explain more about the clamping part and referencing, i am also really interested in this workflow

So what I do is this;

1) Render it out 32bit exr (can be linear or rein-hard with a high value, it doesn't HAVE to be a full linear image but it will give so much more flexibility than just rendering to 16bit and clamped)
2) Load this 32bit exr into PS and turn it into a smart object
3) Tonemap it with either PS' native tools or a plugin like ArionFX and get the levels looking pretty good
4) Save this as a PSD on your HDD
5) Create a new PS document at the same resolution and make it 16bit
6) In that same document Go File > Place Linked and select the 32bit PSD file created earlier

So this way it's basically a 32bit useable file in Phothosp that is non destructive editing and you get all the PS tools to play with. If you need to majorly adjust the exposure or highlights you just change the 32bit file and update the 16bit PSD. No loss. This solution works really well on really contrasted scenes like interiors. It may be overkill for exteriors but it's still nice to use anyway. You can also get sweet lens flares with something like ArionFX because it has the full 32bit info there and it's never baked in and it's always adjustable. Saves on re-renders if a material ends up being overexposed or underexposed because you just tonemap the 32bit image, save it and then reload it in the 16bit PS document.

It works quite well on extreme dynamic range scenes.

[mitviz]

So what I do is this;

1) Render it out 32bit exr (can be linear or rein-hard with a high value, it doesn't HAVE to be a full linear image but it will give so much more flexibility than just rendering to 16bit and clamped)
2) Load this 32bit exr into PS and turn it into a smart object
3) Tonemap it with either PS' native tools or a plugin like ArionFX and get the levels looking pretty good
4) Save this as a PSD on your HDD
5) Create a new PS document at the same resolution and make it 16bit
6) In that same document Go File > Place Linked and select the 32bit PSD file created earlier

So this way it's basically a 32bit useable file in Phothosp that is non destructive editing and you get all the PS tools to play with. If you need to majorly adjust the exposure or highlights you just change the 32bit file and update the 16bit PSD. No loss. This solution works really well on really contrasted scenes like interiors. It may be overkill for exteriors but it's still nice to use anyway. You can also get sweet lens flares with something like ArionFX because it has the full 32bit info there and it's never baked in and it's always adjustable. Saves on re-renders if a material ends up being overexposed or underexposed because you just tonemap the 32bit image, save it and then reload it in the 16bit PS document.

It works quite well on extreme dynamic range scenes.

nice! thanks for taking the time to explain!