Video - The Adjustment Brush Color Swatch
I've got another video up that goes over an area I struggled with until recently. That little color swatch in the Adjustment Brush tool (in LR 2 only), always acted kinda weird for me. Then I sat down and had a talk with it and said "Listen here color swatch thingee, we need to have a talk..." - kidding. I did sit down one afternoon and start messing around with it at extreme settings and it was then I figured out what was going on behind the scenes and I'm able to get more predictable results from it.
Well I hope you have a great weekend. The Bucs have a bye week here in Tampa Bay so I guess I'll actually have to get the lawn mower out and cut the grass this Sunday but I'll be in front of the TV in spirit :) See ya!
Get your weekly dose of the coolest Adobe® Lightroom tutorials, tips, time-saving shortcuts, photographic inspiration, and undocumented tricks with Matt Kloskowski from 
November 12th, 2008 at 1:02 am
I think this might be the most helpful video you’ve ever made.
Seriously, what an insight, thank you for simplifying this so much. You rock.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:24 am
@swankFoto: thanks a million!…that tip works (in the official release as well)!
And I’d like to second Paul Barcewicz: I remember the time when software came with a manual, in paper… I’d understand that for all kinds of reasons (printing and shipping costs, ecology etc) a printed version would be replaced by an electronic one (PDF), but right now all we have is a sometimes very limited “Help” web site.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:30 am
Sandra I use iTunes for PC there is also a freeware called VLC that works well too.
November 16th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Great video! When I first noticed that color swatch I used it to fix a weird color cast in my image.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Hey Matt, Great video!!
It’s such a coincidence that I was talking with a friend of mine about the same thing demonstrated in this video.
We’re equally baffle by the sharpness control on the brush adjustment. Why does it have color under it and how does it work.
Any chance of a video tutorial for that one?
Thanks again for the great BLOG!!
November 19th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Hi Matt,
Couldn’t find your e-mail so let’s try it this way. Using the brush in Lightroom made me think for another effect.
I want to make a black and white image and brush a detail back into the original color. It’s like in PS using 2 layers. Top BW and under that the original. Then mask out the part what you want in color.
So for instance I have a couple with a flower. I ant everything black and white except the flower.
How do I do that?!?
I really hope you read my question. It’s often asked over here but I can’t figure t out.
Stef
info@stefansegers.nl
http://www.stefansegers.nl
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Thanks great tip. Only complaint(no it’s not about slow brush), check your adjustments on audio so that yhou do not pick up the lip smacks.
December 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Please Lightroom development department –
Please add a skin tone picker similar to the one in Capture One Pro 4. Even Adobe Elements has a skin tone corrector. You would think this would be one of the first tools they would add to a new version. but maybe they’re getting advice from Canon’s R&D department.
December 16th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
@ Khuram Malik: I just saw a tutorial in which the color swatch was used to blend in a little orange on a woman’s face to simulate the effect of a particular light gel. In this case blending the colors was exactly what was desired.
@ Stefan Segers: I haven’t tried it yet, but I suppose you could use a desaturation brush and then erase over the part you want in color. But I don’t know how you’d gain control of the “Grayscale Mix” settings that way.
@ Paul Barcewicz: It’s not much in terms of instructions, but there is http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/2.0/
January 8th, 2009 at 1:35 am
@Joe
I totally agree! A color temperature option would be a fantastic update to the brush!
haha I thought I was the only on who thought that… I was actually really surprised when I saw that they didn’t already have it included.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 am
@ Joe and Clayton
So by just using the color swatch option, that’s not really useful as far as correcting the color temperature goes??
let’s say when I took the photo, I used flash and the indoor lights were all tungsten, but I forgot to use gel, the Color Swatch option wouldn’t help me to correct the color??
ie. the white shirt is always bluer than the tungsten, so wouldn’t it help if I add the orange/yellow color to the shirt to take away some of the blue tint?
February 4th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Hi Matt,
What if you want to replace the color of an object with black? Maybe this is just too easy, but I’ve looked and looked and don’t see it. Do you use a -100 exposure? Anyway, if there is another way, please let me know. Thanks for your time, and keep up the excellent work.
March 30th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I use it for changning temp on mixed lighted walls on interiors for instance.
Problems accure with the accuracy of the auto function though. If the room is lit by window light and has a wooden floor, the whole room will be allmost totally orange and the auto function starts to fail. I paint big areas and erase back the small ones. Works ok.
I wouldn´t use this for demanding costumors and nether should any one else.
I miss recovery as an option on the brush, what say you?