Today’s Question: Regarding the Whites and Blacks adjustments in Lightroom Classic, is there any need to use the clipping preview option you mentioned when adjusting an image that has very low contrast?
Tim’s Quick Answer: As long as it is clear from the image preview or histogram that there is no risk of clipping the highlights or shadows, there’s no need to use the clipping preview feature while applying adjustments. However, I still recommend at least reviewing the clipping preview to confirm none is present.
More Detail: If an image is properly exposed and of relatively low contrast, and you don’t intend to adjust the image to exhibit strong contrast, there may not be any real benefit to using the clipping preview feature. However, I do recommend at least a quick check just to be sure there isn’t any clipping in the image.
For a somewhat typical image, it is common to want the brightest pixels to be white (or nearly so) and to want the darkest pixels to be black (or nearly so). Using the clipping preview, such as by holding the Alt/Option key while adjusting the sliders for the basic tonal adjustments, enables you to ensure you aren’t introducing problematic clipping with your adjustments.
With a low-contrast image there is much less risk of clipping, and so it would be reasonable to not use the clipping preview feature for those images. I still prefer, however, to at least quickly check for any clipping by holding the Alt/Option key while dragging the slider for Whites and Blacks.
Ultimately, with a low-contrast image that doesn’t have any risk of clipping based on the intended adjustments, it is perfectly reasonable to apply those adjustments based solely on a visual evaluation of the image, without using the clipping preview feature.
