[FredSpencer]

Terry,

Thanks for your tip.

I have tried it with Emma (the sample shot when you open PP). I reset absolutely everything to zero but was interested to see that there was a difference in the before and after shots still. The after was a bit flatter and had lost the reddish colour of the original. Using your starting point I made adjustments to get it to my liking. I then did a sample starting from the default and again adjusted to my liking. I saved both of these and a copy of the default shot with no changes at all and compared them all side by side. I found I preferred the shot starting from default with my adjustments added but only because I had made better alterations to the lighting/shadows on that one. This was probably because I had made fewer other adjustments than when starting from zero on everything so thought more about other changes that could be made. If I could go back and set the same lighting/shadows changes to the zero original shot I think I might well prefer it. If nothing else I think it shows that practice is necessary to master all the controls. I also felt that the default shot unaltered wasn't bad either. I would think, for those that need quick proof shots, the default could be used as is and altered later to the taste of clients.

It's all very interesting and I hope others will join in on this thread. Onced again thanks for contributing.