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Section III Digital Postprocessing
an underexposed image, the same procedure
would be followed, but the
Multiply
blending
mode is selected.
Sometimes, the
Levels
adjustment will
permit you to improve the overall brightness of
the image, but not lighten the shadow areas. This
is where another tool—the
Shadow/Highlight
command—is very useful. It can be accessed by
clicking
Image Adjustments
Shadow/Highlight.
It lightens the darker (shadow) areas of the
image, without affecting the lighter (highlight)
areas. The amount of shadow lightening
is adjustable using a slider control (many
photographers feel the default 50 percent setting
is too light). See Figure 15-25. Highlight areas
can be darkened (but not lightened) using a
separate slider. The
Shadow/Highlight
command
cannot be used as an adjustment layer; however,
it can be applied to a new duplicate background
layer. If the duplicate layer is positioned between
the
Levels
adjustment layer and the
Background
layer, both the levels and the shadow and
highlight changes will be visible.
Adjusting local exposure (burning and dodging)
The processes of increasing exposure
(burning) or decreasing exposure (dodging)
in specific print areas are familiar techniques
to those who have worked in a conventional
darkroom. The techniques are described in some
detail in Chapter 20, Printing Basics.
In the digital darkroom, the same methods
are used for local control of image brightness
and darkness. The toolbox contains a
Burn
tool
and a
Dodge
tool that are used for the same
purposes, and in much the same manner, as their
conventional darkroom counterparts.
Both the
Dodge
and
Burn
tools offer the
option of being applied to the shadows, midtones,
or highlights. The exposure can be controlled by
typing in a value (from 1 to 100) or using a slider
on the options palette, Figure 15-26. For those
who use a pen and graphics tablet, the palette
has check boxes to specify whether pen pressure
will affect exposure or the size of the area being
burned or dodged.
Once the
Dodge
tool or the
Burn
tool is
selected, the size of the tool can be chosen from
the
Brushes
palette. Typically, a soft-edged
brush is used to help blend the effect with
surrounding image areas; brush size depends
on the size of the area being dodged or burned.
For those who use a pen and graphics tablet, the
options bar has an icon to specify whether pen
pressure will affect the size of the brush being
used.
Figure 15-25.
Shadow/Highlight
command. A—This
high-contrast scene was exposed to avoid burning out
the highlights. As a result, the areas of deep shadow
lack detail. B—The
Shadow/Highlight
command opens
up (lightens) the shadow areas to reveal detail, without
affecting the highlight exposure. Note that the
Shadow
Amount
slider has been moved to 30 percent. The
Highlights Amount
has been adjusted to 14 percent to
slightly darken the highlights and make the color a bit
richer.
A
B