ptg Adjustments in Depth 227 Applying the Shadows/Highlights command Shadows/Highlights A is one of our favorite tonal adjustment commands because it provides very tar- geted controls. It adjusts the luminance of each indi- vidual pixel depending on the darkness or lightness of neighboring pixels, and lets you apply corrections to a specic tonal range without overadjusting other areas of the image. e command does a good job of recovering details in the shadows and highlights, making it invaluable for correcting overexposed and underexposed areas, such as subjects that are in shadow due to strong side or back lighting. Shadows/Highlights preserves more pixels in each tonal range than Levels and Curves, which can be conrmed by studying the Histogram panel before and after applying the command to an image. B And because Shadows/Highlights lets you pinpoint the tonal ranges to be corrected, you won’t have to use multiple adjustment layers and layer masks to limit the area of adjustment, as you do when using Levels and Curves. B No gaps or spikes appear on the Histogram panel when you apply Shadows/Highlights because the command pre- serves an adequate number of pixels in each tonal range. Continued on the following page A We checked Show More Options at the bottom of the Shadows/Highlights dialog to display the Shadows, Highlights, and Adjustments sliders. e sliders will give us extra control over which image areas are aected by the adjustment. ptg 228 Chapter 13 1. Click a layer or the Background, A and display the Histogram panel so you’ll be able to monitor the tonal adjustments. Optional: e Shadows/Highlights command can’t be applied via an editable adjustment layer. To keep the Shadows/Highlights settings accessible and editable, convert the layer to be adjusted to a Smart Object layer. 2. Choose Image > Adjustments > Shadows/ Highlights. e Shadows/Highlights dialog opens and the image is adjusted automatically using preliminary settings. Check Show More Options to display all the available options. 3. For the Shadows: Adjust the Amount value. B To lighten the shadows in order to recover details in those areas, start with the default Amount of 35%. If your photo needs a stronger correction, increase this value to 70%. Change the Tonal Width value to control the range of midtones that are included in the adjustment. For example, to limit the adjust- ment to only the very dark shadows , keep the Tonal Width value low ( A–B , next page). Note: If halos appear along dark or light edges, lower the Tonal Width value. Raise or lower the Radius value to allow more or fewer neighboring pixels to be compared to a specic pixel in each shadow area in order to produce the adjustment. Don’t raise this value too much, as allowing too many pixels to be compared could diminish the contrast and coun- teract the desired adjustment. Note: After adjusting the Tonal Width or Radius value, you may need to readjust the Amount value. 4. For the Highlights: Adjust the Amount value. Increase this value to darken and recover details in the highlight areas. By lowering the brightness of the highlights, you are allowing the midtones to stand out more. A e s h a d o w a r e a s i n t h i s o r i g i n a l i m a g e l a c k d e t a i l . B In the Shadows/Highlights dialog, our Shadows setting of Amount 57 successfully lightened the shadows but also lightened too many of the midtones. Instructions continue on page 230 To apply the Shadows/Highlights command: ptg Adjustments in Depth 229 A We reduced the Shadows: Tonal Width value to limit the adjustment to just the lower midtones and shadows, and with that new tonal restriction in place, increased the Shadows: Amount value (slightly) to further lighten the shadows. B Our choice of increased Shadows: Amount and reduced Shadows: Tonal Width values (shown at left) successfully restored details to the shadows and midtones. Continued on the following page ptg 230 Chapter 13 Adjust the Tonal Width and/or Radius sliders to control the range of midtones that are included in the Highlights adjustment. A–C If needed, readjust the Highlights: Amount value. 5. To compare the original and adjusted images, press P to toggle the Preview on and o. 6. Under Adjustments, use the Color Correction slider to adjust the saturation, which may have been thrown o by the other adjustments. 7. Use the Midtone Contrast slider to increase or decrease the contrast in the midtones. 8. Optional: To save your Shadows/Highlights set- tings as a preset for use with other images, click Save, enter a descriptive name (keep the .shh extension), choose a location for the preset le, then click Save again. To load a saved settings preset in the dialog, click Load. 9. Click OK. ➤ To restore the default settings to the dialog, hold down Alt/ Option and click Reset (Cancel becomes Reset). B i s i s t h e o r i g i n a l p h o t o , f o r c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e n a l corrected image at right. C Using the Shadows/Highlights controls, we lightened the shadows and midtones in this photo and improved the over- all balance between the midtones, shadows, and highlights. A Next, we increased the Highlights: Amount value to subdue the sky. is had the unintended result of making the lower part of the sky too dark. To lighten just the upper midtones, we increased the Radius value (instead of chang- ing the Highlights: Tonal Width value). ptg Adjustments in Depth 231 Applying a tint via a Solid Color fill layer If you apply a color to a layer (or to a selection on a layer) via a Solid Color ll layer, you will be able to edit or remove it at any time. is is a simple but eective way to correct a color cast or apply a color tint — typically, to a selected area of an image. To apply a tint via a Solid Color fill layer: 1. Optional: To restrict the tint to part of an image, create a selection. A 2. From the New Fill/Adjustment Layer menu on the Layers panel, choose Solid Color. 3. In the Color Picker dialog, choose a color for the tint. B Don’t sweat over this; you can change the color later if you wish. Click OK. 4. e ll layer is fully opaque. Lower the layer opac- ity to make it semitransparent and/or change its blending mode (press Shift- + or Shift- –) to make it interact dierently with underlying layers. C ➤ To change the tint for a color ll layer, double- click the adjustment layer thumbnail; this reopens the Color Picker. ➤ You can limit the eect of a Solid Color, Gradient, or Pattern ll layer by clicking the layer mask thumbnail, then applying black strokes to areas in the document. (is couldn’t be done for the Color Overlay, Gradient Overlay, or Pattern Overlay layer eect.) Note: Keep the Use Default Mask on Fill Layers option checked in the Panel Options dialog, which opens from the Layers panel menu, to ensure that all new ll layers that you create will automatically have a mask. A e s k y i n t h i s i m a g e l o o k s w a s h e d o u t . T o s e l e c t t h a t a r e a before applying a tint, we chose the Quick Selection tool, then dragged across the sky. Next, we clicked the sky area below each arm, then Alt/Option dragged to deselect any selected areas of snow. C e b l u e t i n t t h a t w e a p p l i e d v i a a S o l i d C o l o r l l l a y e r enlivened the sky. In addition, we chose Vivid Light as the blending mode for the adjustment layer to restore some denition to the clouds. B In the Color Picker, the color we chose has values of H: 230, S: 35, and B: 41. ptg 232 Chapter 13 Screening back a layer using Levels Printing dark text on top of a photo can be tricky. e picture has to be light enough to allow the text to be readable, yet visible enough to be interpreted as an image. Screening back an image is yet another great use for a Levels adjustment layer. To screen back a layer using Levels: 1. Open an image. 2. Optional: To limit the screened-back eect to a specic area of the image, create a selection. 3. Click an image layer or the Background, A then on the Adjustments panel, click the Levels button. e Levels controls display. 4. To reduce contrast in the image, move the Output Levels shadows (black) slider to the right. B 5. To lighten the midtone values in the image, move the Input Levels midtones (gray) slider to the left. C 6. Optional: Hold down the View Previous State button to view the original state of the image temporarily, then release. A e o r i g i n a l d o c u m e n t c o n t a i n s a n e d i t a b l e t y p e layer above an image layer. C With the image screened back, now the type is more eye-catching and easier to read. B We used these settings for a Levels adjust- ment layer to lighten the image. . Highlights: Amount value to subdue the sky. is had the unintended result of making the lower part of the sky too dark. To lighten just the upper midtones, we increased the Radius value (instead. of an image. To apply a tint via a Solid Color fill layer: 1. Optional: To restrict the tint to part of an image, create a selection. A 2. From the New Fill/Adjustment Layer menu on the Layers