Making local adjustments in Camera Raw

Apply color and tonal adjustments to areas of a photo, like traditional dodging and burning, with the Adjustment Brush and Graduated Filter.

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Requirements

To complete the tasks demonstrated in this tutorial, you need the following software and files:

Adobe Photoshop CS4

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Sample files

lrvid4008_ps.zip (ZIP, 94MB)

Prerequisite knowledge

Basics knowledge of Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw

Making local adjustments in Camera Raw

Previous versions of Camera Raw made global changes to an entire image. In Adobe Photoshop® CS4, you can make adjustments to specific areas of an image using two localized corrections tools. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make localized corrections using the Adjustment Brush and the Graduated filter.

Using the Adjustment Brush

The first localized correction tool is the versatile Adjustment Brush. To use the Adjustment Brush:

1. Select an image in Adobe Bridge.
2. To open the image in Camera Raw choose File > Open in Camera Raw or click the Open In Camera Raw icon on the Adobe Bridge menu bar.

   

   Figure 1: Opening an image using the Camera Raw icon
3. When you open Camera Raw, the Zoom tool is selected by default. Click to zoom in on the area of the image that you want to correct.
4. Select the Adjustment Brush from the toolbar. Controls for the Adjustment Brush appear as sliders in the right–hand panel.

   

   Figure 2: Selecting the Adjustment Brush tool
5. To constrain the adjustments, decrease the brush size by moving the Size slider to the left.
6. Hover over the image with the Adjustment Brush.

   Note: Notice two concentric circles as the cursor hovers over the image. The smaller circle represents the actual brush size. The larger checkered circle represents the brush feathering.

7. Click and drag with the Adjustment Brush to paint around the area to be adjusted.
8. To reduce the brightness in the painted area, move the Exposure and the Brightness sliders to the left.
9. To view the image before and after the adjustments, select Preview in the upper-right corner of the Camera Raw toolbar. Toggle back and forth to select and deselect Preview when viewing changes, but make sure the Preview checkbox is selected before proceeding to the remaining steps in this tutorial.

   

   Figure 3: Select Preview to view changes
10. Decrease the brush feather and the brush size for finer detail work.
11. To remove or modify an adjustment, select Erase at the top of the Adjustment Brush panel. Notice that when Erase is selected, the brush size and feather, along with the other adjustment settings in the panel, revert back to their default settings.

    

    Figure 4: Using the Erase option
12. Use the sliders to reset the brush size and the brush feather and paint away some of the effect around the desired portion of the image.
13. To add an additional adjustment, select New on the Camera Raw toolbar.

    

    Figure 5: Making a new adjustment
14. To remove redness from a portion of the image, first move the Saturation slider to the left to desaturate the image. Add color back to the image by clicking the Color swatch below the Sharpness slider. Finally, select a warm skin tone such as yellow from the Color Picker and click OK.

    Note: Painting around a subject brightens the background as well as the subject.

    

    Figure 6: Selecting a color swatch
15. To view the adjustment area, select Show Pins in the Adjustment Brush panel and hover the mouse over the pin that indicates where the adjustment begins. A mask appears showing the area selected for the adjustment.

    

    Figure 7: The adjustment mask
16. To remove an adjustment, hover the mouse over the pin and press the Delete key.
17. To limit the adjustment to a specific area, select Auto Mask in the lower-left corner of the Adjustment Brush panel and paint over the area to create a mask.

    

    Figure 8: The Auto Mask option

    Note: If you hover the mouse over the pin, you will see that the only area highlighted is the area to which the Auto Mask has been applied.

18. To apply your corrections, click Done at the bottom right of the Adobe Bridge window.

Applying different adjustments to the foreground and background of an image using the Graduated Filter tool

The Graduated filter tool is the second localized correction tool available in Adobe Photoshop® CS4. To use the Graduated Filter tool:

1. Select the Graduated Filter tool to the right of the Adjustment Brush in the Camera Raw toolbar. Notice that the controls for the Graduated Filter are very similar to those for the Adjustment Brush.

   

   Figure 9: The Graduated Filter tool
2. To make an adjustment with the Graduated Filter, first adjust the sliders on the right side of the Adobe Bridge window. For example, to add warmth to an image, increase the Exposure, Brightness, and Contrast values by moving the related sliders to the right.
3. To apply a tint to an image, click the Color swatch and select the desired shade from the Color Picker. To apply the Color effect, click from a desired point of origin and drag to the point in the image where you want the effect to end.
4. To rotate the selected range, drag to the right or left.
5. Create a new adjustment by selecting New in the Graduated Filter dialog box.

   

   Figure 10: Creating a new adjustment
6. Select Overlay at the bottom left of the Graduated Filter dialog box and the Preview checkbox to see the image before and after the adjustments.
7. Click Done to apply the adjustments.

Where to go from here

• Photoshop CS4 Help and Support
• Learn Photoshop CS4
• Making color corrections , by Deke McClelland
• Working with metadata and keywords, by Chris Orwig
• Using advanced compositing, by Deke McClelland
• Lynda.com

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

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