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Making lighting corrections

Katrin Eismann

This video shows you how to make lighting corrections to photographs using Photoshop. You learn how to lighten an entire side or small portion of a photograph, correct highlights and shadows, and convert a color image to black and white.

Requirements

To follow along with this article, you will need the following software and files:

• Photoshop CS3
• Sample file (ZIP, 5.5 MB)

Watch this tutorial in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Video Workshop.

Adjusting an Image with a Shadow Imbalance

The Curves Adjustment layer can be used to increase or decrease contrast on light and dark areas of an image. When you have complex shadows, it helps to use the other Photoshop tools in combination with adjustment layers to perfect the effects.

1. In Photoshop, choose File > Open and open 01_melons. This photograph has a kind of unique problem, in that only one side of the image is too dark (see Figure 1).

   

   Figure 1: The shadows in the image are too dark on one side

2. You can lighten this side of the image by adding a Curves adjustment layer. Make sure the Layers palette is open. If not, choose Window > Layers to open it. Click the Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choosing Curves.

3. When the Curves dialog box opens, click and drag the left side of the curve (the dark side) up to lighten this side of the curve (see Figure 2). Click OK.

   

   Figure 2: Increase the curve for the dark areas.

4. However, notice that even though you tried to isolate the lightening effect to just the dark areas of the image, the light side has still been affected.
5. To correct this, choose the Gradient tool.
6. By default, the Gradient tool is set to a white to black gradient. Remember in Photoshop, black conceals and white reveals. By adding a gradient, you can mask areas of the original image or just the filters or adjustment layers, as you're doing here.
7. Click on the left side of the image and drag a straight line to the right side of the image where you want the Curves effect to be blocked.

8. Release your mouse and notice the Curves contrast adjustment is masked from the right side of the image (see Figure 3).

   

   Figure 3: The final image, corrected using a Curves adjustment layer with a Gradient.

Lightening Small Areas in an Image

1. Choose File > Open and open 02_snowgirl.jpg. To lighten delicate details in an image, such as this little girl's face (see Figure 4), you're going to use another Curves adjustment layer in combination with the Screen blending mode.

   

   Figure 4: In this image, it's just the area around the girl's face that's too dark

2. Click the Adjustment Layer icon and choose Curves.
3. This time, do not apply any changes to the adjustment layer. Simply click OK to close the Curves dialog box.
4. Choose Screen from the Blending Mode dropdown at the top of the Layers palette.
5. Next, reduce the layer opacity to 50%.
6. Invert the layer mask by choosing Image > Adjustments > Invert or use the keyboard shortcut, the Cmd/Ctrl and I keys.
7. Now, you'll focus on the girl's face. Choose the Brush tool. Click the Foreground color box and choose white.
8. Move your cursor over the girl's face and then press the right bracket key (]) to increase the brush size until it is about the same size as her face.

9. Click and drag with the Brush tool to lighten the area around her face (see Figure 5).

   

   Figure 5: The final image, corrected using a Curves adjustment layer and the Screen blending mode

10. Turn the Curves 1 layer on and off by clicking the Toggle Visibility icon in the Layers panel to see how your changes have affected the original image.

Using Smart Filters and the Shadows/Highlights Adjustment Layer

New in Photoshop CS3 is the ability to apply the Shadow/Highlight adjustment layer as a Smart Filter. The key benefit to Smart Filters is that unlike regular filters, they can be modified at any time.

1. Choose File > Open and open 03_exposure_7.jpg.
2. The only step you need take is to convert your image to a Smart Object. Choose Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.
3. Now choose Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight.
4. The Shadow/Highlight adjustment will work as it always has. Shadows lightens the shadows and Highlights decreases highlights. In combination, they bring more balance and improve the exposure of the image.
5. Move the Shadows Amount slider to 25% and the Highlights to 12%. Click OK.

6. The image has been adjusted accordingly and you'll notice the Shadows/Highlights adjustment layer actually appears as a filter below the Smart Filter layer in the Layers palette (see Figure 6).

   

   Figure 6: The final image, correcting using the Shadow/Highlight Smart Filter. Smart Filters can be readjusted at any time

7. Again, the beauty of Smart Filters is that at any time, you can double-click the slider icon next to the filter layers and re-adjust the filter settings.

The Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer

To convert color images to black and white, you should experiment with the Channel Mixer adjustment layer.

1. Choose File > Open and open BW_channelmixer.jpg.
2. Click the Adjustment Layer icon and choose Channel Mixer.

3. This opens the Channel Mixer dialog box (see Figure 7).

   

   Figure 7: The Channel Mixer dialog box

4. Start by selecting the Monochrome option.
5. Now you can adjust the channel sliders to decide exactly how the image is converted. To make the formerly blue sky darker, reduce the Blue channel to about -10%.

6. Increase the Red channel to 80% to lighten the red rocks in the foreground (see Figure 8).

   

   Figure 8: Using the Channel Mixer, you can convert an image to monochrome and also heighten contrast by using the channel adjustment sliders

7. The Channel Mixer also contains a variety of Presets that can be used as a good starting point for most images. Try starting with a preset - the Black & White with Red Filter (RGB) preset, for example - and then adjust it to create just the right balance for the image.

Black and White Adjustment Layers

There is a brand-new adjustment layer in Photoshop CS3 called the Black & White adjustment layer. This is a great addition to the adjustment layers group that lets you transform a color image into a high-quality black and white image. The advantage over the Channel Mixer is the fact it contains subjective color sliders, as well as tint hue and saturation settings.

1. Choose File > Open and open Canoe_Color_BW.jpg.
2. Click the Adjustment Layer icon and choose Black & White.
3. This opens the Black & White dialog box. With so many sliders, the important thing to think about is which colors you want lighter or darker. In this case, you'll reduce the Blues to adjust the color of the sky and water in the image.
4. Drag the Blues slider to about -50%.

5. Drag the Greens slider to 110% and the Yellows slider to 144% to bring out the trees. This creates a very subtle, almost infrared light effect (see Figure 9).

   

   Figure 9: Use the Black and White adjustment layer works like the Channel Mixer but includes subjective color channels, such as Cyans and Magentas

   This is a great new feature. Experiment with the presets available in the Presets dropdown to learn how to get the most out of this adjustment layer with different types of images.

Where to go from here

For more information and additional tutorials, visit the Adobe Design Center.