How to lighten a photo in Photoshop: procedure, tips. Tone and contrast in portrait retouching
Improve your landscape photography skills by using a variety of advanced dodging and burning techniques to fine-tune the light and shade of your photos.
When it comes to making final adjustments to landscape photos, dodging and burning becomes an art form in itself. This process has been an integral part of photography for many years, but these days, adjusting light and shadow is much easier than it ever was in a dedicated darkroom.
Here we will look at several techniques. However, this is not a case where simply knowing how to selectively adjust brightness is enough: it is much more important to determine which area of the photo needs processing.
When looking at a photograph, the eyes first focus on the lighter areas. We need to take this into account when working. Imagine your eyes wandering around the image: emphasize the main lines and draw your eyes to the desired subject.
1. Separate the earth and sky
Select the sky using the tool Quick selection(Quick Selection Tool), then click Ctrl+J to copy the area to a new layer. Create an adjustment layer Levels(Levels). Set its blend mode Multiplication(Multiply), darkening the photo. Select the layer mask and click Ctrl + I to invert it.
2. Darken the sky
Press and hold the key Ctrl based on the thumbnail of the sky copy layer. Click on the layer mask Levels(Layers). Select a tool Brush(Brush Tool). Set white as the foreground color and the Opacity(Opacity) reduce to 20% . Sketch the areas of the sky you want to darken. When ready, click Ctrl+D, deselecting it.
3. Raise the Foreground
Create a new adjustment layer Levels(Layers). Set its blending mode to Screen(Screen) to brighten the image. Click on the sky layer while holding down the key Ctrl and then go to menu Select > Invert(Select > Inverse). Invert the mask of the new Levels layer and use a white brush to paint over the foreground areas that need to be brightened. When you're done, reset the selection.
04. Highlight the stones
Click Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E, creating a merged layer. Right click on the new layer and select Convert to Smart Object(Convert to Smart Object). Go to menu Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask(Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask). Set the following parameter values: Effect(Amount) - 120 , Radius(Radius) - 45 , Isohelium(Threshold) - 4 , adding clarity to the stones. Invert the layer mask that appears and paint the stones white.
5. Attract the eye
Press and hold the key Alt by the new layer icon at the bottom of the panel Layers(Layers Panel). In the layer creation window, set Mode(Mode) on Overlap(Overlay), then check the box next to " Fill..." (Fill with…) and click OK. Install Opacity(Opacity) brushes on 10% . Paint with white to lighten areas, black to darken; use this layer to draw attention to the subject.
6. Highlights and shadows
Click Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E to create another merged layer. Select a tool Clarifier(Dodge Tool), install Exhibition(Exposure) - 10% , A Range(Range) - Backlight(Highlights). Paint over the areas you want to emphasize. Use the tool Dimmer(Burn Tool) with By exposure(Exposure) - 10% And Range(Range) - Shadows(Shadows) to add depth to the shadows.
Fast and effective way lightening or blackouts image areas at photo processing as a replacement for tools Lightening And Blackout.
I became acquainted with this method in the book by S. Kelby “Handbook for processing in Photoshop,” pp. 196-197. Here the method is presented as a replacement for Photoshop tools Dodge (Lighten) And Burn. I liked the method so much that I wrote it in the form Action, and I use it all the time. And the other day I came across a description of the same method in the magazine “Practical Photoshop” (No. 9 for 2011, p. 55), but in a slightly different vein, and - which is absolutely wonderful! — it uses exactly Dodge And Burn! To replace imperfect tools, we use these very tools!
But enough confusion, I’ll describe the method.
For darkening/lightening problem areas of the image (sky, sea, deep shadows, areas of the face - what I list - everyone knows about them very well) - a variety of methods are used. Levels with masks, Curves with masks, blending modes (with masks), Shadows/Lights. The above-mentioned ones are intended for local, local changes. Lighten And Dim.
So, here's an alternative.
Open the image whose areas require correction. In the main menu of the program, select Layers - New - Layer. Please note that this is exactly what you need to do - through the menu, so that a window appears, in which we will configure some parameters a little later. Or you can click on the button Create New Layer in the palette Layers, but holding down the key Alt.
In the window that appears, select the mode Overlap, and put the bird a little lower Fill with a neutral color in the “overlay” mode (gray 50%). As a result, a new layer appears above the original layer, filled with 50% gray, which in blend mode Overlap is ignored, so the image will not change at all.
Now, in the classic version (which is from Scott Kelby), select a soft brush and reduce the opacity to 25-30 percent. Pressing the keys one by one D And X, set the front color to white. We begin to move the mouse over the places that need to be brightened. If the lightening effect is not enough, we go over the area a second or third time.
To darken light areas, press D to set the foreground color to black, and move the mouse over the desired areas.
I also read this recommendation somewhere: when doing any work in Photoshop, you need to do the next operation, then squint, lean back in the chair, perhaps in a “hands behind your head” pose, and after these manipulations reduce the force of influence by 10-15 percent. Laugh laugh, but I actually do this sometimes. So we have such an opportunity in the form of a general opacity gray layer.
This is where the classic method ends, and there is a reason to drink and remember the second opportunity. It is proposed to use the same tools as a brush - Lighten And Dim. What are the advantages? If a regular brush works with the same force in each movement, then this pair gradually strengthens its action when crawling in one place, without releasing the mouse button. When using these tools you only need to increase Opacity- up to one hundred percent. Additionally, it is necessary to clarify the range in which changes are necessary - Shadows, Backlight or Midtones. The result is a softer, more flexible and thinner instrument.
Well, as a bonus, let’s add the following to the collection of lightening/darkening methods:
At the very beginning, just add an empty layer (by clicking Create New Layer in the palette Layers), set the blending mode to Soft light. Take the same white or black brush with Opacity 30%, and perform the same steps as described. The result is softer and more moderate than the first.
In the end, I want to emphasize that all methods are very easy to write in Action.
by admin Last update on November 19, 2010 V
Let's continue with short lessons on using Photoshop. Last time we told you about “” to add brightness and saturation to photographs, and today we will tell you how to lighten or darken an area of a photograph.
There is a simple way to lighten or darken part of an image in Photoshop, without a visible border of the effect.
1. Open your image in Photoshop. In this example, we want to darken a section of the sky without affecting the rest of the photo. We also want to darken using a gradient from top to bottom.
2. Add a new layer on top of your main layer. This can be done by clicking on the “Create a New Layer” button in the layers palette.
3. Click on the "Gradient tool" in your Photoshop tools. Make sure you are using “linear gradient” (can be selected in the top left corner of the screen).
4. To the left of the gradient type selection icons, click on the pop-up menu and select “Foreground to Transparent” from the proposed set. Your foreground color isn't important, so don't worry if you see a weird color. In this example we used yellow.
5. Hold down the Shift key, click the mouse at the top of the image and move the mouse down to the point where you want the effect to end. In this example, we want to darken the sky, not the entire image, so we start at the top of the image and work our way down to the treetops. Holding down the Shift key allows you to make the line perfectly vertical.
6. Click "Select" in the Photoshop menu, then "Load Selection". Next, make sure that “Layer 1 Transparency” is selected. Your image should look something like this
7. Go to the layers palette and select the layer where you just added the gradient. Drag the layer onto the “Delete Layer” icon (looks like a trash can). Your image will now look something like this:
8. At the bottom of the layers palette, click the “Create new fill or adjustment layer” icon (the circle is half white and half black). Select "Levels" or "Curves" (whichever you prefer) and move the sliders to lighten or darken the area you want.
Now our featureless, foggy sky has turned into an enchanting and threatening one, demonstrating the possible approach of a storm. Such a simple algorithm made it possible to significantly enliven the photo.
Today it’s hard to believe, but there was a time, not so long ago, when cameras were not digital, and photo processing was carried out in a laboratory and not on a computer.
Digital cameras and Photoshop have brought photo editing from the darkroom to your living room ( or where you have your computer), but many of Photoshop's tools and features have their roots in traditional development.
Two prime examples of this are Photoshop's Dodge and Burn tools, both of which are located in the Tools palette. The terms "lighten" and "darken" refer to methods that were used to either lighten ( Dodge) or darken ( Burn) specific areas of the photo, increasing or limiting exposure to reagents in certain areas.
Photoshop's Dodge and Burn tools are digital versions of these techniques and are often used to either lighten underexposed areas of a photo or darken overexposed areas.
While these two tools are very useful, they both have one very serious drawback: they can cause permanent distortion of your image. It's best to save a copy when starting to work in Photoshop so that you can always return the original photo. This is often referred to as "non-destructive" work in Photoshop, and you should always use it whenever possible.
Luckily, Adobe has provided us with a variety of non-destructive image manipulation techniques, and in this photo editing article, we'll look at one of them. We'll look at a great technique for selectively controlling a photo's exposure by dodging and darkening specific areas.
It produces results very similar to what we could achieve with the Dodge and Burn tools, but without damaging the image's pixels.
We have a photo of one of the very common problems. The newlyweds should be the main focus of the image, but due to the direction of the sun's rays and the lack of fill flash, the couple looks too dark while the background comes out too bright:
Original photo
Using just Photoshop's Dodge and Burn tools and a layer blend mode, we can easily fix the imperfections in this image:
Photos after lightening and darkening specific areas
Let's get started!
Step 1: Add a New Layer
Open the image, then press and hold the Alt key ( Win) / Option ( Mac) and click on the “ New Layer” icon at the bottom of the layers palette:
Hold down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and click on the New Layer icon
This way we add a new layer on top of the current one. But holding down the Alt key ( Win) / Option ( Mac) When we click the New Layer icon, we tell Photoshop that we need to open the New Layer dialog box before the layer is added.
This will give us the opportunity to name the layer and also allow us to change a few important parameters. Since I'll be using this layer to lighten and darken some areas, I'll call it "Dodge and Burn". If you don't want to, you don't have to name a layer individually, but naming layers is a very useful habit:
Name the new layer "Dodge and Burn" (optional)
However, what we really need the “ New Layer” window for is to change the option at the very bottom of the window - Mode. "Mode" is an abbreviation for " Layer Blend Mode”, and by default it is set to “ Normal”. Change " Blend Mode" to "Overlap":
Change the new layer's Blending Mode to Overlay
In short, the “Overlay” blending mode belongs to the “Contrast” group of modes and is often used to increase the contrast of an image. Any areas of the layer that are lighter than 50% gray ( meaning a shade of gray exactly halfway between black and white) are used to brighten an image.
While areas darker than 50% gray are used to darken them. Any areas that are exactly 50% gray are completely ignored by Photoshop and become transparent. We will now see how this works in practice.
In the Overlay blending mode, you will see a new option in the dialog box - “ Fill with a neutral color (50% gray)" Check the box to enable this option:
Check the box to enable the "Fill with neutral color (50% gray)" option.
This tells Photoshop to fill our new layer with 50% gray. Once you're done, click the "OK" button to exit the dialog box. If we look at the Layers palette now, we'll see a new layer called "Dodge and Burn" located above the background.
We have this layer's blending mode set to Overlay, and if we look at its thumbnail to the left of its name, we can see that this layer is filled with gray:
New "Dodge and Burn" layer in the Layers palette
I noted earlier that when a layer's blending mode is set to Overlay, any areas of the layer that are 50% gray become transparent. And, if we look at our image, we can see that even though the “Dodge and Burn” layer is filled with solid gray, we can see our original photo. The gray color of the "Dodge and Burn" layer is completely transparent:
The solid gray of the "Dodge and Burn" layer is transparent in the document window
Step 2: Select the Brush Tool
We're going to lighten and darken different areas of the image by simply painting white or black areas over them. Areas painted with white will become lighter, areas painted with black will become darker. Again, this is because we will be painting them on a layer that has its blending mode set to Overlay.
However, before we can paint over anything, we must select the Brush tool. To do this, either select “Brush" from the tool palette, or press the "B" key on the keyboard:
Select the Brush Tool
Step 3: Set the Foreground Color to White
I want to start by brightening a few areas. This means I need to paint white areas on them. This means I need to set the Foreground color to white, since the Brush tool paints with the color that is set as the Foreground color. Press the "D" key on your keyboard, which resets the text and background colors to their default settings. Black is set as the foreground color, white as the background color.
To swap them, press the “X” key on your keyboard. If we look at the Foreground and Background color swatches side by side at the bottom of the Tools palette, we can see that white is now set as the Foreground color:
Foreground color swatch in the Tools palette
Step 4: Reduce Brush Opacity to 10 - 20%
It's best when working with this technique to gradually increase the amount of dodge and burn we apply, because even a small amount can sometimes be enough. Therefore we need to work with a low opacity brush. Make sure you have the Brush tool selected, then go to the Options bar at the top of the screen and reduce the Opacity to 10-20%. I set the value to 10%.
This way, every time I paint over the same area, I'll increase the intensity of the lighting or darkening by 10%, which gives me more wiggle room:
Reduce brush opacity in the Options bar
Step 5: Paint over the areas you want to lighten
With the Brush Tool selected, white as the Foreground color and the Opacity reduced, simply paint over the areas of the photo that you want to lighten. The first time the effect will be quite subtle due to the low opacity of the brush.
But if you need to lighten certain areas more, just paint over them several times. You can change the brush size if necessary. If you want to use a soft-edged brush, you can soften the edges of the brush by pressing the left arrow key several times while holding down the Shift key. Pressing the right arrow while holding Shift makes the edges harder.
I want to paint over the couple themselves, so I need to paint a few strokes on them with a medium soft brush. Each time I paint over areas, I will increase their brightness by 10%. Therefore, go over the figures of the newlyweds 3 or 4 times.
The faces in the photo look particularly dark, so this area may need to be further processed.
Paint white areas of the photo that you want to brighten.
Step 6: Set Foreground Color to Black
When you're done with the areas you're highlighting, press the "X" key to swap the Foreground and Background colors:
Color swatches in the Tools palette. Black set as foreground color
Step 7: Paint over the areas that need to be darkened
With the foreground color black, paint over areas of the photo that should be darkened. Again, each time you paint over the same area, you will increase the intensity of the darkening. In my case, I want to darken the area behind the couple, so I need to use a large brush and paint over the area around the couple several times:
