Adobe Photoshop Levels
Turn Junk into Gold by Clicking a Button
By Robert Kennedy There is no doubt in my mind; Adobe Photoshop
is the greatest
photo editing program in the world. Whether you are a novice or
an expert Photoshop is the program for you. Photoshop is used
by my children and by the movie making industry. So what exactly
can I do with Photoshop? The better question is what can’t you
do with Photoshop?
Today I would like to talk about the simple little function in
Photoshop called ‘Levels’, the first step to improving the appearance
of a photograph. There are four basic steps taken to enhance, brighten
or retouch photos: Levels, Brightness, Variations, and Saturation,
in that order.
“The Levels dialog box lets you correct the tonal range and color
balance of an image by adjusting intensity levels of the image's
shadows, midtones, and highlights. The Levels histogram serves
as a visual guide for adjusting the image's key tones.” Adobe’s
official description of levels
screen example is shown here.
Use levels to set to darkest and lightest points or sharpen the
picture. From the top menu select Image, then select Adjustments,
then select Levels, or if you are a ctrl key fan click ‘ctrl l’.
The histogram appears; the sliders at the bottom control brightness
and contrast while the sliders above control tonal values. I said
we were going to keep it simple so let’s use the sliders at the
top. They appear as three small triangles. Start to play with them.
Move them left to right and right to left while watching the changes
you are making to the photograph. When you are satisfied the picture
appears optimized click OK. Budda boom, you’re done. How long
did that take?
That was really easy and effective. If you feel adventurous repeat
the process above. This time when the levels menu appears, double
click on the eyedropper and target your tonal areas.
Here’s a couple of helpful tips while working with Adobe Photoshop:
Click the ‘tab key’ to clear all tool bars.
To save an image for the web click ‘ctrl, shift, alt, S’ Learn
how to use the ‘automate’ feature and save valuable time. •
About the Author:
Robert Kennedy is an online leader in graphic design and print. Online
since 1999, Robert has spearheaded the success of www.weprintcolor.com by
providing the finest online graphic design system on the Web.
02/14/05
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