Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
how to edit just part
of your images
I'll be the first to admit that “Local Adjustments”
isn't a great name for a chapter on using the
Adjustment Brush (and the other local adjust-
ment tools), but it's an “Adobe-ism” for editing
just one section of your image. Here's how
they describe it: Everything you do in Lightroom
is a global adjustment. It affects your entire
image globally. So, if you're affecting just one
part of your image, it's not global. It's local.
So what you're making is a local adjustment.
This would all make perfect sense if anyone in
the world actually thought that way, but of
course nobody does (not even the engineer
who thought up this term). You see, we regular
non-software-engineer people refer to adjust-
ments that affect the entire photo as “adjust-
ments that affect the entire photo” and we
refer to adjustments that affect just one part
as “adjustments that affect just one part.”
But, of course, Adobe can't actually name
functions with those names, because then
we'd clearly understand what they do. Nope,
when it comes to stuff like this, it has to go
before the official Adobe Council of Obscure
Naming Conventions (known internally as
ACONC, which is a powerful naming body
whose members all wear flowing robes, carry
torches, and sing solemn chants with their
heads bowed). The ACONC types a simple,
understandable phrase into the “Pimp Name
Generator” (see page 99), and out comes
an overly technical name that their sacred
emissary (brother Jeff Schewe) will carry
forward into the world (after which there
is a great celebration where they sacrifice
an intern from the marketing department,
and a temp from accounting). And that's how
I met your mother.
