Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Step Three:
To add more overall contrast, scroll down
to the Tone Curve panel and, from the
Point Curve pop-up menu at the bottom,
choose
Medium Contrast
(as shown here).
Like I did in the last project, I'm choosing
Medium because this is a JPEG image, and
contrast was already applied when the
JPEG was made from the original RAW
photo. If this were a RAW photo, I would
have chosen Strong Contrast, instead. So
the photo now looks better, but the side
of the car still looks really weak. This is the
kind of situation—where one part of the
photo needs tweaking—where I know I
need to go to the HSL/Color/B&W panel,
because it lets me adjust individual colors.
Step Four:
Go to the HSL/Color/B&W panel and
click on B&W, on the far right of the
panel header, to bring up the Black &
White Mix sliders. If you know exactly
which sliders you need to adjust, have at
it—start draggin'—but honestly, I think
it's much easier to use the Targeted
Adjustment tool (the TAT), which is
found in the upper-left corner of the
panel. Just click on it to select the tool
(it's shown circled here in red).
Step Five:
Now move your cursor out over your
image, right over the area you want to
adjust (in this case, we want to brighten
the side of the car, so move the TAT out
over the car body, as shown here). If you
look closely at the TAT's cursor, you'll see
it has a circle with one triangle pointing
upward, and one pointing down. That's
there to tell you that you use this tool
by clicking-and-dragging it up or down.
Click the TAT on the car and drag straight
upward, and the TAT automatically moves
all the sliders necessary to adjust the
colors in the area under your cursor.
Continued
