Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
▪
Levels
. This is a much more sophisticated way to apply levels than using the Auto
Levels button in Quick Fix or the Enhance menu's Auto Level command. For most
people, Levels is
the
most important type of Adjustment layer.
Using Levels
has more
about using levels.
▪
Brightness/Contrast
. This does pretty much the same things as the Quick Fix adjust-
ment (covered on
Contrast
).
▪
Hue/Saturation
. Again, this is much like the Quick Fix command (
Auto Color
), only
with slightly different controls.
▪
Gradient Map
. This one is tricky to understand and is explained in detail on
Saving
lect. That means you can apply a gradient so that the colors aren't just distributed in a
straight line across your image.
▪
Photo Filter
. Use this type of layer to adjust the color balance of photos by adding
warming, cooling, or special-effects filters, just like you might attach to the lens of a film
camera. See
Photo Filter
for more info.
▪
Invert
. This Adjustment layer reverses the colors in your image to their opposite values,
for an effect similar to a film negative;
Special Effects
has details.
▪
Threshold
. Use this kind of layer to make everything in a photo pure black or white
(with no shades of gray). See
Special Effects
.
▪
Posterize
. This one reduces the number of colors in an image to create a poster-like ef-
fect, as explained on
Special Effects
.
You can edit an Adjustment layer's layer mask the same way you edit any other layer mask
(
Editing a Layer Mask
). The only difference is what happens when you edit the mask: In-
stead of showing or hiding the objects in your photo, you show and hide the adjustment's
ef-
fects
, since this kind of a layer contains an adjustment instead of an image.
You delete Adjustment and Fill layers the way you delete any other layer. Simply drag the
layer to the Layers panel's trashcan and it's gone. You can also click the Layer menu, right-
click the layer in the Layers panel, or click the Layers panel's upper-right menu button (the
square made of four horizontal lines); all these routes give you a Delete Layer option.
