Filters - Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 for Photographers - page 353

Lens Flare filter
Filter > Render > Lens Flare
The Lens Flare filter adds a bright white
spot to the surface of photos in a way that
resembles the flare from light falling on a
camera lens.
The filter dialog contains a preview thumb-
nail on which you can position the center
of the flare by click-dragging the cross hairs.
Also in the dialog is a Brightness or Strength
slider and a selection of lens types to choose
from.
The filter was revamped for CS2 so that it
can also be used in 16 bits per channel
mode.
You can set the Lens Flare center precisely
by Alt/Opt-clicking on the preview image
and then inputting the X and Y coordinates
for the center of the effect.

Lighting Effects filter
Filter > Render > Lighting Effects
The Lighting Effects filter, as one of the
group of Render filters, simulates the look
of various light sources shining onto the
picture surface. Single or multiple light
sources can be added to the photo. The
filter dialog contains a preview thumbnail
that is used to adjust the position, shape
and size of the projected light. The rest
of the dialog is broken into four dif ferent
control sections:
Style - Provides a drop-down menu of
pre-designed light styles along with any
customized styles you have created and
saved.
Light type - Alters the color, intensity
and focus of the selected light.
Properties - Contains controls for how
the subject reacts to the light.

Texture Channel - Has options for cre-
ating texture with the light shining onto
the photo.
This feature is often used for creating, or
enhancing existing, lighting type effects
on the main subject in a picture.

Above: Five Lights Down example (left).
Spotlight example (right).

Maximum filter
Filter > Other > Maximum
The Maximum filter, as one of the Other
group of filters, grows or bleeds the light-
er areas of the picture whilst reducing the
size of the darker toned parts.
In making these changes, the filter
analyzes the brightness of the pixels in a
given area (radius) and increases the bright-
ness to the level of the darkest pixel in the
area.
The filter contains a single slider control
that adjusts the radius or size of the area
used to determine the pixel brightness
value.

Median filter
Filter > Noise > Median
The Median filter, as one of the Noise group
of filters, reduces the speckle type noise in
a picture by finding the middle pixel bright-
ness across the selected radius and remov-
ing pixels that deviate greatly from this
brightness.
The filter contains a single slider control
that adjusts the radius or size of the area
used to determine the median, or middle,
pixel brightness value.
The filter has a blur effect as well as a re-
duction in local contrast.

Mezzotint filter
Filters > Pixelate > Mezzotint
The Mezzotint filter, as one of the Pixelate
group of filters, recreates tone and color
in a similar way to the way it is produced
with etched printing plates. A series of
strokes, dots or lines is used in a pattern to
create detail and tone. Grayscale pictures
are recreated in black and white strokes,
and colored photos remade with a fully
saturated pattern of colored texture.
The filter contains no single slider control
to adjust the strength or positioning of the
effect, rather a drop-down menu of tex-
ture types is provided. Each type (stroke,
line, dot) creates a different pattern of tex-
ture and tone.