Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Step Eight:
There are a few other controls you'll want
to know about in the Properties panel: (1)
To change the color of your light, click on
the Color swatch and choose a new color
from the Color Picker (as seen here, on
the Infinite Light). (2) The Intensity slider is
the same as the one you use right on the
image itself. (3) The Hotspot slider con-
trols the hot spot (most intense center of
the light) if you use the Spot Light style
of light. (4) The Colorize swatch actually
controls the color cast of the darkened
part of your photo (by default, it's flat).
(5) The Exposure slider reminds me of the
Highlights slider in Camera Raw, so if I use
it at all, it's usually dragging it to the left
to pull back highlights. (6) The Ambience
slider controls the amount of darkening it
applies to the rest of the image (more on
the next page).
Step Nine:
(7) Right below the Ambience slider is the
Tex ture pop - up menu, which let s you ac-
centuate the texture in your image with
kind of an embossed look, on a per color
basis (Red, Green, or Blue channel), and
you control the amount using the Height
slider right below it. Try it and you'll see
what I mean. I skipped over the two con-
trols I use the least: the Gloss slider (which
theoretically controls the amount of shine
to the photo, but it seems to me like more
of a contrast control—dragging to the left
makes the lit part of your image flatter and
less contrasty, and to the right makes it a
bit more contrasty and harsh. The Metallic
slider only seems to do anything when
you have something metallic or reflective
in your image, so if you do, dragging it
to the right makes it more intense. When
you're done, click the OK button in the
Options Bar, and it applies the effect to
your layer as a smart filter (as seen here).
If you want to remove some of the effect,
you can paint on the mask that comes with
it, or double-click on Lighting Effects to
re-open the filter and tweak the settings.
(Continued)
