Shadow Highlight for a Dummy

wxwax

I've never used Photoshop's powerful Shadow Highlight tool.

Mostly, this is because I don't understand it. So I've never incorporated it into my workflow.

However, I've long been unhappy with my attempts to process my shots from a western trip to the Grand Canyon, Moab, et al. The problem is, the bright rock makes for a difficult exposure in the middle of the day. :doh

I've tried a number of techniques to get a decent looking image, to no avail. So last night, I broke into the Shadow Highlight vault to see if it would make a difference.

The result caught me by surprise.



Original Post Processing.




Additional Shadow Highlight Processing



The Shadow Highlight tool certainly seems to address the lack of "pop" and saturation in the original. This feels like a crude first attempt at using the tool, I sense that I've over done it.

But I'm encouraged enough to play with it some more, and use it more often.

pathfinder

Waxy, I think the S/H tool works best on the L channel in LAB for me.

If you use modest amounts, say less than 15% on Shadows and -5% in HIghlights it can work wonders. I prefer to use S/H on a second layer as an adjustment layer and then blend to taste also.

If you make a pass through LAB for color manipulation, adding a pass through S/H doesn't really add that much time to your workflow for the shots that seem to need it. Bright sunlit shots come to mind.

Your shot demonstrates its benefit nicely.

Andy

dgrin how-to
And, we have some great Shadow/Highlighth "How-To" right here:

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1100284

Pezpix

Just be wary of how addicting it can be! When I dont have access to a good grad ND filter in the field, and dont feel like a HDR 32 bit image would work, my Shadow highlight is the only way to go!

I know in my case, the old dodge/burn is now considered a last resort if Shadow/Highlight doesnt work. Just be aware though, as all handy p-shop plug-ins, it (shadow/highlight recovery) can be abused very quickly and make your images murky real fast.

wxwax

pathfinder wrote:

Waxy, I think the S/H tool works best on the L channel in LAB fo me.

If you use modest amounts, say less than 15% on Shadows and -5% in HIghlights it can work wonders. I prefer to use S/H on a second layer as an adjustment layer and then blend to taste also.

If you make a pass through LAB for color manipulation, adding a pass through S/H doesn't really add that much time to your workflow for the shots that seem to need it. Bright sunlit shots come to mind.

Your shot demonstrates its benefit nicely.

Good stuff, thanks PF.

Yes, I used a second layer. I've since made a third version, milder and with a Curves adjustment too. Seems more natural.

wxwax

Andy wrote:

And, we have some great Shadow/Highlighth "How-To" right here:

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1100284

Thanks, I'd read those, but until now, never thought I needed to use the tool, rightly or wrongly.

wxwax

Pezpix wrote:

can be abused very quickly and make your images murky real fast.

Indeed, I've already discovered that after Shadow Highlight, a little Curves is not a bad thing.

Pezpix

wxwax wrote:

Indeed, I've already discovered that after Shadow Highlight, a little Curves is not a bad thing.

Which also reminds me that Shadow Highlight doesnt "bruise" pixels as much either. (Admittedly, I need to watch my histogram more often to make sure I dont clip images)

One thing I am very excited to see is if future SLR cameras on the market interpret for HDR images and set up so that we can grab the full 9 point range of highlights! That will make the Shadow/Highlights even more fun.

Duffy Pratt

If you use the shadow/highlights on an RGB image, you are in danger of causing unwanted color shifts. You can play it safer by doing the change on a separate layer set to luminosity. But even here, there is a danger that the halos in highlights will go white, while adjusting a very light color (or go black in a dark colored highlight, which is less noticable).

It's better to do the shadow/highlights on the L channel. Here, even if the halos blow out, the conversion back to RGB will restore some of the color.

The other thing that is not discussed often is the use of the second and third sliders. When doing a large adjustment, you can reduce alot of the flatness by playing with the radius and tone level sliders. I had to play with these on about 100 images before I started to get a handle on how they really work, and even now I feel like I'm learning about how to use them. Typically, I tend to like a shadow adjustment with a more narrow tone level and radius, and a highlight adjustment with the opposite, slightly broader tone level and a broader radius.

Duffy

wxwax

Duffy Pratt wrote:

If you use the shadow/highlights on an RGB image, you are in danger of causing unwanted color shifts. You can play it safer by doing the change on a separate layer set to luminosity. But even here, there is a danger that the halos in highlights will go white, while adjusting a very light color (or go black in a dark colored highlight, which is less noticable).

It's better to do the shadow/highlights on the L channel. Here, even if the halos blow out, the conversion back to RGB will restore some of the color.

The other thing that is not discussed often is the use of the second and third sliders. When doing a large adjustment, you can reduce alot of the flatness by playing with the radius and tone level sliders. I had to play with these on about 100 images before I started to get a handle on how they really work, and even now I feel like I'm learning about how to use them. Typically, I tend to like a shadow adjustment with a more narrow tone level and radius, and a highlight adjustment with the opposite, slightly broader tone level and a broader radius.

Duffy

This echoes what others have said. I'll work on the L channel from now on.

I've used the first two sliders, but not the third. The complexity of options is one reason I ignored the tool for so long, wasn't sure how to make the best use of it.

Duffy Pratt

wxwax wrote:

This echoes what others have said. I'll work on the L channel from now on.

I've used the first two sliders, but not the third. The complexity of options is one reason I ignored the tool for so long, wasn't sure how to make the best use of it.

When you move the third slider, its like playing locally with the contrast in just the highlights or shadows. I recently had a bunch of shots of Panda bears to work on from my trip to China. They are basically black and yellowish white, and their eyes are often extremely dark. Using the highlight function and lowering levels and the radius allowed me to bring some definition into a bunch of pictures so I could see the whites of their eyes. I don't know of another easy way to do that, and I'm not sure there is any other way to do it that does not involve selections and/or masking.

Duffy