ps question for the geru's - shadow/highlight tool

GerryDavid

Here's a question for the ps geru's on here.

When you use the shadow/highlight tool, do you loose anything in the image?

In my photoshop classes, the instructor strongly suggested we never use the contrast/brightness tool since it clips information from the image. He also discouraged us from using levels since it did the same. He suggested we use curves so we get the best result.

I could be wrong, but isnt shadow/highlight tool a bit similar to the levels tool?

Just trying to get the most out of my pics. :0)

Andy

GerryDavid wrote:

Here's a question for the ps geru's on here.

When you use the shadow/highlight tool, do you loose anything in the image?

In my photoshop classes, the instructor strongly suggested we never use the contrast/brightness tool since it clips information from the image. He also discouraged us from using levels since it did the same. He suggested we use curves so we get the best result.

I could be wrong, but isnt shadow/highlight tool a bit similar to the levels tool?

Just trying to get the most out of my pics. :0)

you can lose *plenty* so do the following:

ctrl-j new layer
now do your shadow highlight, using VERY small amounts in the shadow department the default is 50 which is hideous

click the eyeball off/on many times and look for anything hinky. then use the layer opacity slider to reduce the effect until it's not so hinky. remember, most things in photoshop at 9% won't kill you

rutt will be by and offer up some more....

rutt

Search dgrin for shadow/highlight and you'll find lots of stuff. I've been working with this a lot, but I can't say that I've completely mastered it the way I have some of the other tools. Andy is right about looking around your image and seeing what your are losing/gaining.

Images that are either badly over or under exposed can often be saved with shadow/highlight.

Usually, shadow/hightlight is a great way to start if you know what you are dong and plan to follow with curves and other color correction. But if you are starting out with something that has serious problems, s/h can save the day, even if it's the last thing you do.

Shadow/highight is quite different from anything you can do with levels or even curves because it move entire sections of the lumonosity curve to overlap others in a way that is not too unnatural. See here.