After the JPEG compression of the camera, some images have a leak of contrast. Adobe Photoshop comes with 2 useful possibilities to increase the contrast: “Brightness and Contrast” and “Curves”. Also, there is a very basic “Auto Contrast” function which works in very few cases. “Brightness and Contrast” should be avoided because if often alters too much the tonal range of the image.
In “Image” -> “Adjustments”, select “Curves” and will firs notice a strait diagonal line. You will modify this line into a curve by dragging it down and up as shown in the image. Keep in mind to let the middle point at the same place, otherwise the picture will be overall brighter or darker than it should be. You can even obtain more than 3 anchor points but it’s not recommended, so just click on the line in the place you want the points to be. Remember to keep the Preview checkbox on to notice the changes and control what are you doing. Using this tool will give plenty of flexibility compared to other adjustment tools. Now let’s see the results:
Tags: adobe photoshop, image manipulation, contrast, brightness and contrast, curves, adjustment of pictures
My Name is Lau, I'm 23 and I'm from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Nature Photography is my passion, and secondary, Abstract Photography, but other kind of photographic challenges please me as well.
