Photoshop how to change the brightness of a layer. How to increase the contrast of a photo in Photoshop

Curves(Curves) - incredible powerful tool. They provide speed and efficiency in the post-processing process like nothing else. However, for a beginner, they may even be too powerful. Do not be afraid! Curves are not as complex or overwhelming as they may seem.

In this tutorial we will go through the basic functions Curves adjustment layer(Curves Adjustment Layer), find out where its functionality comes from, and consider how to effectively use this tool for local photo correction.

BEFORE image:

Image AFTER:

Before moving on to studying the technique, we will touch on a little theory. This is what will happen in this lesson:

How Tone, Contrast and Curves Work
How to Read Tone Curves and Histograms
How to use checkpoints
Order of Operations
How to implement local corrections contrast using Curves

Ready? Let's start.

Part 1: Dynamic Range

When you create Curves adjustment layer(Curves Adjustment Layer) in Adobe Photoshop, you get a tone curve, a histogram, and many other settings and buttons. What is all this?

It's all about Dynamic Range

First of all, remember one thing: every digital image is a grid of tiny pixels.

Dynamic range(dynamic range) of an image shows how many shades of gray, from black to white, there are in the image. In an 8-bit monochrome photograph, which we'll look at below, each pixel can have one (and only one) of 256 discrete values intensity, or, more simply, shades of gray. James Thomas recently looked at color models, and I recommend reading more about how digital photography works.

bar chart(histogram) is a convenient visualization. It is essentially a representation of your image. For any given intensity, it shows how many pixels of a certain shade of gray are in the image. This quick way Get an idea of the dynamic range of a photo without looking at it. This separation of photographic meanings from visual information is very useful. Below we will find out how to take advantage of this.

Curve(curve) - a way to manipulate the distribution of these tones using a graph, as well as key moment our lesson. Let's move on to find out more!

Part 2. Reading tone curves and histograms

As Harry Guinness explained: "The instrument Curves(Curves Tool) is a graph. Along the X axis we have Input(Input) level, along the Y axis - Day off(Output) level. Each axis has values from 0 to 255." From left to right and bottom to top:

At the zero point, which is in the lower left corner of the graph, there is black(black) color: pixels that have no intensity.
Up and to the right from black go shadows(shadows), photographers often call them "darks".
In the middle of the chart medium gray(middle grey), surrounded on both sides by "halftones".
Even higher and to the right are light zones, also known as “highlights”.
In the very top right corner, with a value of 255, is white(white): pixels at full intensity.

The top of the curve controls highlights, the middle controls midtones, and the bottom controls shadows.

The slope of the curve controls contrast

Contrast(contrast) expresses the difference between the tonal values of an image. We can designate its two types: global for the entire image and local for a specific area.

Each new curve is initially a straight line with a slope of 45 degrees. This means that the relationship between By entering(Input) and Conclusion(Output) one to one, the filter does not affect the image.

Changing the slope of the line changes the relationship. If the tilt is more than 45 degrees, the contrast increases; if it is less, it decreases.

Moving the curve also controls levels. Shifting the entire curve down reduces the output value: the photo becomes darker. If you move the entire line up, the output value increases and the photo brightens.

Looking at our example's histogram, you'll notice that most of the pixels are in the middle of the tonal range, split almost equally between shadows and highlights, with a dip in the midtone zone. There are also a lot of pixels in the dark and light areas. This shows that we have an image with a relatively equal distribution as well as good all-round exposure. Here's the shot itself so you can appreciate the original look:

An extremely flat shot straight from the camera is a fairly normal and desirable result. To protect highlights and shadows, digital camera makers are careful about interpreting the raw, linear information from the sensors into the photograph itself. It's better to start with a slightly flat result than to lose important information for the sake of excessive contrast!

The power of contrast

Our gaze is always drawn to contrasting areas. Think of a polar bear against a backdrop of snow. It's hard to notice, isn't it? This is low contrast. Now imagine a panther in the snow; it is much easier to see: it is high contrast. The whole trick to getting the right amount of contrast (and this is quite subjective) is to make sure the whites aren't too white and the blacks aren't too black.

Simply put, contrast is the difference between the light and dark parts of a photo. Increasing this difference will make the photo appear fuller, while reducing it will make the photo appear flatter or duller. Global contrast adjustments are generally useful, but they're not as powerful when you need to make certain photos look perfect. For this we need local corrections.

We use local contrast adjustments to add emphasis to an image or areas of it, either increasing or decreasing the difference. We adjust the distribution of tones in the photo to maximize dynamic range and, more importantly, guide the viewer's eye. How you do this depends entirely on the content of each photo.

Part 3: How to Use Checkpoints

You might think it all looks like a tool Levels(Levels) and you will be right. However, there is a key difference: Curves(Curves) allow you to use control points to make fine adjustments instead of making coarse adjustments to the black, white, and gray ranges.

Checkpoints(Control points) are coordinates on the curve. They can be dragged up or down to change the relationship between By entering(Input) and Conclusion(Output). The location of the dot affects how much of the tonal spectrum needs to be changed.

To demonstrate this, I made three reference points in our demo photo: one near the bottom, one in the middle, and one near the top. I adjusted them to create an S-curve. You can see how this affected the image:

The shadows became darker, the highlights brighter, and the midtones remained almost untouched, but received more contrast. The S-curve adds contrast to the midtones, reducing it for highlights and shadows. (It also enhances the color saturation of the image.) A curve like this is a common step for global correction.

Moving control points may not seem intuitive, but you just need to click on them and then drag them to the desired location.

When a point is selected, it can also be moved using the arrow keys on the keyboard. This helps with subtle corrections. Click Tab to switch between points.

Drag a point outside the graph if you want to remove it.

Part 4: Order of Operations

Now that we've gone over the basics of curves and control points, let's look at the process of adjusting local contrast.

Step 1: Make all global corrections and adjustments

I know you're itching to start improving your photos right now, but make sure every shot goes through global adjustments before you move on to local work. If you start local adjustments on one photo before general work finished in other images, your group of images will not be harmonious, and the process of correcting them will become more complicated. Always put photos from a group into the same post-processing step.

In the case of our example, and in most of your photos, a smooth S-curve will be enough to make overall improvements.

Step 2. Make the necessary local corrections

Some photos need additional processing. Before you do local adjustments, make it local corrections. This includes vignetting, barrel distortion, fringing, chromatic aberration, etc. Correcting these things will be much more difficult after making local adjustments, so fix them now.

Step 3. Evaluate the shot and make a plan

Fine. Global corrections and adjustments are ready, local corrections have been made. Now you can see your photo clearly. . What is it about? What's special about it? What sensations does it evoke? Write a note about these things in your work journal.

What does this photo need? What elements do you want to emphasize? Are there specific areas of the photo that need more contrast? Maybe there are areas whose contrast needs to be reduced! These are questions you should ask yourself when deciding how you want your photo to look. Write down the answers to these questions in your work journal.

The adjustment process can become intuitive as one change leads to another, but it should always be based on your assessment of the shot, your imagination about it, and how far you want to go.

Step 4: Make Local Adjustments

For each major area you want to improve, create a new adjustment layer. More about this process below.

Step 5: Reevaluate and Compare

After making a few adjustments, stop and look at your photo again. Did you get the image you envisioned when you created the plan? Perhaps the understanding of the photo has changed. This is fine! If this happens, write a note in your work notebook.

Also compare the image with other photos in the group. Are they still compliant? If not, try some corrections.

Part 5. How to make local contrast adjustments using Curves

As seen in the previous steps, the S-shaped curve gave good result our picture on a global level. However, there are several parts that need local adjustments.

The sky is still quite flat, I would like to make it more dramatic. I really like the varied and contrasting textures of the image - the roughness of the wood, the lushness of the clouds - and how they create an atmospheric sense of depth. I want to visually highlight all of this. How can we achieve what we want? My goals are to make the sky darker, the clouds more voluminous, and to bring out the darker shadows around the boat and beach. Each section needs to be adjusted separately.

Step 1. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer

Create Curves Adjustment Layer(Curves Adjustment Layer), you will find it in the menu Newadjustment layer(New Adjustment Layer) in the panel Layers(Layers Panel). Add control point on the curve in the tonal range you want to adjust.

Using the "in image" selection (hand with index finger), I selected the sky:

This tool shows me where the tonal range of the sky is on the curve. By clicking and dragging the dot down, I darkened it. Be careful - the changes affect other areas with the same tonal range, in my case they affected some parts of the rocky beach. By creating new corrections, you will have to compensate for this change.

The specific thing is that you can do much more with curves than with levels.

Step 2: Use a layer mask to limit adjustments to certain areas

As with all adjustment layers, we're not working directly on the pixels. The curves layer has a white mask(Layer Mask). It can be painted over to remove the effect of the layer in certain areas of the photo.

Now remove unwanted corrections from the image using Maskslayer(Layer Mask) and Brushes(Brush).

Using soft brush from low opacity(opacity), as shown below, paint over the areas that do not need adjustments. In the case of our example, you can see that the wheel in the foreground and the shadows on the boat have become too dark.

This is the layer mask shown in red (Hold-click Alt from the mask thumbnail), so you can see which areas I painted over. I brushed some areas more heavily with a brush at about 50% opacity to get a gradual effect without harsh transitions.

The top image shows in red where the filter is blocked by the mask. Everything else lends itself to effect. Here's the result:

After corrections

The sky looks much better now. The next step is to make the boat, clouds, beach and highlights on the water stand out. Therefore we will create a new one Curves Adjustment Layer(Curves Adjustment Layer).

Step 3: Repeat!

Following the same method, I used the "in image" selection to find the highlight point on the boat (circled) and dragged it up, brightening the area.

This correction affected tonally similar areas of the entire image. Clouds and light areas of the beach and sky are now brighter. This is not what I wanted, so we will need masks again.

Since we're adjusting smaller areas this time, it's easier to invert the layer mask ( Ctrl + I), and then work, painting the necessary areas rather than hiding the unnecessary ones.

In the image above, the areas where changes are not applied are shaded in red, and the lighter pink areas lighten the image; I focused mainly on the boat, and also slightly enhanced the rocks, highlights on the water and some of the clouds.

After applying the correction

Potential problems

As with all editing techniques, there must be a compromise. With curves, you stretch or compress tones. If you go too far, you'll end up strange results; this is often called posterization. This happens when the output tones are stretched:

If you try to lighten and darken areas of similar tonality, you will end up with posterization.

The above screenshot is a gross exaggeration (you would never use a curve like this), but it demonstrates the effect that can be achieved by overdoing a certain area of one curve layer.

When in doubt, work from big to small

If you can't solve everything on one layer, don't worry: just add a new one. It is much easier to work with one layer for each “problem”, working on larger areas first and then smaller ones.

Use different layers and focus each on a specific task. This will help you stay organized (remember to name your layers!) and also allow you to make edits as you build the image.

Almost done

As with most adjustments like this, it's often best to go a little far, knowing that you can reduce the layer's opacity later if you want to reduce its effect. Try grouping your edits together. Just click on the folder icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and then drag the desired layers into it:

Then you can shorten opacity(opacity) group - this will affect all layers that are in it. Alternatively, each individual Curve can be adjusted. I reduced the opacity of all my layers to 75% .

Ready

Okay, breathe out. Let's take a look at our photo again.

The original photo looked a little flat, with everything clustered around the midtones in the histogram. There wasn't much difference between the light and dark areas. Adding a little global contrast helped, but that was just the beginning! Sometimes we don't need to change the entire photo. If you have a lot of tonality in a similar range, as is the case with our example, local adjustments will be needed to attract the viewer's eye.

The image I started with had little distinction between a boat, a tire, a beach, or a sky. Each of these elements had its own distinguishing feature, so it made sense to use local corrections to highlight them. Since the clouds were already quite light, the darkened sky helped them stand out. Also, by focusing on the highlights of the boat, beach, and water using curves and layer masks, we were able to create brighter areas to draw attention without going overboard on areas that were already light. Right now I'm loving the contrasting textures of these areas.

Now you can finely control curves

Curves(Curves)! What a wonderful tool. They get better with every version of Photoshop. I highly recommend picking up this feature and becoming familiar with the settings and effects that appear for different types photographs.

Starting with black and white photos is easier because you don't have to worry about over-saturation and it's also easier to see the changes. Also, monochrome images Great for high contrast, making them easy to practice on. Of course, not all images need extra contrast, and curves can be used just as effectively to reduce it!

Try working with the presets first and see what effect each one has, then use this knowledge to fine-tune your shots. Remember to keep your adjustments light and realistic. Otherwise you will get anomalies in the image. All adjustments can be corrected by using a layer mask and removing all errors.

This tutorial will demonstrate the implementation of the Gradated Neutral Density (ND) filter effect in Photoshop. For this, only one gradient layer will be used. This will add brightness and contrast to the photo.

Step 1.

Open the photo in Photoshop.

Step 2.

Add a new one empty layer. This is done by clicking on the corresponding button, which is located at the bottom of the layers palette.

Step 3.

This lesson will demonstrate working with only two layers, but for convenience and order we will give the top layer a name. To do this, double-click on the layer name and enter your own, for example, Graduated ND Filter.

Step 4.

Now reset the foreground and background colors to their default values. This is done by pressing the D key. On the toolbar, select Gradient. You can also do this by pressing the G key. top panel settings must be selected linear gradient, and the transition should be from black to transparent.

Step 5.

Now you need to draw a vertical linear gradient. In order for it to turn out strictly vertical, it must be clamped while drawing. Shift key. The gradient needs to be drawn from the top edge of the image to the bottom.

Step 6

In the Layers palette, change the blending mode of the Graduated ND Filter layer to Soft Light ( Soft light).

Step 7

In some photos, this effect darkens or brightens areas of the photo too much. In this case, you need to change the opacity of the image to about 80%.

Step 8

Now you can compare the results before and after processing. The colors in the photo became brighter and more saturated. The detail has increased.

Step 9

The final result of the photo:

Based on materials from the site:

Step 1

Open a photo of the person in Photoshop. We will increase the color intensity to maximum level, increasing the saturation of tones, sharpness and adding a predominant yellow color. Portraits of men with rough faces and beards are best suited for this effect. After sharpening, many small parts They will begin to perform strongly, which you will not notice in photographs of young boys and girls.

Step 2

Create a copy of the photo layer (Ctrl + J) and apply the Unsharp Mask filter (Filter ? Sharpen ? Unsharp Mask).

Step 3

Now let's experiment with color. First you need to reduce its saturation. Do this using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Why do we reduce color saturation if we want, on the contrary, to enhance it? There is no simple answer to this question, but the best explanation is that weak colors create good foundation For further actions, since weak saturation brings together contrasting tones.

Step 4

To further unify the tones and at the same time give a strong color overlay, create a Photo Filter adjustment layer.

If you want to compare the difference before and after adjustments, turn the adjustment layers off and on one by one.

Step 5

Now we will increase the contrast of the entire photo. Create a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and move the Contrast slider to 36.

You may have noticed that we are working with adjustment layers instead of directly making adjustments through the Image menu? Adjustments. This is done in order to maintain the reversible editing style. Reversible editing allows us to change many settings at any time. This applies to adjustment layers, filters, layer sizes, etc.

Step 6

Now we will create the vignetting. Create new layer in Multiply mode. Select a soft brush of 200-300 pixels with 30% opacity. Paint over the edges of the canvas.

Step 7

Create a new layer in Overlay mode. Select a soft brush of 300px size with 10% opacity. Make several strokes on the person's face to create color variation and focus the viewer's attention.

Merge all layers (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E) and set the resulting blending mode to Soft Light. You will notice that the color saturation and contrast will increase greatly. Reduce the layer fill to 58% to reduce the effect.

06/01/16 1.1K

Before you enlarge a picture in Photoshop, you need to adjust its intensity and contrast. In this article I will show how, using correction Brightness/Contrast, increase contrast, create a deeper, more cinematic image. We'll also touch on the topic of adjustment layers and their uses.

1. Corrections and adjustment layers

Before you increase the brightness of an image in Photoshop, it is important that you understand that there is a difference between applying adjustments directly to a layer and applying adjustment layers. Adjustment layers allow you to apply adjustments to a single layer, which you can always delete and change, lower the opacity, or even add a blending mode. It's best to make changes using adjustment layers rather than applying them directly to the layer or image.

2. Brightness and Contrast

You can use the brightness slider to make the image lighter or darker. Using the contrast slider, you can increase or decrease the contrast of the image. By lowering the contrast, you can bring out more detail in the image, revealing information in the dark and light areas.

3. Increase contrast by decreasing contrast

Now I’ll tell you how to increase the quality of a picture in Photoshop. I added an adjustment layer to this image " Brightness/Contrast" I'm going to increase the brightness, but I want to decrease the contrast level in order to bring out some details, which overall will give an overall increase in the contrast of the image.

4. Adjustment layers with blending modes

I added another adjustment layer " Brightness/Contrast" and set its blending mode to "Soft light". And also reduced its opacity a little to soften the contrast, which increases set mode mixing.

5. Reduce contrast before gradient map

After sharpening the image in Photoshop using an adjustment layer, I applied the “Gradient Map”. It will increase the contrast because I gave it two colors and then set this adjustment layer's blending mode to Soft Light. Adding a Gradient Map below the adjustment layer will restore the reduced contrast in the image.

6. Non-destructive editing

All changes made using adjustment layers are reversible. You can always go back and adjust the transparency or other settings. Therefore, it is better to apply adjustment layers rather than direct corrections to a layer or image.

This publication is a translation of the article “ PHOTOSHOP: THE BEST BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST ADJUSTMENT", prepared by the friendly project team

In this tutorial we will learn how to quickly adjust Brightness and Contrast without making permanent changes to the image. Leaving the possibility of further editing.

Unlike Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color, which do not provide options for fine tuning, Brightness/Contrast give manual control over the regulator settings. You can adjust Brightness and Contrast separately, in two different ways: By adjusting the original image and creating a separate layer.

The disadvantage of adjusting the original is that the changes become permanent because they affect the pixels of the image directly. This may interfere with further editing, so should be avoided. It is much more convenient to work with an adjustment layer.

I'm using Photoshop CC, but all the commands used in this tutorial are available in Photoshop CS6.

For the lesson I took an image of a mailbox

Overall, it's not bad, but clearly needs adjusting the Brightness and Contrast. Let's see how an additional adjustment layer can help improve it.

Original image.

Step 1: Add a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer

The first thing we need to do is add a copy of the image to a new layer. Thanks to this, we can easily make changes without changing the original.
There are several ways to create a layer. First: Menu > Layer > New Adjustment Layer. Then select Brightness/Contrast:

You can also click on the Brightness/Contrast icon in the Adjustments panel in Photoshop. The icon is at the top left. The names of the icons will appear when you hover the mouse cursor over them:

If you don't see the adjustment bar on your screen, look in the window menu. There you will find a list of all Photoshop panels. A check mark next to the panel name means that the panel is already open, so you just didn’t notice it (by default it is located next to the styles panel; in CC 2014 - near the styles and libraries panels).

If you don’t see a checkmark next to the panel, select it to make it appear:

There is also a third way to add an adjustment layer. Click on the New Fill Layer or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Then select Brightness/Contrast:

Nothing will happen to the original. But a new Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer will appear above the image in the Layers panel:

Step 2: Click the Auto button

Working on the Brightness and Contrast of the original image, the program opens separate window. In the case of the corrective one, the settings appear in the Settings Panel, which was added to Photoshop version CS6. The Brightness and Contrast sliders, the Auto Adjustments button, and the Use Previous button are displayed here:

As always, the first thing you need is the Auto Settings button. In this case, Photoshop compares your image with processed photographs of professional photographers. And, focusing on them, sets the brightness and contrast values:

In my case, Brightness is set to 54, Contrast to 66. Of course, each image is unique, so your settings will be different:

Here's my photo with Auto Adjust enabled:

Step 3: Adjust the Brightness and Contrast Controls

If after Auto Adjust you still think your image could look better, you can adjust it using the Brightness and Contrast sliders.

I like the way Photoshop handles this, but I decided to lower the Brightness level a bit to 45 and increase the Contrast to 75. Again, this is my personal opinion on image settings. You can configure both parameters as your own taste tells you:

Here's my after photo manual settings. For comparison, the original and untouched image on the left. Processed - on the right:

Working with the “Reuse Previous” function

Just like the static version of the Brightness and Contrast settings, the adjustment layer includes the Use Previous function. It affects the Brightness/Contrast settings in the same way as it did in Photoshop versions CS3. I won’t spend a lot of time on this option, but for example I’ll choose this function:

Using the former forces Photoshop to adjust the images, as in the CS3 version, when Adobe made the most significant improvements. Before CS3, all the Brightness/Contrast settings did was ruin the image.

As short example, with “Use Previous” enabled, I’ll drag the Brightness and Contrast sliders all the way to the right, increasing their values to their maximum. The result is an image that is completely blown out (and with very strange color artifacts). This is because Photoshop used to bring light pixels to pure white, dark pixels to absolute black:

For comparison, by turning off the “Use Previous” option and turning the parameters to maximum, we also get a blown-out photo, but most of the details can still be seen:

By turning the sliders all the way to the left with the “Use Previous” option, we get not just a dark photo - it will be completely black:

With the option turned off, the same settings will give a different result: most of the details will be visible. There is no point in using this option today (except for comparison purposes). It's disabled by default, so it's best to just leave it alone:

Comparing the Original Image with the Adjustment Layer

You may have noticed that the Settings Panel does not contain the View function in the same way as the original version of Brightness/Contrast. The View option allows you to temporarily hide changes to the picture, so we can see the original image.

Does this mean we can't do the same on an adjustment layer? No! This just means that there is simply no corresponding View option, but there is an easy way to do it. Simply click on the layer's visibility icon at the bottom of the Properties panel to toggle the Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer on and off:

You will see your original image when you turn it off.

Click the visibility icon again to turn the adjustment layer back on and show the edited image. This way, you can easily calculate whether you're editing a photo in the right direction by quickly comparing two images:

The little eye icon in the Properties Panel looks familiar. This is because the same layer visibility icon is also on the Layer Panel. They both perform the same function. Clicking on them will hide the adjustment layer or make it visible: