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Post by laurenjay on May 10, 2015 18:01:18 GMT
Could someone please explain how to darken a background and lighten a subject on the same image with PSE 9? I took a picture of someone with a window in the background.
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Post by Sepiana on May 10, 2015 18:56:23 GMT
Hi laurenjay, welcome aboard!
You could use a Levels adjustment layer in a selective way.
1. Use the appropriate selection tool to select the area to be darkened, i.e., the background.
2. Create a Levels adjustment layer and make the necessary adjustments to darken the background. Any adjustment you make will
affect only the area within the selection boundaries (the marching ants); it won’t spill over into the other areas of your image.
3. Then, do the same to lighten the subject, i.e., the person.
Hope this helps! 
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ken1
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 83 
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by ken1 on May 10, 2015 20:28:59 GMT
Could someone please explain how to darken a background and lighten a subject on the same image with PSE 9? I took a picture of someone with a window in the background. laurejay Use one of the selection tools, e.g. lasso tool, selection brush, to select the foreground object. Feather 5-10px. Create levels adjustment layer #1 Press CTRL+left click the layer mask (the rectangle) on levels adjustment layer #1 Select the original image layer again in the layers palette Go to Select>Inverse Create levels adjustment layer #2 Now, you can adjust the foreground and background independently by double clicking the layer thumbnail (on the left) on the respective adjustment layer. Use the sliders below the histogram. |
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Post by Sepiana on May 10, 2015 22:42:55 GMT
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Post by BuckSkin on May 10, 2015 23:35:33 GMT
Just in case you don't already know all of this. I will add that, providing you use Levels adjustment layers, you can fine tune the effect by painting on the adjustment layers with a soft brush.......I know, it didn't make any sense to me for a long time, but no paint/color actually shows up on the image. Click on the layer you want to adjust to make it active. You are going to paint on the actual image that you see. Painting with BLACK hides the adjustment; painting with WHITE allows the adjustment to show through; painting with various shades of GREY sort of fades in/out the adjustment. Thanks for reading. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2015 23:44:35 GMT
In addition to the above, you can use the Dodge and Burn tools to fine tune the lightening and darkening of the foreground and background.
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Post by Sepiana on May 11, 2015 0:00:15 GMT
Here is a technique to dodge and burn which does it in a non-destructive way (the effect is applied on a separate layer). If you don’t like the resulting effect, all you have to do is delete that layer and start over.
1. Create a new blank layer above the background layer.
2. Fill the new layer with 50% gray and change the blending mode to Overlay.
3. Activate the Brush tool. Select a soft brush with the Opacity set low (about 25-30%).
4. To dodge, i.e, to make areas in your image lighter and brighter, paint over them with white.
5. To burn, i.e., to darken areas in your image, paint over them with black.
And here is another way to create a new layer filled with 50% gray and with the Overlay blending mode.
1. Go to Layer>New>Layer.
2. In the dialog box change the Mode to Overlay and click on the "Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% Gray)" checkbox.
Note: The "Fill with . . ." option is normally grayed out. Selecting the Overlay mode will make it available.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2015 0:35:37 GMT
Thanks Sepiana, the non-destructive method is much better than using the actual dodge/burn tools. I was too lazy to post the steps.  Just one general tip I would like to add - you can fine tune the effect of a layer (in this case your added layer in steps 1-2) by adjusting its opacity. |
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ken1
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 83
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by ken1 on May 11, 2015 15:18:16 GMT
Could someone please explain how to darken a background and lighten a subject on the same image with PSE 9? I took a picture of someone with a window in the background. laurenjay, Thanks for your e-mail. Glad that this method works for you. |
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