IMPROVE IMAGE CONTRAST with a Levels layer

16 Feb 2010 by admin

You can create a Levels adjustment layer to improve the contrast in an image. You can use adjustment layers in Photoshop Elements to make changes to a photo without altering the underlying original image. With adjustment layers, you can apply all kinds of changes to color, tonal range, and contrast to a copy of the original image layer. The original image remains intact. After you are happy with your adjustments, you can flatten the image and apply the changes to the actual image layer. If you do not like the changes, you can simply discard the Levels adjustment layer. To learn more about creating adjustment layers.


A Levels adjustment layer is directly connected to the Levels dialog box. As such, you can easily summon the Levels dialog box at any time to make changes to the shadows, midtones, and highlights of an image. The Input sliders in the dialog box enable you to remap black and white points in your image to make improvements to the image’s overall contrast.

This photo appears a bit dull and lacking in contrast.

  • Display the Layers palette.

Note: You can activate the Layers
palette from the palette well or
click Window ➪ Layers.

  • Click here and select Levels.

Elements adds a new adjustment layer to the Layers palette, and
the Levels dialog box opens.

  • Drag the Input Levels highlight slider to just inside of where the lightest image information begins.

The pixels in the highlights immediately lighten.

  • Drag the Input Levels shadow slider to the right a small amount.
  • The pixels in the shadow areas immediately darken.
  • Click OK.

Elements applies the changes made in the adjustment layer, and the photo’s contrast improves.

  • To return to the Levels dialog box at any time for more adjustments, simply double-click the Levels thumbnail.
  • To switch between the before and after image, click the eye icon to turn on or off the visibility of the adjustment layer.

Source:
Digital Photography: Top 100
Simplified® Tips & Tricks,
Second Edition
by Gregory Georges


  • Share/Save/Bookmark
Category: Photography Tips, Photoshop Tips  Tags: ,  One Comment

Top Ten Photography Schools

09 Feb 2010 by admin

What’s the point?  Photography job interviews are about the portfolio, not the resume, right?  Right, to a point.  A stint in photography school can make you a better photographer if it expands the number of “formats’ in which you can work.  Portraiture is still an important profession in the photography world; learning the tips and tricks for that sort of work can most thoroughly be accomplished in a classroom, unless you’re an apprentice.  A certificate or degree in photography from an established arts institution can provide evidence that you can use the technology in a variety of settings.


Here is a list of schools that provide comprehensive study opportunities for photography; schools with academic programs that are career oriented.  We list them in no particular order, but feel that all of them can provide you with important professional credentials if you chose to take your interest in photography one step further and try to make it a career.

The Art Institutes is actually a system of forty four campuses and a broad online program.  The range of academic options range from culinary to fine arts, with a photography major available at thirty four locations.

Brooks Institute is located on three campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California.  Open since 1945, the school specializes in photography and film.

Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts is a relatively new program at a university with impeccable academic credentials.  Their coursework for the photography major includes Fine Art Printing, Studio Lighting, Composition and Design and other career oriented focal points.

Harrington College of Design is a Chicago based institution offering an concentrated photography program of five semesters or more, taught by working professionals.

Academy of Arts University in San Francisco is a fully accredited institution that opened in 1929.  Their photography program is one of sixteen majors, several of which are in digital arts.

New England School of Photography is a small school in Boston dedicated to educating professional photographers.  The two year program is designed to provide the range of professional skills necessary to enter the commercial photography field.

International Academy of Design and Technology operates ten campuses and offers degree programs in several design areas.  Their Associate of Science in Digital Photography is somewhat focused on the skills required in fashion, advertising and commercial design.

The Art Institute of Chicago operates one of the top art schools in the nation, located in one of the country’s finest art museums.  The Photography Department pushes the latest methodologies for digital work but also teaches the uses and techniques for analog photography.

The Rhode Island College of Design is arguably the best known and most highly regarded design school in the United States.  That makes it a highly competitive and not inexpensive educational option, but what may interest photographers in Southern New England is their continuing education options.

California College of the Arts is a long established West Coast independent with a photography program that offers an arts-oriented academic approach.  Students can work in color, black and white, analog, and digital.  The campus maintains equipment for both state of the art and traditional techniques.

———

Amy Love is a freelance writer for Photography School Guide.com.

  • Share/Save/Bookmark
Category: Photography Tips  One Comment
« Previous Entries