Adobe Photoshop Tips and Tutorials
Finding the Highlights, and the Shadows.
Feel free to download this image to follow along in this
tutorial.
(Click on the image to make it larger, then Right Click, Save As.
After saving the image onto your hard drive, locate it and open it
up in Photoshop.)
In this section of the tutorial we will continue working with our
original image and locate the brightest and darkest pixels. We
will then use this information to make our color, contrast and
brightness adjustments in the following sections.
1. After opening the image in Photoshop, go to the bottom of the layers palette and click on
the "Create New Adjustment Layer" Icon. A menu will pop up. Click on "Threshold"
2. This will bring up the Threshold dialog box. Now drag the small triangle at the bottom of
the Threshold dialog box to the left until you see one black pixel remaining in your image.
(You can also use the scroll button on your mouse to move the triangle - Scroll down to move
left.) This will be the darkest pixel in the image. Click "OK"
3. Now, we are going to zoom in on that black pixel and mark its location. First, click on the
hand icon located on the tool palette to the left. Then zoom in on the location of the blackest
pixel by clicking and dragging with your mouse diagonally across the pixel(s) until you make a
small box. Release the mouse button and you will zoom in on that area of the image.
4. Your screen should look similar to the one below, with one, two or a small group of black
pixels on a white background. Now go to your tool palette to the left and find the eyedropper
tool. Click and hold the eyedropper tool and a small menu pops up. While still holding onto the
mouse button, click on "Color Sampler Tool".
5. Take your color sampler and click on your black pixel. This will leave a small bullseye
looking marker directly over your pixel. Note: if your CAPS LOCK key is on when you select
your color sampling tool just place the bullseye over the pixel and click. With or without the
CAPS LOCK key on will work and accomplish the same end result.
6. Now, click on the "Fit Screen" button at the top of your screen and you will have a beautiful
photo of a field of white snow with one distracting black pixel and a bullseye in it!! Nice huh?
Well, lets keep going and hopefully get something that is more appealing to the eye. So, now
double-click on the adjustment layer icon on your threshold adjustment layer (I circled it in
yellow on the image below). This will bring up the same threshold adjustment that we were
just working with. Now drag the triangle to the right until you have only one white pixel
remaining - like we did in step 2. Click "OK" and continue on, following the same process as
we did when we found and marked the black pixel.
6. After you have found and marked the white pixel in your image you can discard the Threshold
Adjustment Layer by clicking and dragging the adjustment layer icon (circled in yellow) on the
Threshold Adjustment Layer to the trashcan on the bottom right of the layers dialogue box. Now
you will be back to your original image and you have two cool looking bulls-eyes on it! Don't
worry, they aren't permanent. I will show you what we are going to do with them in the next
secton of the tutorial on Color Correction.
are welcome!
As a reminder, all of my photographs are Copyright ©Tommy Simms. If you are
interested in using any of my photos, please feel free to contact me.
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