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Using The "Detail" Module In Adobe Camera Raw
While these instructions are for use with Photoshop CS3 or CS4, they may also be applied to Lightroom 1.4 or 2.0.
The Detail Module controls one of the most important post-processing features available to the digital photographer.
Sharpening:
The first adjustment is to set the "Radius" to .9. This will apply the sharpen filters to only one pixel at a time. If this is set to something greater than 1 the sharpen filters will sharpen and re-sharpen the same pixel resulting in sub-standard results. Next enlarge the preview to 100%(lower left corner of the preview) to view the effects of the sharpen filters on the individual pixels. Select an area of the image that has critical information, like tree branches against the sky or a subjects face.
Hold the Alt key (or Option key) down and move the "Amount" slider. The preview will convert to a B&W image. This is to help delineate how much sharpen is being applied. My partner , Val, doesn't like the B&W conversion so she simply adjusts the slider to her likely while viewing color preview.
The next slider is the "Detail" control. This determines how the edges within the image are sharpened. If you hold the Alt key (or Option key) down while activating this slider you will see an embossed preview showing how much of the edges are being affected. Experimentation and personal preference will determine how you need to adjust your images. Typically I find that setting is correct if I adjust the detail slider to the point where I can just begin to see a white subject outline on the embossed preview. Too much detail can result in hard edges that look digital and fake, it is most noticeable in landscape images with trees against a sky.
The next slider is the "Masking" control. This determines how much sharpening is applied to the middle-tones of the image. Holding the Alt key (or Option key) will show a bunch of squiggles on the preview. The squiggles should just begin to form in the mid-tones of the image. This can be tricky as the mid-tones in one area of the image begin to form before the mid-tones of another area. Compromise and practice are the keys here.
Images sharpened for print by ink jet printers should be sharpened to a slightly greater degree than images for projection or web use. Ink jet printers spray ink, hence the ink will soften slightly when it hits the paper.
Noise Reduction:
There are two sliders in the Noise Reduction area; Luminance and Color.
The Luminance slider controls grayscale noise, which can make an image appear grainy. The Color slider controls chroma noise which is seen as speckles of color contamination.
Noise is a function one or more of the following:
Improper exposure
High ISO settings
Poor quality optics
Poor quality image sensor
The higher you set the noise reduction settings the softer the image becomes. Therefore I do not adjust the noise reduction settings. The defaults settings are: Luminance at zero, and Color at 25. You should properly adjust the image sharpness as noted above, if noise is an issue consider setting your ISO at a lower setting, getting a new lens or camera, or avoid under or over exposure.
Using The History Brush in Photoshop
Setting up and using the History Palette:
When CS3 comes out of the box the palettes on the right side of the screen are: Navigator, Color, Layers. Click the little gray x in the upper right corner of the "Color" palette-don't worry as a photographer you will almost never need it, if you do want it back simply go to the pull-down menu Window and click on the "Color." Now go to the little icon boxes just to the left of the "Navigator" palette. Click on the top box which is the "History" palette. You can drag the History palette anywhere you want to put it on the screen. I place it just below the "Layers" palette. Under Photoshop's "Preferences-Performance" set the number of History States to "50 States". The History Palette records all actions that we complete on an open image. It is not savable, once the image is closed and reopened the History States begin with "Open." To undo an action simply highlight or click on the action above the unwanted action in the "History State" the image will revert to that state in its history.
History Brush tool:
I have found that the history brush tool is the most used function that I use in Photoshop. As noted above to use the history brush you must first set-up your history palette.
All history brush functions must be done on the image background not a layer.
Go to the pull-down menu and select: Image/Adjustments/Curves. I like to use curves for most of my image adjustments because as I noted earlier I believe it applies the changes in the most natural manner, you could use any of the adjustment options in the pull-down.
Looking at just the area you want to lighten, darken, increase or decrease contrast, change color or whatever you want to do, make the necessary adjustments on the curve dialog box (or other dialog box you have selected.)
Now go to the bottom of the History Palette, the middle icon on the bottom of the bar is a "camera" click on this icon.
Scroll to the top of the History Palette, you will notice that a new icon layer has appeared titled "Snapshot 1". Click on the blank box to the left of the icon, this sets the "History Brush Source."
Scroll to the bottom of the History Palette, highlight by clicking on the last action BEFORE you made the Image/Adjustment correction.
Now select the History Brush from the tool palette. Adjust the size and feather of the History Brush on the menu bar just below the pull-down menus. Set your opacity to aprox 25%.
You can now apply the changes to the image by simply brushing the color or density changes onto the areas you want to apply it. Changing the brush size and opacity settings will need to be done for personal preference and individual need.
Any number of changes can be applied to the image before the "Snapshot" is History Brush Source selected.
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