> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ OCTOBER 2019[ 70 ]
SHORTCUT #1: SELECTING BRIGHTNESS LEVELS
TO ADJUST VALUES AND COLOR GRADE
You can adjust the values of an image based on its bright-
ness levels, and even color-grade it by adding colors to the
shadows, midtones, and highlights. To load a selection of
the brighter pixels in an image, press Command-Option-2
(PC: Ctrl-Alt-2). This is the same as Command-clicking
(PC: Ctrl-clicking) on the RGB channel thumbnail in the
Channels panel (Window>Channels). Now, you can add
an adjustment layer, such as Levels, and the selection willload as a layer mask for the adjustment layer. Whatever
changes you make will only affect the highlights. (The
grayscale images shown below show what the masks look
like in the document.)
Load the selection again, but this time invert the mask
by pressing Command-I (PC: Ctrl-I) to target the darker
colors of the image. Now any changes you make will only
affect the shadow areas.MORE RETOUCHING SHORTCUTS
Retouching images can be very time-consuming. Some people love it; others dread it. Whether you
enjoy it or not, Iām going to give you eight random and handy Photoshop shortcuts to take your
retouching game to the next level.
Shortcut City
GILMARSMITH