- Duplicate the image. I often find it helpful to give
one of the Auto commands a try before resorting
to Levels. (After all, if I can get away with being
lazy, more power to me.) But rather than mess up
the original image, it’s better to modify a copy. So
choose Image→Duplicate and name the new image
“Auto Color.”
If you don’t feel like naming the image, you can skip
this part. Just press Alt (or Option) when choosing
Image→Duplicate. Photoshop skips the dialog box and
names the image Washed out beauty copy.- Apply the Auto Color command. Choose
Image→Auto Color or press Ctrl+Shift+B (�-Shift-
B). The result appears in Figure 6-22. The fact that
Photoshop can retrieve this much contrast all by
itself is flat-out amazing. But I’m afraid the Auto
command has taken us from a pink cast to a de-
cidedly unattractive greenish-blue one. We can do
much better with the Levels command. So close this
image and feel free not to save it. - Return to the original image. Click the title bar or
tab (depending on how you’re choosing to work) for
the Washed out beauty.jpg image window to bring
the uncorrected photo to the front. - Create a Levels adjustment layer. Levels are an-
other one of those Photoshop adjustments that
you can apply via an adjustment layer for greater
flexibility. From the Adjustments panel, Alt-click
(Option-click) the second icon in the top row, the
one that looks like a jagged mountain range, as I’m
doing in Figure 6-23. In the New Layer dialog box
that appears (presented because you held down the
Alt or Option key), name your new adjustment layer
“Contrast and color,” and press OK.
You can also apply a Levels command directly by choosing
Choose Image→Adjustments→Levels or pressing the shortcut
Ctrl+L (�-L on the Mac). You will be presented with a dialog
box that contains the same controls you see when you select
the Levels option in the Adjustments panel and will be able to
work through this exercise with the settings shown here.Figure 6-22.Figure 6-23.198 Lesson 6: Adjusting Color and Luminance