Move the black triangle to the left to a value of
60 to send more of the pixels to black in the Red
channel. This causes a little extra warmth, which
we don’t need, but it also improves the contrast,
as you can see in Figure 6-27. We’ll neutralize
the color as we make adjustments in the other
channels.- Switch to the Green channel and increase the
shadows. Choose Green from the Channel pop-
up menu or press Alt+4 (Option-4). Then move
the black triangle to a value of 40. - Raise the midtones value. Increase the middle
Input Levels value to 1.05, thus increasing the
brightness of the midtones in the Green channel.
Somewhat counterintuitively, this means moving
the slider to the left. The results of both Green
channel adjustments are shown in Figure 6-28.
PeaRl Of WISDOmThe middle Input Levels number (which corresponds to the
gray slider below the histogram) is calculated differently
than the black and white points. Expressed as an exponent,
this gamma value multiplies all colors in a way that affects
midtones more dramatically than shadows or highlights. The
default gamma value of 1.00 raises the colors to the first
power, hence no change. Higher gamma values make the
midtones brighter; lower values make the midtones darker.
- Switch to the Blue channel. Choose Blue from the
Channel pop-up menu or press Alt+5 (Option-5). - Adjust the shadows and midtones. This time,
change the first two Input Levels values to 35
and 1.05, respectively. The changes to the black
value darkens the Blue channel, while the revised
gamma value lightens the midtones. The result, as
you can see in Figure 6-29 on the next page, is a
pretty good neutralization of the pink color cast
along with some fairly significant improvements
to the contrast overall.
Figure 6-27.Figure 6-28.Adjusting Brightness Levels 203