Absolute Beginner's Guide to Digital Photography

214 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TODIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

FIGURE 14.12

Low contrast:

The tones are

bunched toward

the middle of

the histogram;

almost no

whites or

blacks.

Low-contrast images can be saved by setting a new black point and a new white

point. When printing a conventional photograph, you start by trying to ensure that

the print will have bright whites and deep blacks, both with some detail. You might

make test prints before making a final print.

Black-Point and White-Point Setup

Photoshop lets you define black points and white points to improve the brightness

and contrast of an image simultaneously. Brighter images with sufficient contrast

are much more interesting than washed out, bland images. When you set black

points and white points, you first set the highlights, then the shadows, and finally

you tweak the midtones.

The following exercise shows you how to set up the Levels dialog box to improve

brightness and contrast for images that will eventually be printed. These steps apply

mostly to inkjet printers. The settings will differ for other kinds of printers, such as

dye-sublimation or laser printers.

1. Open a low-contrast image in Photoshop and save it with a new name. Keep
   the original safe in case you need to return to it.


2. Open the Levels dialog box by choosing Image, Adjust, Levels.


3. Click twice on the black-point eyedropper to open the Color Picker box.