FIGURE 15.16
Use the cursor
to sample
brightness
values in the
image.230 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TODIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
With slow sync, the flash fires but the shutter remains open to capture any natural
light in the image. When the camera meter mistakenly meters a scene, a slow-sync
shot turns into a washed-out, blurry image.
To fix this problem, simply open the Curves menu by choosing Image, Adjustments,
Curves. Then pull down the elastic line to lower the brightness of the midtones in
the image. The image should now look correct: plenty of contrast and brightness
with no glare.Getting Information About the Image
With the image onscreen and the Curves dialog box open, you can move the cursor
over the image and see brightness information appear interactively in the Curves
dialog box. As you move your cursor over the image, the eyedropper icon displays:
■ A circle on the curve, showing the brightness of the pixel under the cursor.
■ A numerical brightness value for the pixel below the curves graph. The Input
box shows the brightness value (0–255) of the pixel before the curve was
edited, and the Output box shows the pixel’s brightness value after editing
(the current value).Moving the cursor with the mouse button held down enables you to sample pixels
from many places in the image (see Figure 15.16). As the cursor glides around, the
circle on the graph moves and the corresponding numbers change. The information
you gain can help you decide how to place new points on the curve and which way
to drag them to change their brightness.