HOW TO ››› ›photoshop user› february 2017040
LESA SNIDERBegin ners' Work sho p
how to quickly enhance local contrast
As you’re learning in this issue, increasing contrast globally along high-contrast edges makes a photo
look crisp and sharp; however, increasing local contrast in smaller regions—referred to as a local contrast
enhancement or LCE—can accentuate larger details (shapes), giving your image a three-dimensional look.
This column demonstrates three super-quick ways to get it done.Step One: In Photoshop, choose File>Open as
Smart Object. If you already have a photo open
that consists of multiple layers, Shift-click to acti-
vate all the layers, and then choose Filter>Convert
for Smart Filters, which packages the active layers
into a single smart object. If you’re starting in Light-
room, select a photo, and then choose Photo>Edit
In>Open as Smart Object in Photoshop.
Tip: To access your original layers in the future,
double-click the smart object, and Photoshop
opens them in a separate, temporary document.
Make your changes in that document, choose
File>Save (not Save As!), and then close the docu-
ment. When you do, your changes appear in the
original document. Sweet!
[KelbyOne members may download the file
used in this tutorial at http://www.kelbyone.com/
magazine. All files are for personal use only.]©Jack Davis / Wow Creative ArtsStep Two: Choose Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask.
You’ve likely used this filter for sharpening; how-
ever, by using a larger Radius and smaller Amount
than you normally would, you can enhance con-
trast in smaller regions of the photo and pull out
delicious details in highlights and shadows. In the
dialog, set the Amount between 5–30%, Radius
between 30–100, and Threshold to 0. Click OK.
Note: You may need to use larger values for high-
resolution images.
Here are before (top) and after (bottom) pre-
views. To see a before and after version of this tech-
nique in your images, c lick the visibility icon to the
left of the filter name in the Layers panel. To experi-
ment with other values in the Unsharp Mask filter,
double-c lick the filter name in the Layers panel to
reopen its dialog.