How do I ..................

[ignatiusjk]

How do I control the contrast in a scanned photo? I run into a situation where the lower and middle values are fine but the high values are not holding detail.I shoot b&w landscapes and my waterfalls are just a little washed out. I would like to have my lower and middle values on a grade three paper with my higher values on a grade two. What do I do???? Please keep it simple, Thanks.

[Richard M. Coda]

In a "scanned" photo you work them separately, using levels or curves adjustment layers for each, and masking each separately.

In a darkroom, you use split filtering.

[ignatiusjk]

I'm not sure what you mean I'm still learning photoshop. Can you take me step by step or a short version?

[ignatiusjk]

I also have photoshop Version 5 does that matter?

[Gem Singer]

Adobe sponsors workshops on how to use Photoshop almost every day of the year in just about every corner of the globe.

Attending one really helps.

[Marko]

Most workshops concentrate on the newest version, occasionally on the previous one, but that's it. PS 5 is truly ancient, regardless of platform.

A total beginner might be best off by taking one of the online training classes, as they can progress at their own pace. I would recommend Scott Kelby (http://www.kelbytraining.com/) and lynda.com (http://www.lynda.com/).

Lynda might be better for start, since they also have some free courses, while Kelby is better for photography-related topics.

[ignatiusjk]

If I get a newer version of PS does that mean I have to rescan all of my negs?

[Brian Ellis]

I don't think that attending a workshop would do you much good since any workshop will be dealing with CS4 and you're using 5, which is really old. You might be able to go on line and find a used copy of a PS 5 book. But otherwise I think you'll need to upgrade to CS4 in order for current workshops or tutorials to be very useful. There are simply too many things about newer versions of Photoshop that aren't on 5 so every time you learn about a way to do something you won't know whether you can do it with 5 or not.

You might try calling Adobe and see if they'll let you upgrade from 5 to CS4 for the upgrade cost ($199) rather than having to buy CS4 for $700 or so. The public policy is supposed to be that Adobe will allow upgrades only for several versions back, which wouldn't work for you since 5 is so old. But I've heard people claim that they've called Adobe and been allowed to upgrade from farther back than Adobe publicly states. Upgrading from 5 is pretty extreme but it can't hurt to ask.

You shouldn't have to rescan your negatives, they're presumably saved somewhere (i.e. on a CD, DVD or your internal or external hard drive) in a format (TIFF, PSD, etc.) that's compatible with newer versions of Photoshop.

[Patrick Dixon]

I don't know photoshop and I'm learning with Gimp, but what you'd do is to create a layer for the highlights, and one for the mid and lows - each with a copy of the original image and a mask to mask in or out the bits you don't want to affect. Then you use curves on each to change the contrast (steepness of curve) and brightness (height of curve) to suit each layer, and combine them together for the desired result.


Hopefully that gives you plenty of things to google for ...

(The quick and dirty way would be to just use curves on the whole image and play with the level and slope of the curve at the right hand side to affect the highlights.)

[Marko]

I don't know photoshop and I'm learning with Gimp, but what you'd do is to create a layer for the highlights, and one for the mid and lows - each with a copy of the original image and a mask to mask in or out the bits you don't want to affect. Then you use curves on each to change the contrast (steepness of curve) and brightness (height of curve) to suit each layer, and combine them together for the desired result.


Hopefully that gives you plenty of things to google for ...

(The quick and dirty way would be to just use curves on the whole image and play with the level and slope of the curve at the right hand side to affect the highlights.)

The best way to do this is to use Curves on Adjustment Layers instead of applying curves to copies of an image. Adjustment layers do not increase file size significantly, they are non-destructive and reversible, you can apply masks to them, change their blending mode and opacity, group them together for additional control, etc.

Adjustment layers provide one of if not THE most powerful way to control and adjust the image, starting with CS2 I believe. They are not limited to curves and levels, though, there are many other adjustments you can use this way, including B&W conversions. If you are a traditional photographer just starting on digital processing and photoshop, you can think of adjustment layers as mask, dodge and burn on steroids. :)

[yuhang919]

I also have photoshop Version 5 does that matter?
oh,my god. I hava photoshop Vession 9:D