Photoshop
Tutorial
Tutorial #11
Reducing Shadows with the Shadow/Highlight tool
Here is that shot of the Iron Bridge in Shropshire again. It was taken quite early one August morning but already the Suns intensity has created a large black shadow on the right-hand of the footpath.
There are numerous ways to reduce the effect of this shadow but in this tutorial we are going to use the Shadow/Highlight tool - and also introduce Smart Objects.
Open the image in Photoshop.
You hopefully already appreciate the use of adjustment layers and the fact that they are applied non-destructively over the top of the original background image. Also, you can go back and modify them at any time.
Unfortunately, the Shadow/Highlight tool is not included as an adjustment layer. So, as a start, make a copy of the background as a new layer. You can either right-click on the Background layer and then choose 'Duplicate Layer' or simply use the keyboard and press 'Ctrl-J'.
Top Tip !
To create a copy of the background layer as a new layer, just press 'Ctrl-J'.
Now you can work on the image knowing that the original image remains untouched on the 'Background' layer.
You could go straight into 'Image' -> 'Adjustments' -> 'Shadows/Highlights' at this point but, as stated above, this is not an adjustment layer so you won't be able to modify any changes after they have been initially made - you can only delete the duplicate layer and start again.
However, there is a way to get around this - Smart Objects.
Right-click on 'Layer 1' in the Layers window and then choose 'Convert to Smart Object' from the pop-up box.
Now go to 'Image' -> 'Adjustments'. You will now see that the only option available to you is the Shadow/Highlight tool. Choose it.
Initially you will see a simple dialog box that only has two sliders: Shadows and Highlights.
Although you could just use these it will give you limited flexibility. So click the 'Show More Options' box.
You will now see the box has eight sliders. We will now use these to edit the photograph.
As soon as you opened the dialog box you will have seen that the shadows in the image got a lot lighter. This is because Photoshop has a pre-set of 50% on the shadows 'Amounts' slider. In reality, this is usually far too much so for a start we can reduce this to something more pleasing.
The second slider is called 'Tonal Width' and determines how many shades are affected by the Amounts slider. The higher the number means that more of the midtones and highlights are affected. Since we primarily want to control the shadows here it is best to keep this slider towards the low end.
The third slider in the Shadows adjustments is 'Radius' and affects the contrast on the grey edges. There is no simple rule about what setting is best (and it changes from image to image) so just start at '0' and slowly move through to '2500' and then back again. Then choose the point that you are happiest with.
Although the main purpose of this adjustment was to lighten that large black shadow we may as well see if we can make some other improvements with the remaining sliders.
The three 'Highlight' sliders work in a similar manner to those for the Shadows' and should be treated in the same way. Here, I have increased the 'Amount' which has nicely darkened the sky a little. However, be careful not to overdo it otherwise you will start getting a 'halo' effect. The 'Tonal Width' and 'Radius' have also been adjusted to my preference.
Finally we can look at the two 'Adjustments' sliders.
'Color Correction' will adjust the saturation of colours only in the Shadows and Highlights.
'Midtone Contrast' will adjust the saturation of the Midtones.
Again, the settings of these are a personal preference.
When you are happy with the settings press 'OK'. You will see that 'Layer 1' has split into three sections. This is why we converted it into a Smart Object. You can now work on the layer as a Layer Mask and also open the Shadows/Highlights dialog box at any time to adjust the settings.
So there it is - the shadow in my picture is much lighter - and I have the benefit of a slightly darker sky. This is such a powerful tool and can be used to benefit any image. Try it and see.
Roll mouse over image to see original version
In the next tutorial we will explore working with Layers.
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