Last month, I discussed the traditional method used to selectively lighten and darken an image. This month, I would like to introduce a new method for dodging and burning that was introduced in Photoshop CS. The shadow/highlight tool is an amazing addition to Photoshop and is one of the best reasons to upgrade if you are using an older version of the software.

The shadow/highlight tool automates many of the steps needed to dodge and burn. It speeds up the image correction process and produces better results. Its only real limitation is that the shadow/highlight tool has to work on pixels directly and will not work as a separate layer. For this reason, many photographers choose to duplicate their image layer before applying the shadow/highlight tool. Duplicating the image can be accomplished easily by going to the layer's palette, clicking on the image layer (it is called "background" by default), dragging the layer down to the create new layer icon (second icon from the right at the bottom of the layers palette), and releasing the mouse button.

To apply the shadow/highlight tool, select the image layer and go to Image → Adjustments → Shadow/Highlight. This will open the shadow/highlight dialog box. Begin by checking "show more options." This will extend the options and separate out the controls for lightening the shadows and darkening the highlights. Since the dialog box is large, it is a good idea to position it off to the side so that the image can be viewed as adjustments are made.

To produce the best results, work with the shadow and highlight adjustments one at a time. Darken and lighten at the same time complicates the process and leads to poor results. To focus on just the shadows, turn the highlight amount setting to "0," effectively turning the highlight control off.

Now I can begin by focusing on lightening the image shadows. There are three controls: amount, tonal width, and radius. Amount acts as a volume control. The higher the value, the greater the lightening effect. The tonal width lets us define a "shadow." A value of "0" defines pure black as a shadow and everything else as a non-shadow. As the value increase, lighter shades of color are included as shadows. Radius controls how much of the area around the shadow is affected by the lightening process. A radius of "0" only applies the lightening effect to the shadow pixels (as defined by our tonal width). Increasing the radius increases the number of pixels adjacent to shadow pixels that will be lightened. For example, increasing the radius to "1" affects the shadow pixels and 1 adjacent non-shadow pixel in every direction. By adjusting these three controls, I can selectively lighten the shadows of the image without altering the midtones or the highlights.

Before making any adjustments, I have some basic settings I like to start with: amount = 30-35, tonal range = 20, and radius = 0. These values produce a lightening effect without overdoing it. This provides me with a starting place that can then be fine tuned for a specific image. Once the default values are in place, I adjust the radius setting and watch the effect on the image. What I am looking for is one radius value that brings extra detail out of the shadows. In most cases, the best radius value is between 5-10. Once the radius is set, I turn my attention to the tonal width value. I want to increase the value until everything I want defined as a shadow is included while excluding midtones and highlights. This adjustment is most easily done my moving the slider around and picking a value that looks appropriate. To fine tune this setting, I move the slider back and forth in small increments until only the lightest shadows that I want to include are changing. After the radius and tonal width are set, I adjust the amount to apply an appropriate lightening effect.

Once the shadows are adjusted, I move to the highlight controls. These controls are similar to the shadow controls with two important differences. First, the highlight controls darken parts of the image. Second, tonal width defines highlights, not shadows. As long as these differences are kept in mind, the highlight controls work in the manner as the shadow controls. I begin with the same initial settings (30-35, 20, 0) and work through the radius, tonal width, and amount controls in the same way to darken the image highlights.

Once the shadows and highlights have been adjusted, there are two options that remain. The first is color correction. My experience is that the default value of "+20" rarely needs to be changed. The second adjustment is midtones contrast. Since the shadow/highlight tool darkens the highlights and lightens the shadows, overall image contrast is reduced. This often results in a flat image. Extra snap can be reinserted into the image by increasing the midtones contrast to "+10." Not all images require a contrast adjustment so my decision is made on a case by case basis. Finally, to maintain image detail, the black clip and white clip settings should be set to "0.01."

One of the challenges of using Photoshop and the shadow/highlight tool specifically is that it is easy to forget exactly what the original image looked like as adjustments are made. This is especially true when many small adjustments are made over time. To see the total effect of the shadow/highlight tool, turn the preview control off and on before finalizing the results. This will show the before and after image. I am constantly shocked by the difference between the two images.

Shadow/highlight is an amazing new tool provided in Photoshop CS. It speeds up the dodging and burning process and often produces better results then can be achieved manually. It also does an amazing job of saving images that would previously have been throwaways. In the deer fawn image used throughout this article, the highlights are so overpowering that the image fails to hold the viewer's attention. With the shadow/highlight tool I was able to save the file and produce an attractive wildlife portrait.

Chris Gamel has been an active wildlife photographer for the past 14 years. The combination of his biological research and photographic interests has taken him around the world. In 2001, Chris discovered the joys of digital photography and he hasn't looked back. Chris lives with his wife and daughter in Salt Lake City where he teaches courses at Weber State University and Salt Lake Community College. To see more of Chris's photography, visit his web site at www.Animal-Antics.net.

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