What
happened? What some people don't realize is that the light from a
flash can only travel so far. This is why professionals use large
flash units when they take ringside photos. The average snapshot
camera (mine included) has a flash that's only good to 10-15
feet. In this picture, the dark areas are too dark, hiding
detail. But what many people don't know is that the detail is
there, you just can't see it. So, let's lighten this photo and
see what we get.
In Paint Shop Pro (PSP) find the COLORS menu. We are
adjusting the color so we need the secondary ADJUST menu.
There lots of ways to adjust this
picture. We can shift the BRIGHTNESS of the image. We can
change the SATURATION. But I find that adjusting the GAMMA seems
to do it all very nicely. I don't know exactly why, but it
works. Select GAMMA CORRECTION and you will get a correction
window.
To lighten the photo you will need to adjust the three sliders to the
right. Notice that there is LINK check box. When it is
checked, the sliders will move together (very handy). Also notice
that PSP shows you a preview window. Look at how the dogs face
has lightened and now shows detail that we thought was gone. Have
some fun and unLINK the sliders. Notice how you can change the
tint of the image by sliding only one or two of the slides. This
is one way to fix a photo with a slightly green or orange tint.
When
the image is how you like it, select OK.
This was an easy picture to edit. You only need to decide how
LIGHT you want it. It is easy to wash out the photo if you move
the sliders too much. By the way, we won "Best In Match" this
day. Now, SAVE your corrected picture. Remember to use the
SAVE AS feature and give the corrected image a new name. Again,
you never know if you'll need the original image for something.
For a little more fun, try the other selections on the COLOR menu. Don't be afraid to change things just to see what they do. That's how I learned to do it. PSP and most other programs, have an UNDO feature. If the results don't give you what you want, just UNDO and try something else. The results aren't permanent until you press SAVE.
For a little more fun, try the other selections on the COLOR menu. Don't be afraid to change things just to see what they do. That's how I learned to do it. PSP and most other programs, have an UNDO feature. If the results don't give you what you want, just UNDO and try something else. The results aren't permanent until you press SAVE.