How to Set the Highlight Value in Adobe Photoshop

When adjusting a digital image, before correcting color it is very important to locate and set the highlight value. Failure to locate the correct highlight may cause the image to appear muddy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop Version 6.0 or later running on a PC or Macintosh computer.
• A digital image in JPEG, TIFF or another common image file format.

1. Open Adobe Photoshop on your computer and select open under the file tab, then browse for your file, select the file with your mouse and click OPEN.
2. On the pallet at the right, right click on the eyedropper tool and select the eyedropper.
3. Before highlight adjustment With the eyedropper selected, select ADJUST/CURVES from the IMAGE menu. Make sure the channel is set to RGB. Use the mouse to move the eyedropper around the image and find the lightest or brightest area of the image. Note the numbers in the INPUT/OUTPUT boxes of the curves menu. The highest number is the brightest highlight.
4. After Highlight adjustment A good highlight for an average RGB image is around 244. If the highest number you found is significantly lower than 244, enter your original number in the INPUT box on the curves menu and put 244 in the OUTPUT box. Observe the change, once you select OK the change is saved forever.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important to set the highlight value before doing any color correction. You may find the only thing wrong with the image is a incorrect highlight.
• Until you become comfortable with this, use copies of your image files in case you accept the changes and then decide later you want to revert to the original.
• Avoid setting the highlight on bright reflections or spectral highlights. The highlight should be set to the brightest area where you want to see some detail.
• This procedure gives you the most control when working with images but should be used by those who are more experienced with image editing.
• The procedure should really be used in combination with setting the proper shadow value.