How to Set the Shadow Value in Adobe Photoshop

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

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop Version 6 or later
• A digital image in either TIFF or JPEG or another commonly accepted image 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. After highlight correct, but before shadow correction 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 darkest area of the image. Note the numbers in the INPUT/OUTPUT boxes of the curves menu. The lowest number is the deepest shadow. Make sure you choose the darkest area in which you want some detail.
4. After highlight and shadow correction A good highlight for an average RGB image is around 10. If the lowest number you found is significantly higher than 10, enter your original number in the INPUT box on the curves menu and put 10 in the OUTPUT box. Observe the change, once you select OK the change is saved forever. Adjust the output number upward or downward before committing to the change.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important to set the highlight and shadow values before doing any color correction. You may find the only thing wrong with the image is an incorrect highlight or shadow.
• 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.
• Remember so set the shadow value in the darkest area that you want some detail, it is ok to have some small dark areas in a photo without 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 done after setting the proper highlight value.