Photographic Retouching
and Restoration
Adobe Photoshop
Removing Unwanted
Harsh Shadows
Removing unwanted harsh shadows from images using Adobe Photoshop
will employ several sophisticated techniques for a final seamless effect.
Methods may include creating selections using the Magic Wand and Lasso
tools, recreating areas with the Clone Stamp, Patch tool, and Copy/Paste
techniques, and inflicting density adjustments to localized areas with
the Burn Tool, Dodge Tool, and Curves.
Attention to detail and technique is crucial in acquiring a seamless effect.
Changes to localized areas may take some experimenting to obtain the desired
results. It is best to operate with the texture and detail that is already
provided in the image. This technique is not always possible so a recreation
of a specific area may have to be employed. This process will also prove
to be anything but simple and straight forward.
1. Create a selection of the problem area using one of several selection
tools. Start by clicking with the Magic Wand in the area of the
desired change (a selection tolerance can be adjusted in the options panel).
Other methods of selection may include the Lasso tools if the desired
effect is not obtained immediately with the Magic Wand. A combination
of selection tools may have to be employed to refine the selection area.
* Hold the shift key to add to a current selection, hold the alt/option
key to subtract from a current selection.
2. Once the selection
area has been obtained, it is important to refine the edges to hide any
evidence of an adjustment area. Do this by first navigating to the Selection
Menu and Modify>Expand the current selection by 1 pixel.
3. Go to the Selection
Menu again and Feather the edges of the current selection
by 1 pixel. Doing this will provide the edge of the selection area with
a more gradual and softer change to the edge.
4. Adjust the density
of the image selection area by using the Dodge tool (adjust the
exposure in the options panel). Simply brush over the area and a lightening
effect should occur in the designated area.
5. After adjustments
have been made, Deselect the current active selection by navigating
to the Select Menu. The image adjustment edges will now be slightly
detectable.
6. The Clone Stamp
can now be employed to recreate the edges of the selected area. When recreating
areas, it is a good idea to create a separate blank layer. This way the
recreation adjustments will not destroy the original image information.
Be sure to click the Use All Layers checkbox in the Clone Stamp
options palette.
* The Clone Stamp works best when defining from similar areas in tone
and shade (usually areas near the problem work best).
7. In order to create
subtle lines and shapes that may be lost in this process, it is sometimes
necessary to copy/paste an adequate area using some type of selection
technique. First, create an active selection then go to the Edit Menu
to Copy the active selection area.
* The active selection area will be copied to an invisible clipboard inside
the program.
8. Go to the Edit
Menu and Paste the newly copied area to the image (a new layer
is created for each paste that is executed).
9. Move and position
the new layer to the area that needs to be covered/recreated. This is
done by using the Move tool in conjunction with the Free Transform
located within the Edit Menu.
10. When finished
with image recreation, it is best to save a working file with all layers
intact for possible future adjustments. It is also a good idea to save
a flattened print file when sending information to a printer. A flattening
of the layers is accomplished by clicking the triangle on the layers palette.
* Flattened images require less processing time for the printer due to
the reduced file size.
© 2002-2010
by Tonal Range, L.L.C.. All Rights Reserved.
Copying of this material is strongly encouraged for the benefit of education.