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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2
User Guide
Tonal adjustment controls for camera raw files
Exposure
Adjusts the brightness or darkness of the image. Move the slider to the left to darken the image; move it
to the right to brighten the image. The values are in increments equivalent to f-stops. An adjustment of +1.50 is
similar to widening the aperture 1-1/2 stops. Similarly, an adjustment of –1.50 is similar to reducing the aperture
1-1/2 stops.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while moving the Exposure slider to preview where the highlights are
clipped. (Clipping is the shifting of pixel values to either the highest highlight value or the lowest shadow value.
Clipped areas are either completely white or completely black and have no image detail.) Move the slider until the
highlights (not specular highlights) are completely clipped, and then reverse the adjustment slightly. Black indicates
unclipped areas, and color indicates areas clipped in only one or two channels.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while moving the Exposure slider to show clipped highlights.
Shadows
Specifies which input levels are mapped to black in the final image. Moving the slider to the right increases
the areas that are mapped to black. This sometimes creates the impression of increased contrast in the image. Using
the Shadows slider is similar to using the black point slider for input levels in the Photoshop Levels command.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while moving the Shadow slider to preview where the shadows are
clipped. Move the slider until the shadows begin to get clipped, and then reverse the adjustment slightly. Color
indicates areas that are being clipped in one or two channels, and white indicates unclipped areas.
Brightness
Adjusts the brightness or darkness of the image, much as the Exposure slider does. However, instead of
clipping the image in the highlights (areas that are completely white, no detail) or shadows (areas that are completely
black, no detail), Brightness compresses the highlights and expands the shadows when you move the slider to the
right. In general, use the Brightness slider to adjust the overall brightness or darkness after you set the white and black
clipping points with the Exposure and Shadow sliders.
Contrast
Adjusts the midtones in an image. Higher values increase the midtone contrast, and lower values produce
an image with less contrast. Generally, you use the Contrast slider to adjust the contrast of the midtones after setting
the Exposure, Shadow, and Brightness values.
Saturation
Adjusts the color saturation of the image from –100 (pure monochrome) to +100 (double the
saturation).
See also
“Using Levels to set highlights, shadows, and midtones” on page 284
