The Creative Digital Darkroom

Work begun on February 19, 2009
Study Group at Hello World

Chapter 5: Tone and Contrast

For this chapter I created so many examples that I thought it better to place them in a slide show and hope that the viewer can sort out some of the processes described in this page while viewing the photos. In every example, Adjustment Layers played a huge role! My favorite of the batch is this background image of a door in Mystic, Connecticut which was treated to an adjustment to Black and White and then some adjustments of Hue/Saturation, Colorize with different Blending Modes. After that, some painting in the Adjustment Layer's mask allowed for some selective placing of the color. Here is a link to the Slideshow for Chapter 5

 

The Digital Zone System

The digital Zone System can be compared to the Zone System for black and white photos defined in the 1940's by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in which there are 11 separate tonal values (zones) represented by Roman Numerals. 0 is total black and zone X pure white with varying shades of shadows, grays and highlights spread throughout. In digital photography, the histogram is the Zone system, of sorts. The left side of the histogram is pure black and the right pure white, with all of the above mentioned variations in between.

Contrast is explained as difference between tonal values. A lack of difference (contrast) makes an image flat while increasing the differences between tones makes whites lighter and blacks darker. Contrast is used to interpret an image, to draw a viewer's attention to a certain areas or to mute others. Contrast in an image is about extracting meaning from an image. The use of contrast should be brought about by the image itself, our interpretation of it and the message or feeling we would wish to evoke through the image.

The Advantages of Adjustment Layers
Working non-destructively

Throughout this chapter I have come to appreciate the value of Adjustment Layers, not only for the fact that they are non-destructive, but that they allow even further enhancement of photos when combined with Blending Modes and Opacity. I also might mention that using the Black and White Adjustment layer is a great way to create a black and white photo.

Working with Levels
Understanding Curves

Levels and Curves are the two most important Adjustment Layers used in this chapter to adjust brightness and contrast. I learned that an empty Curves Layer with an applied Blending Mode and/or opacity can create contrast in a photo with the added luxury of being able to control the strength of the contrast by opacity, or, if need be, by a gentle nudge to the curve! As I had long ago realized, Multiply darkens and Screen lightens but, Overlay, Soft Light and others are also worth exploring.

Converting Color to BW
Toning BW

Using a digital camera's B&W capability can mean image information loss because camera processing is destructive. Better to convert in Lightroom, ACR or even best, Photoshop after all other corrections have been performed. I found I love the Black and White Adjustment layer in Photoshop.

In Lightroom, I had great fun with the Grayscale Mixer and learned about the Targeted Adjustment Tool. I found it good, but still not as selective as I had hoped because it made adjustments globally to whatever tone I was targeting.

I liked the Color Fill I did of Kelly at the top of the Eiffel Tower! Very dramatic.

Cold and warm toning
Mono and Split Toning with Adjustment Layers

This was a great exploration for me because I had never previously tried some of the exercises.

Combining color with BW

I tried both processes suggested...selections with Hue Saturation Adjustment Layers masks as well as new layers set to Color Blending Mode as seen in the fountain from the Wickford shop.

Conclusion:

This was such a wonderful experience for me! My best discoveries were the Black and White Adjustment Layer, the Grayscale Mixer and Targeted Adjustment Tool in Lightroom, the excitement of really getting specific with mixed toning.

 

Work for
The Creative Digital Darkroom