Best online Software tips,tricks,magic

ssigning (targeting) an image's highlight and shado

w values is necessary because most output devices (usually printing presses) cannot print detail in the blackest shadow values (near level 0) nor the whitest highlight values (near level 255). Specifying the minimum shadow level and maximum highlight level helps to bring the important shadow and highlight details within the gamut of the output device. For more information about the gamut of a device, see Why each device has a different color space.

If you are printing an image on a desktop printer and your system is color managed, it's unnecessary to set the highlight and target values. The Photoshop color management system automatically makes adjustments to the image you see on the screen so it prints properly on your profiled desktop printer. For more information on producing consistent color from image editing to printing, see Producing consistent color with a desktop printer.

Note: You can do the following procedure in the Levels dialog box in ImageReady.

To use target values to set highlights and shadows:

1. Select the Eyedropper tool . You can choose 3 by 3 Average from the Sample Size menu in the Eyedropper tool options. This ensures a representative sample of an area rather than the value of a single screen pixel.
2. Open the Levels or Curves dialog box. (See Using the Levels dialog box or Using the Curves dialog box (Photoshop).)

When you open Levels or Curves, the Eyedropper tool is active outside the dialog box. You still have access to the scroll controls, the Hand tool , and the Zoom tool using keyboard shortcuts.

3. Do one of the following to identify areas of highlights and shadows that you want to preserve in the image:
• Move the pointer around the image, and look at the Info palette to find the lightest and darkest areas that you want preserved (not clipped to pure black or white). (See Viewing the color values of pixels (Photoshop).)
• Drag the pointer in the image, and look at the Curves dialog box to find the lightest and darkest points you want to preserve. This method does not work if the Curves dialog box is set to the CMYK composite channel.

When identifying the lightest highlight details that you want targeted to a printable (lower) value, don't include specular highlights. Specular highlights such as the highlight glint in jewelry or a spot of glare are meant to be the brightest points in an image. It's usually desirable to let specular highlight pixels be clipped (pure white, no detail) so no ink is printed on the paper.