Topaz clarity nik pro contrast download#

Unfortunately, this technique only works on single-layer documents, and it doesn’t work with smart objects however, it can produce the most dramatic result of all. (Big thanks to Jack Davis for originally teaching me this!)įinally, let’s use HDR Toning Presets to enhance local contrast. Here are before (top) and after (bottom) previews showing this super-slick technique. To experiment with other Radius values in the High Pass filter, you guessed it, double- click the filter name in the Layers panel. To see a before and after version, click the visibility icon to the left of the filter name in the Layers panel. Choose Overlay (Soft Light works, too) from the Mode pop-up menu and click OK. In the Layers panel, double- click the tiny icon to the right of the filter’s name (circled here) to open its Blending Options dialog. Your image turns oddly gray, but don’t panic you’ll fix that in the next step.

In the resulting dialog, drag the Radius slider to the right to around 180 pixels and click OK. Repeat step one above to open a photo as a smart object in Photoshop.Ĭhoose Filter>Other>High Pass. With this technique, you essentially end up with a dodge and burn layer comprised of 50% gray however, by switching layer blend modes, the gray parts vanish, leaving you with a wonderfully high-contrast photo. Now let’s look at using the High Pass filter to enhance local contrast. To experiment with other values in the Unsharp Mask filter, double- click the filter name in the Layers panel to reopen its dialog. To see a before and after version of this technique, click the visibility icon to the left of the filter name in the Layers panel. Here are before (top) and after (bottom) previews. Note: You may need to use larger values for high-resolution images.

In the dialog, set the Amount between 5–30%, Radius between 30–100, and Threshold to 0. You’ve likely used this filter for sharpening however, by using a larger radius and smaller amount than you normally would, you can enhance contrast in smaller regions of the photo and pull out delicious details in highlights and shadows.

Topaz clarity nik pro contrast download#

Sweet! -We have Jack’s permission to let folks download the image.Ĭhoose Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask. When you do, your changes appear in the original document. Make your changes in that document, choose File>Save (not Save As!), and then close the document. TIP: To access your original layers in the future, double- click the smart object, and Photoshop opens them in a separate, temporary document. If you’re starting in Lightroom, select a photo, and then choose Photo>Edit In>Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. If your photo consists of multiple layers, Shift- click to activate all the layers, and then choose Filter>Convert for Smart Filters, which packages the active layers into a single smart object.

In Photoshop, choose File>Open as Smart Object. This column demonstrates three super-quick ways to get it done. Pixel sharpening.As you’re learning in this issue, increasing contrast globally along high-contrast edges makes a photo look crisp and sharp however, increasing local contrast in smaller regions-referred to as a local contrast enhancement or LCE-can accentuate larger details (shapes), giving your image a three-dimensional look.