STEP : 1

Start this project by opening a back-lit image in Photoshop. If you don’t have one to work with but you do have a digital camera, take a picture of someone or something indoors in front of a bright window. For example, the picture in Figure 33-1 was shot facing the window inside of a passenger car of an old steam engine train.

STEP : 4

If you like, use the settings shown in the Shadows/Highlights dialog box in Figure 33-2 as a starting point for your image. Otherwise, experiment until the image looks right to you:

• In the Shadows area, shift the Amount slider to the left to darken or to the right to brighten the areas with shadows. The Tonal Width sets the range of values affected by the Amount slider. The lower or higher the number, the smaller or greater are the shadows areas that are affected. Keep the width somewhat narrow to produce the best results. The Radius softens the edges of the Amount and Tonal Width.
• In the Highlights area, shift the Amount slider to darken the brightest areas, the Tonal Width to set the range of the values affected by the Amount, and the Radius to soften the edges.
• In the Adjustments area, apply a bit of Color Correction and Midtone Contrast to improve the overall image quality.
• When finished, click OK to close the dialog box.

Step : 5

To adjust the strength of the Shadows/Highlight Smart Filter affecting your image, select the Smart Filter mask thumbnail in your Layers panel and use the Paint Brush tool (B) to paint across your image with a black or white brush to either conceal or reveal areas of the filter. You may also want to apply a Sharpening filter to your main image to sharpen some of the details. Figure 33-3 shows the example image before and after using the Shadows /Highlight Smart Filter.