Part 1 :- Using High Pass and select tools in a Layer to enhance an image.

In this section, and working in a layer, I will use the High Pass filter and some slight Levels, Contrast and Color Balance adjustment.

Attention needs to be paid to preserving highlights and also to keeping shadow detail. Many stock agencies and publishers will reject images with highlights greater than 248 and shadow less than 4.

Note - A scale of 0 to 255 is used with Red, Green, Blue (RGB) to show tonal variations for that colour. 0 does not equal black but no tone. Of course, this will show as black. 255 does not equal white but, again, no tone and this will show as white.

OK, let's look at the original image. This is exactly as shot.

Step 1 - Make a duplicate layer of the image.

Step 2 - Select the High Pass filter

Step 3 - Choose a value for the filter. I am using 145 but often use a higher value than this. Notice how the image goes 'milky' looking. Don't worry, it is quite normal.

Step 4 - Select Blending Options

Step 5 - Select Soft Light from the Blending Options top drop down box.

Step 6 - Adjust the Opacity Slider to suit. In this case, I am using 75 but, again, I often use different values dependent on the image and the outcome I desire.

Step 7 - While still in the 'Layer' mode, select Levels.

Step 8 - Adjust Levels to suit. Because we are still working in a Layer, the adjustments will be much less pronounced than if we weren't. Here I have selected 25, 1.00 and 220. Don't be afraid to be heavy handed as the Layer is still 'blending'. You should, however, do any adjustments to suit your own image and taste.

Step 9 - Still in Layer mode, do any adjustments for colour, saturation, etc. Here, I am going to adjust the Color Balance slightly.

Step 10 - For my own taste, the white looks slightly yellow to me. Simply, I am going to adjust the Blue and Cyan to compensate for it. Remember, because we are working in the layer which is 'blending', the adjustments can be quite heavy.

Step 11 - Similarly, this is a good time to make any adjustments for lightness or contrast. Select Brightness/Contrast.

Note : For this specific process, you can use Levels or Curves for this step but, with all three, none is better than the other. See part 2 for more detail on this point.

Step 12 - Adjust Contrast to suit. I have used a value of 30 but this, again, is your choice.

The finished image.

Cropped versions of the original compared to the finished image. Finished image is 'flipped' for comparison purposes.

Pretty much that is it. I hope you find it beneficial.

As we are working in a Layer, when finished, you can keep as a PSD file or a Jpeg and size how you wish. I mostly re-size to 12x17" @300ppi for publishing/printing purposes.

See part 2 for more detail on sizing and saving images.

Remember, do NOT save over your original file. Use 'Save As'.

There are hundreds of ways to post process. This is just one technique and I find it works well for most images.

Try it out and have fun. Be sure to try different values in the steps as this will provide you with a wealth of self-learned views of how the values affect the outcome.

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