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Basics ›› Making Photograph Adjustments
 
As you can see from the screenshot below, New Adjustment Layer is located under Layer.



The New Adjustment Layer feature allows you to create adjustments to your photo or artwork one layer at a time. When you select, in this instance Levels, you are asked to name the layer and would you like to Group With Previous Layer. I most always check this box. You can color the layer and give it a transparency factor using Mode. You can also specify it's opacity. Go ahead and select Levels for this demonstration.



Immediately the Levels dialogue box appears allowing you to specify Channels and Input and Output levels.



After I have made adjustments in Levels and press OK, you can see in the Layers palette that a new indented layer has appeared. You can hide this layer or change it's transparency mode, plus reduce it's opacity.



The first photo below is with the Levels layer hidden. The second photo is with the Levels layer unhidden.



Here is the same photo with the Levels layer set at Exclusion.



I have a applied a Hue/Saturation New Adjustment Layer to the photo. See how it also is indented. Here is the effect of the two New Adjustment Layers applied to our photo. You can keep going and going and making adjustment layers this way, changing their transparency mode, etc. It's an easy and economical way to make changes to your photo or artwork while maintaining the integrity of the original piece.



 
Rate and discussion this tutorial
Angela bduffy28@comcast.net said on 2008-05-28 10:05:08
Re: Making Photograph adjustments. Your comment: I almost alway check Group w/Previous Layer. Why do you do that?

also, why don't you work w Copy of background layer to preserve the original? I thought this was how you "preserved the integrity of your original work? Great tutorial
Travis Ferrier said on 2010-04-26 15:04:08
This is great! i love how it all comes together at the end!