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How to darken an image in paint. PAINT tutorial. Change Office color scheme to improve contrast

Posted on 02/14/2012 09:34 AM Paint Shop Pro X4 provides ways to adjust brightness as well as contrast in your images that create differences between light and dark pixels in an image. By applying commands to a selection or the entire image, you can do the following:

manually define brightness and contrast;

setting individual brightness in the image;

defining light (75% hue), medium (50% hue) tones and shadows (25% hue) to ensure smooth transitions between them;

distribute pixel brightness values more evenly from black to white;

increasing the overall contrast when the histogram does not cover the entire brightness spectrum;

determine the settings for brightness, contrast and gamma on the image;

creating a pure black and white image.

7.3.1. Adjusting the light, medium, and dark tones in the image

The command Adjust → Brightness and Contrast→ Highlight / Midtone / Shadow(Adjust → Brightness and Contrast → Highlights / Midtones / Shadows). After executing this command, a dialog box opens. Highlight / Midtone /Shadow(Highlights / Midtones / Shadows) (Fig. 245).

If nothing is selected in the image, then the adjustment is carried out for the entire image.

Rice. 245. Image tone adjustment

Parameters Shadow(Shadow), Midtone(Intermediate tone) and Highlight(Flare) defines the values for shadows, mid-tones and highlights in the selection, and if nothing is selected in the image, then for the entire image. The numerical values in these parameters depend on the selected switch position below these parameters.

The switch at the bottom of the dialog box can take the following positions:

Absolute adjustmentmethod(Absolute Adjustment Method) - Sets the positions to 25% for shadows, 50% for midtones, and 75% for highlights. Typical values are around 35 for shadows, 50 for midtones, and 65 for highlights, but these may vary depending on specific photographs. Increasing values lighten the area, while decreasing values darken it.

Relative adjustmentmethod(Relative Adjustment Method) - Adjusts the brightness levels relative to their original states. Positive values lighten the area, while negative values darken the area.

7.3.2. Setting bar graph

The Tone Histogram allows you to analyze the tonal range of an image and redistribute the balance of shadows, mid-tones, and highlights.

To correct tones in an image or selection, you must run the command Adjust → Brightness and Contrast→ Histogram Adjustment(Adjust → Brightness and Contrast → Histogram Adjustment). After executing this command, a dialog box opens. Histogram Adjustment(Histogram correction) (Fig. 246).

Rice. 246. Setting the histogram

Switch Edit(Change) defines the type of the edited histogram:

Luminance(Luminance) - allows you to edit the histogram based on the brightness of the image;

Color(Colors) - allows you to edit the histogram based on one of the image color channels. After selecting this position of the switch, a list becomes available to the right of this position, in which you need to select a color channel, on the basis of which the active image will be edited.

In the list Presets(Options) offers ready-made correction options. When you select any of them, the switch Edit(Change) automatically resets to position Luminance(Illumination). Preset value Default(Default) does not represent any additional settings in the picture.

In the parameters below the graph, you can change the values, both with the help of absolute values, and with the help of relative (percentage) values.

Slider Low(Low) starts on the left side of the histogram, is located between the left edge of the graph and the point where the curve starts to rise. This gap indicates that the dark pixels in the image are not completely black. This parameter displays the percentage of pixels that are between zero and low values - their contrast will be lost. As a general rule, set the low level to less than 0.1%. This parameter can also be adjusted using the dark gray slider.

Slider High(High) starts on the right side of the histogram, is located between the right edge of the graph and the point where the graph is reduced to zero pixels. This option changes the light pixels in the image to white. As a general rule, set this parameter to less than 0.1%. This parameter can also be adjusted using the white slider.

Slider Gamma(Gamma) - If the overall image is too dark or too light, then you need to adjust the gamma, which is the standard measure for changing the contrast in images. If the image is too dark, then move the slider Gamma(gray triangle) to the right to increase the gamma. If the image is too light, then move the slider Gamma left to decrease the gamma setting.

Slider Midtones(Midtones) (on the right side of the window) - if the graph has peaks on the left and right, or contains low values in the center, then the midtones must be compressed. Shadows and highlights should be expanded to show the information they contain. This often happens in flash photography when the subject is too close to the camera; the subject appears brightly lit, but the background of the photo appears dark. To compress the midtones, move the vertical slider Midtones... If the peaks of the graph are in the center and have a low number of pixels on the left and right sides, then widen the midtones by moving the slider Midtones down.

If you are creating artistic effects, then you can use the controls Output Max(Output max) () and Output Min(Min display) () to the left of the histogram. Engine Max is a white circle on a gray background, and the engine Min is a black circle on a gray background. In order to darken the light pixels in the image, you need to move the slider Max down. In order to lighten dark pixels in the image, you need to move the slider Min up.

Even if the sliders move along the vertical axis, the parameters Max and Min(ranging from 0 to 255) affect the horizontal axis. All pixels outside the range are converted to be within the range.

If you just want to enhance your image, then you do not need to use this parameter.

Triangular buttons under the slider Gamma(Gamma) define the scale of the histogram and nothing else. The left button zooms in and the right button zooms out the histogram. Button 1: 1 sets 100% scale of the histogram.

Probably, every user of a personal computer from time to time has to deal with the need to work with photographs or pictures. Of course, on the PC of advanced users, there is probably the famous Photoshop, in which you can do any manipulation with the image. But what about those who do not have this program or who do not know how to use it? The easiest way out of this situation is to use the standard Paint. In some cases, it can successfully replace more professional and complex programs. In this article you will find answers to questions about whether in Paint, remove or change it to another.

An easy way to change the background

Let's describe how to change the background in Paint using the green screen method (that is, the "green screen" method). Regardless of whether you need to remove the background of the image or replace it with a solid fill (pattern), you can do this using the above method. Please note that it describes changing the background not in standard Paint, but in Paint.NET, which does not come with standard applications, and must be downloaded and installed separately.

Beginning of work

Before you change the transparent background in Paint Windows 7, you should open the image that you will adjust. This is done by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate item in the drop-down menu (Open with Paint). It should be borne in mind that the number of compatible formats include BMP, JPFG and GIF, with others it will not work.

In the event that the image exceeds, you need to go to the lower left corner and make an 800% increase by clicking on the magnifying glass located on the toolbar and selecting the number 8.

Choosing a color palette and drawing the outline of the image

On the color palette, choose a yellow-green (also called lime) color. Usually it is he who is chosen, since a color contrasting with the rest of the picture is needed, and the chosen tone is rather rare in the images.

After that, using the "Line" tool, a selection of the object that will be cut is made. In the event that the image is placed on a white background, you can use the "Pencil" to fill in the missing pixels. This will cause a wide green line to appear around the picture.

Next, you need to right-click on the lime color and, using the Select tool, outline the background areas of the rectangular color. This should be done carefully, trying not to enter the object. Don't worry too much about the extra triangles that remain around, they are removed later using the Eraser tool. After activating it, you need to select the smallest possible square in the menu that appears.

After all the manipulations, an object is obtained, around which there will be a green screen. If you are interested in how to change the background in Paint, then you need to zoom out to 100 percent (1 in the zoom menu) and click on the paint bucket in the panel (the "Fill with color" tool). Then select the desired color in the palette and click anywhere on the green background. After that, the background will change.

Move an image to a new background

In order to move the image to another background, you need to select white in the palette and use the Fill tool to paint over the entire lime background. After that, the key combination "Ctrl + A" is pressed - and the second (lower) button is activated on the pop-up button. After making sure that the new background has opened in another window of the program, you need to copy the image (shortcut Ctrl + C) and paste it into this second window (shortcut Ctrl + V). The work is ready! It remains only to preserve it.

Several nuances

When editing detailed images, it will be much easier to work if you zoom in on the image. This can be done by selecting the "Scale" sub-item in the "View" menu, or simply by pressing the "Zoom" button located on the ribbon.

Keep in mind that larger image sizes will take longer to stroke. To reduce the size of the picture, press "Ctrl + A" and drag the marker located at the bottom left up. At the same time, it is important to observe the proportions so that the image does not turn out to be distorted.

In the process of work, errors will inevitably occur, and therefore you will have to edit the line. In order to be able to quickly undo previous actions, it is recommended to keep your fingers on the "Ctrl + Z" key combination.

If the image has a curved border, it is advisable to use the Curve tool. To do this, click the corresponding key on the toolbar, draw a straight line from the beginning to the end of the border section, which then needs to be pulled to the left or right, describing the curve.

In order for the greenscreening method to work, in Paint Winwows 7, the transparent background must be set in the settings for inserts. If this setting is not selected, the background will be added from the original image. The insert settings control panel will appear on the left side of the edited image, below the main panel, when one of the selection tools is used.

Background Removal

If there is a need to transfer an object to another background, then you inevitably have to face the question of how to remove the background in Paint. This is done very simply:

using the "Magic Wand" tool, the background is selected;
the selected part is deleted using the Delete button or the "Clear Selected" command from the "Edit" menu, as a result of which a background in the form of a "checkerboard" appears, conventionally showing transparency;
the resulting image is saved (preferably in either GIF), which can be further used at your discretion.

Step-by-step instructions in Paint: how to make a transparent background

Step one... In the "File" menu, select the "Open" item and, by clicking "Browse", open the desired picture.

Step two. Before making Paint, in the toolbar you need to select "Magic Wand" and set its sensitivity to 50 percent. For complex backgrounds, the sensitivity should be set at 25-40 percent.

Step three. It is necessary to click the "Magic Wand" on the white background, which then turns into a pale blue.

Step four. It is necessary to delete the background selected in this way by pressing the Delete key on the keyboard or through the "Edit" menu - the "Clear selection" item.

As a result, the background will become transparent, although in Paint it will have a checkerboard color. However, the work on how to make a transparent background in Paint does not end there.

Step five. After all the above manipulations, some areas in the picture will still remain white. In order to make them transparent, you need to repeat the previous steps for them.

Step six... The resulting picture with a transparent background must be saved by selecting the "Save" item in the "File" menu and specifying the file name, and choosing the required format (PNG or GIF) in the drop-down list.

Conclusion

We've covered how to make a transparent background in Paint when you don't have Photoshop at hand. Despite the apparent complexity, even inexperienced users can cope with this. With due care and accuracy, the result will be in no way inferior to the work done in Photoshop.

To fully work with images in Microsoft Word 2010, you need to learn how to work with the color settings of the image. It will be helpful to know how to apply artistic effects to a drawing that can dramatically improve the appearance of an image. This is outlined in this article with illustrative examples.

Adjusting the brightness and contrast of the image

Adjusting the brightness of an image involves lightening or darkening the image. When you use these customization tools, Word 2010 automatically makes changes to the range of colors. That is, adjusting the brightness for shadows, highlights and midtones is not available. In simple terms, the setting is used using special templates that have different degrees of exposure. Exposure, in turn, determines the amount of lightening / darkening.

Contrast is the ratio of the lightest to darkest areas of an image. In color contrast, it is the difference in color shades. In Word 2010, brightness and contrast are controlled by the same templates. In turn, templates can have zero values of brightness or contrast, which allows you to separately adjust the level of their values. In the case of fine-tuning ("Picture format" window), the situation is similar.

To adjust the brightness and contrast of the image, do the following:

1st method.

Select the image in your Word 2010 document and go to the Format tab.
In the "Change" group, click on the "Correction" button and in the window that opens, select the desired brightness value from the collection of samples. If you need more fine tuning, click on the "Picture Correction Options" button. The "Format" window opens on the "Picture Settings" tab.
In the "Brightness" area, set the desired value (as a percentage) and click "Close".

2nd way.

Click on the picture in the Word 2010 window and select Format Picture from the context menu.
Click on the "Picture Adjustment" tab and set the desired brightness values.

Sharpness is changed in the same way. Reducing sharpness results in a blurred image, while sharpening, on the contrary, increases the clarity of the image. However, this will lose smooth transitions in the image and increase its graininess.

Figure 1. Correction of sharpness, brightness and contrast

Color adjustment of the image

Color adjustment of the image allows using Word 2010 to adjust the color in terms of brightness, contrast, sharpness and saturation. By simple manipulations, you can set the image to look appropriate for the tasks.

Changing color saturation

Color saturation is the strength, intensity of the perceived color tone. In other words, it is how strongly a particular color is represented in the palette, and how "pure" it is. "Pure" color means the minimum presence of pixels of other colors, their shades, as well as shades of the base color. Saturation refers to what a particular color looks like under varying degrees of light. The saturation, or intensity of a color, varies with the strength of the light. That is, the brighter the picture, the brighter and more saturated the colors in it - and this rule applies even to black and its shades. Without going into the details of color theory, we note that by changing the color saturation, you can radically change the appearance of the entire image. Since with a change in the saturation of colors, the composition of the color palette of the image completely changes.

To color adjust the image, follow these steps:

Select the picture you want in your Word 2010 document.
Click the Format tab and in the Modify group click the Color button
In the window that opens, in the Color Saturation group, select the appropriate swatch.

For more fine-tuning, follow these steps:

1st method.

Right-click on the required picture and select Format Picture from the context menu.
Click on the "Image Settings" tab in the "Image Format" window that opens, go to the "Color Saturation" group.

2nd way.

Click the Color button and in the window that opens, click Picture Color Options.
Use the Presets and Saturation areas in the Color Saturation group to set the options you want.

Figure 2. Image color settings

Color shade

Changing the color tint allows you to lower or raise the “temperature” of an image. Simply put, decrease or increase the saturation of warm or cold shades of a color. An example of warm colors are shades of red, yellow, orange, and cold colors are shades of blue, turquoise, and gray.

To change the color tint of a picture, follow these steps:

Click the Format tab, and in the Modify group, click the Color button.
In the window that opens, go to the "Color Tone" group and select one of the swatches.

For more fine-tuning, go to the "Picture Format" window and set the desired values in the "Color Tone" group.

Image recoloring

If you want to completely recolor an image, that is, to give it a certain color (color scheme), follow these steps:

1st method.

On the Format tab, in the Modify group, click the Color button.
In the window that opens, go to the "Recolor" group and select one of the swatches.

2nd way.

In the Picture Format window, click the Picture Color tab.
In the "Recolor" group, click the "Recolor" button in the "Presets" area, and in the window that opens, select the appropriate swatch.

Artistic drawing effects

With the help of artistic effects, you can significantly improve the appearance of an image without resorting to the help of special graphic editors. A total of 23 effect patterns are available. Unfortunately, working with layers is not available.

To give your drawing an artistic effect, do the following:

1st method.

In the open document window, click on the desired image.
Go to the "Format" tab in the "Change" group and click on the "Artistic Effects" button.
In the window that opens, select the appropriate sample.

2nd way.

Right-click on the picture and select Format Picture from the context menu.
In the window that opens, open the "Artistic Effects" tab, then click on the "Artistic Effects" button to select the appropriate sample.

Figure 3. Artistic effects

Use the Opacity and Size options for the artistic effects to make more detailed adjustments.

Transparency - allows you to adjust the transparency level of the applied effect. The more transparency, the less changes made to the picture when the effect is applied will be reflected, and vice versa.
"Size" - determines the "density" of the applied effect. For the Watercolor effect, this is the size of the brush, for the Light Screen effect, this is the size of the grid, and so on. The lower the value, the more accurate the changes made, and vice versa - it all depends on what kind of picture you want to set.

Note that adjustments are only available after applying an effect to a picture.

Individual color pixel transparency

To give an image a special effect, you can “desaturate” pixels of a specific color. A similar approach can be used, for example, if you want part of the text to show through the picture.

To set the transparency of pixels of a specific color:

Click "Set transparent color" in the window for changing the color of the picture - the cursor will change to a pencil with an arrow.
Select the area of the image with the required color and left-click - the pixels of the specified color will become completely transparent.

Figure 4. The final version of the picture after the settings

Conclusion

At this stage in the development of Word 2010, you need to be able to change the image in terms of color saturation, brightness, contrast, etc. This will allow you to quickly and efficiently adjust the image without resorting to the help of specialized graphic editors. Fortunately, the possibilities for working with images in Word 2010 are now more than enough that in terms of their scale they can be compared with individual graphic editors. But, even if you are not faced with the task of becoming a specialist in graphics processing, you need to know the basic concepts. Actually, the main ways of adjusting images have been outlined in this article.

Correction

Auto-leveling levelsallows you to bring the colors to the average value, that is, very light colors will become darker, dark colors will become lighter.

Invert colorsallows for each color, instead of the color that is there, to put an additional color. If you have an original drawing as shown below.

Then after performing this mode, the next one will appear.

Curves allows you to lighten or darken a drawing according to the schedule. The following window will appear on the screen.

Here is a curve (in the figure - a straight line), to which the color corresponds, that is, light will correspond to light, dark - dark. Now let's change the shape of the curve. To do this, move the cursor over the line, press the left mouse button and, without releasing the button, move the cursor to another location. Suppose the shape of the curve becomes as shown in the figure below.

Then the original drawing (shown in the previous mode) becomes the following.

If you change the curve as shown in the picture below.

Then the picture will be as follows.

Moreover, the curve can be intricate.

And the drawing too. Above, an option was considered to change the brightness, but you can change it by RGB scheme.

Moreover, according to this scheme, you can change the primary colors separately from each other.

In order to do this, put a check mark in the Red box and remove the check marks in other colors. Then move the red curve to the desired location. Then we will do the same for green and separately for blue. We get different curves for different colors (and the picture shown below).

Note that the starting point can be moved from bottom to top (for this, when moving, the cursor must be slightly to the left of the chart border). Accordingly, the right point can be set lower.

Coarsening allows you to make the color more or less saturated. Uncheck the parameter Synchronization and change the position of the sliders.

As a result, the original drawing

Will be next.

Hue and saturationallows you to change the hue, saturation and lightness of the picture.

Make it black and whiteallows you to remove colors as shown in the image below.

Sepia allows you to superimpose shades on a black and white image. If you apply this mode to the black and white picture shown in the picture above, you get the following picture.

Levels allows you to set color levels. When entering this mode, a window with histograms will appear on the screen. You can change the level for all basic colors (check the boxes to the left of the color name, where R - red - red, G - green - green, B - blue - blue). But you can set the level for a particular color (leaving a check mark only next to its name, and uncheck others).

Unfortunately, amateur photographs are far from always pleasing to the eye, but you really want to capture unforgettable moments of your life on them. However, such pictures are often obtained either too dark, or vice versa - too light. Or the colors on them turn out to be completely unnatural (this happens especially often when using cheap color film): trees turn poisonous green, gray asphalt for some reason casts an intense blue color, the sky turns from blue to a greenish tint, slightly tanned skin turns red, as if the shooting took place in a sauna, and not in a cozy cafe, etc. It is no less annoying when an interesting frame turns out to be blurry and blurry and does not make the proper impression, or the most beautiful architectural structures in the picture acquire a lot of geometric and optical distortions, or because of an unsuccessful angle when shooting, most of the photo is taken up by insignificant details, and the main subject is somewhere on the side. In addition, many cameras produce red-eye when using flash, and when scanned, pictures often become darker and blurry. A special conversation is old or not quite old, but already faded photographs, which I would also like to "revive". And in addition, there may be dust and scratches, emulsion peeling, defects in development and printing, etc. The reasons for all this are both a lack of professionalism, poor shooting time and inappropriate weather conditions, as well as the use of cheap and low-quality cameras and appropriate film.

As a result, in most cases, images have to be edited, so that photo correction functions are provided in almost all modern graphics packages. Our today's lesson will be devoted to the Paint Shop Pro package, the automatic correction tools of which can significantly improve the pictures, even for non-professionals. Nevertheless, in the arsenal of capabilities of this package there are also tools designed for professional photographers and designers that allow you to achieve phenomenal results. And within the framework of this article, we will focus on correction tools that are available to the general public and do not require any additional professional knowledge.

To correct photos in Paint Shop Pro, use the toolbar Photo(Photo) opened by the team View => Toolbars => Photo(View => Toolbars => Photography), - here are collected all the main possibilities for improving images, designed for amateurs. In addition, the command menu contains the command Adjust(Adjustment), giving access to both commands from the panel Photo(Photo), and to a whole range of more complex, but no less useful correction methods. Tools are just as needed. Straighten(Straightening) and Perspective Correction(Perspective Correction) from the Tools toolbar.

Each of the customizable correction options has a preview mode - as a result, all changes you make are immediately visible in the corrected image or in the selected area. In addition, in many dialog boxes you can use the button Save Preset(Save Settings) to save the adjustment related settings so that they can be applied to other images later.

Eliminate geometric distortion

Geometric distortion can be divided into perspective and optical, created by the lens due to its imperfection.

Optical distortion, or distortion, is introduced to one degree or another by all lenses. Distortion is manifested in the fact that the scale of the image in the center and at the edges is not the same. Professional photographers, keeping this in mind, resort to various tricks, however, they also have to eliminate optical defects from the pictures, since they cannot be completely prevented during shooting.

As for perspective defects, the most easily corrected defect of such a plan is the tilt of the camera during shooting, which manifests itself in the fact that objects in the photograph are located at a certain angle. This is a problem for many inexperienced hobbyists, and in Paint Shop Pro it is extremely easy to solve thanks to the presence of a special tool.

Correction of perspective distortions in large panoramic and architectural images requires a lot more effort. The fact is that, in the absence of special equipment, in order to photograph a building as a whole, you will have to use as wide-angle lens as possible and tilt the camera upward (otherwise half of the frame will be occupied by asphalt) - as a result, there will be a sharp convergence of vertical lines in the pictures. Correction of perspective is necessary to eliminate this phenomenon.

Correcting distortion

There are two main types of distortion: Barrel Distortion(Barrel distortion), which makes objects appear puffy in the image (Figure 1), and Pincushion distortion(Pincushion distortion), when the extreme vertical and horizontal lines are concave inward (Fig. 2).

It should be noted that Paint Shop Pro is the only graphics package where the distortion correction is implemented very simply (in Adobe Photoshop this is achieved in a much more complex way). Here the commands are intended for this purpose Barrel Distortion Correction(Correction of barrel distortion) and Pincushion Distortion Correction(Correction of pincushion distortion). They can be called both from the command menu Adjust => Lens Correction(Adjust => Lens Correction) and from the toolbar Photo(The photo).

For example, open fig. 3 with a pronounced barrel distortion, click the Barrel Distortion Correction(Barrel Lens Correction) and set the Strength(Impact force) - in this example, a value of 85 is taken (Fig. 4).

Image straightening

If, due to the inexperience of a beginner photographer, the objects in the photo turned out to be located at a certain angle, then it is easy to straighten them using the tool Straighten(Straightening). In fact, this will be a normal turn, but unlike it Straighten(Straightening) provides maximum convenience when straightening the image, since everything is displayed on the screen, occurs within a second and guarantees one hundred percent result.

For example, take a suitable image - in this case, taken from fig. 5 with a clear tilt of the captured objects to the right. From the toolbar, select a tool Straighten(Straightening) - the result will be the appearance of a horizontal segment in the photo, limited by markers (Fig. 6). Move and slightly rotate the segment so that it stretches parallel to any part of the image, which should be located strictly horizontally (Fig. 7), and click on the button Apply(Apply) - the image will be rotated by the angle you specified (Fig. 8). Now it remains to take the Crop tool (Crop) and crop the extra background parts of the image that appeared as a result of straightening the photo (Fig. 9 and 10).

Rice. 8. The result of straightening the photo with the Straighten tool

Perspective correction

Earlier, we talked about optical distortion possible when shooting. Now let's dwell on the perspective distortions that occur when photographing architectural structures. Thanks to Paint Shop Pro's perspective correction capabilities, this operation is no longer difficult and can be done even by a non-professional. For horizontal and vertical correction, you can use the commands Effects => Geometric Effects => Perspective-Horizontal(Effects => Geometric Effects => Perspective Horizontal and Effects => Geometric Effects => Perspective-Vertical(Effects => Geometric Effects => Vertical Perspective). And in more complex cases, you should turn to the tool Perspective Correction(Perspective Correction), which provides the user with functions for keystone and other perspective distortions of an area of the image.

Let's try to correct the image shown in Fig. 11, where both perspective distortion and clear image tilt occur. Therefore, first we will straighten the image with the tool Straighten(Straightening) (Fig. 12 and 13).

Now let's move on to the perspective correction. First, we carry out a vertical correction with approximately the same parameters as in Fig. 14, because in some cases this is enough to correct the perspective. The result is shown in Fig. 15. Next, you just need to crop the photo, but in our case, unfortunately, vertical perspective correction alone will not be enough - you will have to use the tool Perspective Correction(Perspective Correction) and perform keystone perspective correction. Activate the tool Perspective Correction and constrain the outlines of the perspective in accordance with fig. 16 - the result is shown in fig. 17. Crop the image with the Crop tool (Fig. 18), and then increase its contrast using the command Enhance Photo =>(Photo enhancement => Automatic contrast enhancement) from the Photo toolbar with the parameters shown in Fig. 19. The result of the correction is shown in Fig. twenty.

Now let's look at a more complex example (Fig. 21), where both optical and geometric correction, as well as image straightening, are required. In such situations, the distortion is always corrected first - in this example, you need to use the command Barrel Distortion(Barrel distortion) with the parameters shown in fig. 22. Then you should use the tool Straighten(Straightening) to straighten the image (Fig. 23 and 24) and only then proceed to the perspective correction with the tool Perspective Correction(Perspective correction) according to fig. 25 (fig. 26) and crop the image (fig. 27).

Red eye removal

As a rule, when shooting with a flash, an unwanted effect of light reflection from the retina of animals or humans occurs - the so-called red-eye effect (in practice, this is similar to the eyes of a cat glowing in the dark, only here the eyes glow red instead of green). It is not possible to avoid such a situation one hundred percent, although modern models of cameras make it possible to reduce this effect to a minimum.

Therefore, the ability to remove red-eye is available in a variety of graphics packages, and in Paint Shop Pro it is implemented very simply and is carried out almost instantly, allowing you to get rid of red eyes in both humans and animals. For this purpose, the command is intended Red-Eye Removal(Red Eye Removal). It can be called both from the command menu Adjust(Adjustment) and from the pop-up list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement). Note that the command Red-Eye Removal can also help in the case when it is simply necessary to change the color of the eyes of a person in the picture.

Let's try to take advantage of this opportunity using the example of Fig. 28. After opening the Red-Eye Removal window, you first need to choose one of four methods of forming the pupil and iris of the eye: Auto human eye(Automatic eye shaping for human), Auto animal eye(Automatic eye shaping for the animal), Freehand Pupil Outline(Freehand drawing the outline of the eye based on a rectangular area) and Point-to-Point Pupil Outline(Drawing the eye contour by points in the form of a closed polyline). The last two options can be used to remove red-eye for both humans and animals, however, in general, the first two methods are more convenient, which remove red-eye faster and have more options. The last two options are intended for non-standard situations when the shape of the red-colored pupil is very different from the round one and therefore the first two methods cannot successfully eliminate the red color.

In this case, the situation is simple, so we will focus on the method Auto animal eye(fig. 29). In the list Color(Color) define the appropriate eye color, form a contour around the first eye - for this it is enough just to draw a rectangular contour in the usual way, adjust its size and position, trying to make the contour perfectly match the iris of the eye. Then, if necessary, configure other parameters: Pupil lightness(Pupil brightness), Glint lightness(Flash brightness), Glint size(Flash size), etc. We carry out a similar procedure with the second eye (Fig. 30). The result is shown in Fig. 31.

Rice. 31. The final appearance of the image after removing the red-eye effect

And now let's try to eliminate the red-eye effect using the example of a photograph of a child (Fig. 32). From the menu Adjust(Adjustment) select the command Red-Eye Removal(Red Eye Removal), in the window that opens, set the option Auto human eye(Automatic human eye shaping), listed Hue(Tint) define the color of the eyes, in the list Color(Color) select the desired shade of the iris. Then, as in the previous case, form the required outline around the first eye, seeking to eliminate the red-eye effect. Here, if necessary, we will correct the shade and size of the eye and pupil. We perform a similar operation with respect to the second eye (Fig. 33) - the result is shown in Fig. 34.

Rice. 34. The final appearance of the image after removing the red-eye effect

Color grading, brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness adjustment

As we have already noted, the photographs that fall into our hands are by no means ideal in color - due to unsuccessful shooting, the colors are often unnatural. When shooting in the dark, individual fragments of a photograph may appear indistinctly or they will not be seen at all, an interesting frame will be blurry or not sharp enough, or it will have excessively blurred outlines of objects. In addition, images are often washed out when scanned, colors in photographs can fade from time, etc. And Paint Shop Pro provides the ability to quickly and automatically correct many defects of this kind found in photographs.

One-step photo correction

The easiest and fastest way to correct an image is to use the command One Step Photo Fix from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement). As a result, color balance, brightness, contrast and saturation will be automatically and simultaneously adjusted. This option does not work well for every image, but it never hurts to try.

Take fig. 35, in which one-step photo correction helped us significantly improve the appearance of the image (Fig. 36).

Rice. 36. Image appearance after automatic photo correction in one step

Adjusting contrast and saturation

Since the lack of contrast and saturation of the image is one of the most common defects, and in Paint Shop Pro, both can be automatically corrected in a matter of seconds, this topic requires more detailed consideration.

Pay attention to the photo shown in fig. 37, where the contrast is clearly insufficient. To remedy the situation, open from the menu Adjust => Brightness and Contrast(Adjust => Brightness and Saturation) command Automatic contrast enhancement(Auto Contrast Enhancement) or select the command Automatic contrast enhancement(Auto Contrast Boost) from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement) with the parameters shown in fig. 38. As a result, the contrast will clearly increase, and the photograph will take the form shown in fig. 39.

Rice. 39. Image appearance after automatic contrast adjustment

And now, with a specific example, let's see what results can be achieved just by automatically increasing the saturation and contrast. The original photo (Fig. 40) was taken in a cave with clearly insufficient lighting - as a result, many of the spectacular natural elements are simply indistinguishable. Try using the (Auto Saturation) command, adjusting the parameters in accordance with Fig. 41. The command can be selected both from the command menu Adjust => Hue and Saturation(Adjust => Hue and Saturation) and from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement). The snapshot will become as shown in Fig. 42.

Rice. 42. Image appearance after automatic saturation adjustment

Enhancing the contrast with the parameters shown in Fig. 43. The result is shown in fig. 44.

Tone and color correction of unsuccessful shots

Before proceeding with the color and tonal correction of an image, it is necessary to determine which colors are presented in abundance on it, and which ones are clearly not enough. It is not at all easy for a layman to do this, so we will focus on the simplest options for color correction.

Automatic color balance adjustment is the easiest and fastest way to eliminate yellow or blue highlights in the image that occurs when photographs were taken under artificial lighting. It is also useful when it is necessary to improve the balance of these colors, for example, when shooting unsuccessfully at night. And sometimes this feature is beneficial for photomontage, when you have to adjust the shooting time.

Note the photograph of Nicole Kidman (Fig. 45), which clearly shows the imbalance in yellow. Let's try to correct the situation a little by at least partially eliminating the yellow illumination of the image. Use the command Adjust => Color Balance => Automatic Color Balance(Adjust => Color Balance => Auto Color Balance) or select the command Automatic Color Balance from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo Enhancement) and adjust according to Fig. 46. The resulting image will become as in fig. 47.

Rice. 47. Image appearance after automatic color balance correction

Let's consider the third of the listed situations and try to change the color balance for the photograph in Fig. 48, where I would like to emphasize the pink tint of the mountains visible in the distance in the rays of the setting sun (in fact, the sun had almost disappeared, and the picture was taken a little later than I wanted). Select the Automatic Color Balance command from the Enhance Photo pop-up list and configure its parameters as shown in Fig. 49. The result will be fig. 50.

Rice. 50. Image appearance after automatic color balance correction

In more complex cases, you have to resort to correcting all color tints, which is possible when using the command Color balance(Color Balance) - Command Adjust => Color Balance => Color Balance(Adjustment => Color Balance => Color Balance). Let's try to use it on the example of Fig. 51, where we would like to restore the white on the gables of the church and reduce the dose of blue in the entire image. Let's open a command window Color balance(Color balance) and consistently adjust the color balance for the light areas of the photo - Highlights(fig. 52), medium tones - Midtones(fig. 53) and dark areas - Shadows(fig. 54). Don't forget to check the box Preserve Luminosity(Maintain Brightness) to save the brightness values of the photo. The transformation result is shown in Fig. 55. To improve the image, it is also a good idea to increase the saturation with the command Automatic Saturation Enhancement(Auto Saturation) from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement) with the parameters indicated in fig. 56. The resulting image is shown in fig. 57.

It happens that in the pictures taken, especially when shooting with a flash, all or some of the colors look unnatural. And the automatic color correction in such cases usually does not give the desired effect. In this case, manual color correction can help out - Manual Color Correction which provides a more powerful alternative to automatic color correction. It allows you to easily improve the quality of even the most complex images, while ensuring the accuracy of any critical color.

Let us take as an initial fig. 58 - in this case, the skin tone of the face looks clearly unnatural (too much red), which is most likely due to the fact that the flash was taken from too close a distance. Let's try to fix this flaw. To do this, carefully select the contours of the face with the tool Freehand selection(Freehand selection) by setting the option for it Edge seeker with the following parameters: Feather 0, Smoothing(Anti-aliasing) - 0, checkbox Antialias enabled, checkbox Sample merged off (fig. 59). Let's take a tool Dropper(Eyedropper) and remember (or better write on paper) the parameters of an unnatural dark reddish skin tone as the initial color (Fig. 60).

Then click on the button Manual Color Correction(Manual color correction) toolbars Photo(The photo). In the opened window Manual Color Correction click on the color Source(Source) and enter the parameters of the memorized color. Light up the switch Preset Target Color(Preset color), choose an option Skintones(Skin tints), open the color block with a list of tones and select the option Indian skin light(The skin of the Indian is light) (Fig. 61). Turn on the checkbox Preserve Saturation(Original saturation) and leave the checkbox unchecked Preserve Lightness(Initial brightness) (Fig. 62). We will abandon the selection with the command Selections => Select none(Selection => Nothing is selected). We get the result shown in Fig. 63.

Rice. 62. The final version of the Manual Color Correction parameters setting

Rice. 63. Appearance of the image after the end of manual color correction

Manual color correction is good not only for removing photographic defects - it can also be used simply to give a particular element of the image the desired shade. For example, let's open fig. 64, which depicts a unique white gold ring with pearls from Gruosi... Let's try using the manual color correction mode to turn the white gold of the jewelry into yellow. Select the ring (Fig. 65), click on the button Manual Color Correction(Manual color correction) and adjust the color correction in accordance with Fig. 66 (note that the list Preset Target Color(Preset color) options selected Metals and Gold). The result is shown in Fig. 67.

Improving darkened photos

If you have ever scanned photographs, then you probably had to repeat this procedure more than once due to the fact that the photograph turned out to be lighter and sometimes darker. And another situation is possible, when due to unsuccessful shooting conditions, for example, when shooting in the dark, the photos are too dark. Printing such images is useless, since most of the objects on them will simply not be visible.

In principle, any of these photographs can be corrected and given an acceptable look. There are many ways to work with such photos in Paint Shop Pro and it is rather difficult to come up with any single solution.

Let's dwell on the simpler of these methods.

If you need to lighten a photo a lot in order to see hidden details, then the simplest thing is to use the command Histogram Equalize(Histogram of alignment). It redistributes the brightness levels of the active layer and can improve an image that lacks contrast or is too dark. Let's try to apply this on the example of Fig. 68. Open the menu Adjust => Brightness and Contrast(Adjust => Brightness and Contrast) and select the command Histogram Equalize(Histogram of alignment). The result is shown in Fig. 69.

Rice. 69. The appearance of the photo after exposure to the Histogram Equalize command

However, this method does not always provide the desired result, as the colors in the photograph may become unnatural. You can try to go the other way. As an example, let's open the original image (Fig. 70) and to begin with we will carry out automatic photo correction in one step by selecting the command One Step Photo Fix from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement). As a result, hidden dark fragments of the image will appear, but it will be seen that the general tone of the photograph is unsuccessful, since there is a clear overkill of blue in it - this especially affects the skin color of the girl (Fig. 71). To remedy the situation, use the automatic color balance correction mode by selecting the command Automatic Color Balance(Auto color balance) from the pop-up list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement) panel tool Photo(Photo) and reduce the amount of blue, as shown in Fig. 72. As a result, the photo will become less dark, and the color shades on it will look more natural (fig. 73).

Rice. 71. Image appearance after automatic photo correction in one step

Now let's take a look at what you can do with the Histogram Correction feature, which lets you tweak the full range of available color intensities for use in a single image, by controlling the balance between shadows and highlights. The unique advantage of this option is the ability to balance the location of midtones on the scale between dark and light. For example, let's open the image shown in Fig. 74. Click on the button Histogram Adjustment(Histogram correction) panel tool Photo(Photo) or call the command Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Histogram Adjustment(Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Histogram Correction). Let's configure the parameters of the histogram in accordance with Fig. 75. The main thing here is not to overdo it, since for most images a real improvement in quality is possible only when the gamma correction is increased by no more than 30% - at higher values the images will look faded. As a result, the photo will become noticeably brighter and many of the originally hidden image details will appear on it (Fig. 76).

There is another way - adjusting the levels. Usually, this option is resorted to when the above methods are ineffective, and only lead to an unnatural brightening of the image, without showing temporarily hidden darkened details. This situation also occurs in the photograph shown in Fig. 77. In particular, attempts to correct her histogram do not give the desired effect, and we, for example, absolutely need to select the contours of a girl for a photomontage. Therefore, we will use the command Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Levels(Adjustment => Brightness and Contrast => Levels). Let's adjust the parameters of the levels approximately in accordance with Fig. 78 - the essence of the actions when lighting a photo is what is needed at the level Input Levels(Input Levels) move the gray slider to the left. After that, the photograph will also become noticeably brighter and many of the originally hidden image details will also appear on it (Fig. 79).

Approximately the same result can be obtained by simply using the command Brightness / Contrast(Brightness and contrast). Let us take the same photograph as shown in Fig. 77, and use the command Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Brightness / Contrast(Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Brightness / Contrast) by adjusting the parameters in accordance with Fig. 80. The result is shown in fig. 81.

Recover old and faded photos

Over time, photographs age, fade and become faded. To restore the color gamut and optimize it in faded photographs, use the Fade Correction(Fading Correction), which is the easiest way to restore the lost appearance of photos: it restores, corrects and balances the colors of images, and also automatically corrects brightness and contrast.

For example, let's open an already faded photograph (Fig. 82), click on the button Fade Correction(Fading Correction) on the Toolbar Photo(Photo) and empirically set the correction value (for example, as in Fig. 83). The colors will be restored, and the image may appear as in Fig. 84.

When restoring old photographs, which often have kinks, cracks, scratches and other similar defects, everything is much more complicated. In the presence of these defects, it is necessary to painstakingly retouch the photo using the cloning method, which we got acquainted with in one of the previous lessons. But the techniques we have considered in this lesson can significantly speed up the work and ensure a better result. True, there are no standard techniques here, and for each old snapshot you will have to choose your own ways to restore it.

Quite often, in such situations, one-step photo correction can help in the first stage, allowing you to quickly restore color balance, brightness, contrast and saturation. Let's open fig. 85 and use the command One Step Photo Fix(Photo correction in one step) from the pop-up list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement). The result is impressive (fig. 86). The situation can be improved to some extent by adjusting the levels. To do this, use the command Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Levels(Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Levels) and adjust the levels parameters approximately in accordance with Fig. 87 - as a result, the image will be slightly lightened and it will be possible to make out a part of the inscription in its lower part (fig. 88). Now we need to sharpen the picture. The most convenient way to do this is using the command Clarifi(Clarification) - Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Clarifi(Adjust => Brightness and Contrast => Clarity) to enhance photographs without the usual sharpening effects of contrasting details (Figures 89 and 90). This command is very handy for recovering old blurry photos as well as photos taken in low or diffused lighting. And then you will have to act manually and remove scratches and traces of dust and dirt.

Rice. 86. Image appearance after automatic photo correction in one step

Now let's look at another situation (Fig. 91) - here we have to go a slightly different way. First, we will also restore the color balance, brightness, contrast and saturation, if possible, using the command One Step Photo Fix(fig. 92). And then, in order to somehow clarify individual details of the image, increase its contrast using the command Automatic contrast enhancement(Auto Contrast Boost) from the popup list Enhance Photo(Photo enhancement) with the parameters shown in fig. 93. The result is shown in fig. 94. If you then apply again One Step Photo Fix, then the clarity of the lines will increase even more and individual fragments of the icon will become more distinct (Fig. 95). The only thing that can still improve the situation and make the picture of the icon more legible is to sharpen the image. Three commands can be used in Paint Shop Pro for this purpose: Sharpen(Sharpen) Sharpen more(Sharpen harder) and Unsharp Mask(Sharpness mask) from the menu Adjust => Sharpness(Adjust => Sharpness). In this case, after using the command Adjust => Sharpness => Sharpen(Adjust => Sharpness => Sharpen) the image looks like the one shown in fig. 96.