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<ul class="navigation"><li class="prev"><a accesskey="p" class="prev" href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7691a.html" title="Before making color and tonal adjustments"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Previous" width="17" height="17" /></a></li><li class="next"><a accesskey="n" class="next" href="WS3B030337-01D1-45b4-A006-E3ECA67B14B9.html" title="Adjustments panel overview"><img src="images/blank.gif" alt="Next" width="17" height="17" /></a></li></ul><div class="hierarchy" id="hierarchy"><a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7693a.html">Color and tonal adjustments</a> /
     <a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-767ea.html"><b>Understanding color adjustments</b></a> 
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                <h1>
                    Correcting images
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                <div><p>Here is the general
workflow you follow when you correct the tonality and color of an
image:</p>
<ol><li><p>Use the histogram to check the quality and tonal range
of the image. </p>
</li>
<li><p>Make sure that the Adjustments panel is open to access color
and tonal adjustments. Click an icon to access the adjustments described
in the following steps. Applying corrections from the Adjustments
panel creates an adjustment layer, which gives you more flexibility
and doesn’t discard image information. See <a href="WS3B030337-01D1-45b4-A006-E3ECA67B14B9.html">Adjustments panel overview</a> and <a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-787aa.html">About adjustment layers and fill layers</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Adjust the color balance to remove unwanted color casts or
to correct oversaturated or undersaturated colors. See <a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-768fa.html">Color adjustment commands</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Adjust the tonal range, using either the Levels or Curves
adjustments.</p>
<p>Begin tonal corrections by adjusting the values
of the extreme highlight and shadow pixels in the image, setting
an overall tonal range for the image. This process is known as <dfn class="term">setting
the highlights and shadows </dfn>or<dfn class="term"> setting the white and black
points</dfn>. Setting the highlights and shadows typically redistributes
the midtone pixels appropriately. However, you might need to adjust
your midtones manually.</p>
<p>To adjust the tonality in just shadow
and highlight areas, use the Shadow/Highlight command. See <a href="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-765da.html">Improve shadow and highlight detail</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>(Optional) Make other color adjustments.</p>
<p>After you
correct the overall color balance of your image, you can make optional
adjustments to enhance colors or produce special effects.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Sharpen the edges in the image.</p>
<p>As one of the final
steps, use the Unsharp Mask or the Smart Sharpen filter to sharpen
the clarity of edges in the image. The amount of sharpening required for
an image varies according to the image quality produced by the digital camera
or scanner you use. See <a href="WSA6F4796B-77AA-4272-8955-996E8F4B5F08a.html">Sharpen images</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>(Optional) Target the image for printer or press characteristics.</p>
<p>You
can use options in the Levels or Curves adjustments to import highlight and
shadow information into the gamut of an output device, like a desktop printer.
This procedure can also be done if you are sending your image to
a printing press, and know the characteristics of the press. </p>
<p>Because
sharpening increases the contrast of neighboring pixels, it’s possible that
some pixels in critical areas might become unprintable on the printer
or press that you’re using. For this reason, it’s best to fine-tune
the output settings after sharpening. For more information on adjusting
the output settings, see <a href="http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/11.0/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7668a.html" target="_blank">Setting
highlight and shadow target values </a>.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>For videos on making tonal and lighting corrections, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/vid0009" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/vid0009</a>, <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/vid0010" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/vid0010</a>,
and <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps</a>.</p>
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