Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 109

Note: If you are comparing images based on their previews in Bridge, you may want to leave the Apply Auto Tone Adjust-
ments preference deselected, which is the default. Otherwise, you'll be comparing images that have already been
adjusted.
As you make adjustments, keep an eye on the end points of the histogram, or use the shadow and highlight clipping
previews.
While moving the Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks slider, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to preview
where highlights or shadows are clipped. Move the slider until clipping begins, and then reverse the adjustment
slightly. (For more information, see "Preview highlight and shadow clipping in Camera Raw" on page 100.)
• To manually adjust a tone control, drag the slider, type a number in the text box, or select the value in the text box
and press the Up or Down Arrow key.
• To reset a value to its default, double-click the slider control.
Adjusts the overall image brightness, with a greater effect in the high values. Decrease Exposure to darken
Exposure
the image; increase Exposure to brighten the image. The values are in increments equivalent to f-stops. An
adjustment of +1.50 is similar to widening the aperture 1-1/2 stops. Similarly, an adjustment of -1.50 is similar to
reducing the aperture 1-1/2 stops. (Use Recovery to bring highlight values down.)
Attempts to recover details from highlights. Camera Raw can reconstruct some details from areas in which
Recovery
one or two color channels are clipped to white.
Attempts to recover details from shadows, without brightening blacks. Camera Raw can reconstruct some
Fill Light
details from areas in which one or two color channels are clipped to black. Using Fill Light is similar to using the
shadows portion of the Photoshop Shadow/Highlight filter or the After Effects Shadow/Highlight effect.
Specifies which input levels are mapped to black in the final image. Increasing Blacks expands the areas that
Blacks
are mapped to black. This sometimes creates the impression of increased contrast in the image. The greatest change
is in the shadows, with much less change in the midtones and highlights. Using the Blacks slider is similar to using
the black point slider for input levels when using the Photoshop Levels command or the After Effects Levels effect.
Adjusts the brightness or darkness of the image, much as the Exposure property does. However, instead
Brightness
of clipping the image in the highlights or shadows, Brightness compresses the highlights and expands the shadows
when you move the slider to the right. Often, the best way to use this control is to set the overall tonal scale by first
setting Exposure, Recovery, and Blacks; then set Brightness. Large Brightness adjustments can affect shadow or
highlight clipping, so you may want to readjust the Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks property after adjusting
Brightness.
Increases or decreases image contrast, mainly affecting midtones. When you increase contrast, the middle-
Contrast
to-dark image areas become darker, and the middle-to-light image areas become lighter. Generally, you use the
Contrast property to adjust the contrast of the midtones after setting the Exposure, Blacks, and Brightness values.
Fine-tune tone curves in Camera Raw
Use tone curves to fine-tune images after you've made tone adjustments in the Basic tab.The tone curves represent
changes made to the tonal scale of an image. The horizontal axis represents the original tone values of the image
(input values), with black on the left and progressively lighter values toward the right. The vertical axis represents
the changed tone values (output values), with black on the bottom and progressing to white at the top.
If a point on the curve moves up, the output is a lighter tone; if it moves down, the output is a darker tone. A straight,
45-degree line indicates no changes to the tone response curve: the original input values exactly match the output
values.
AFTER EFFECTS CS3 103
User Guide