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How do you even out lighting in Photoshop?


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I have a few images of artwork taken under suboptimal conditions. The main

problem is that the image is brightest on one side and gets gradually darker as

you move towards the other side. Obviously, the original lighting source was

off-centered an inadequate. Is there a sensible way to even out the lighting?

Thanks.

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Clone the image into a new layer. Brighten it. Then use an opacity gradient to make that brighter layer fade away over roughly the same transitional space/rate as the origial image is fading to dark. The original, light -> dark layer should "meet half way" with the new dark -> light layer, and when combined, provide you with a more even look. There are probably 100 other ways to approach this - everyone has their pet method!
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Larry, If you have CS2 or above, I suggest the shadow/highlight function under Adjustments. I use this all the time to narrow the lighting vagaries in a shot. You may want to create a new layer, then apply the shadow/highlight and then go back with the erase tool to fine tune the effect by removing unwanted addjustment. Hope this helps.

David

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Do a contrast mask. Copy your background, rename it Contrast Mask, then control-shift-U for desaturate, control-I for invert, then change the blending mode to soft light, filter-blur-gaussian blur to taste, then you change change the opacity of the layer to season to your liking!

 

Adam

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd recommend taking Matt's advice, though you can save yourself cloning the layer (which

will double your working file size) by using a brightness/contrast adjustment layer. Using a

gradient on the layer mask you should be able to blend them easily enough.

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