While Radiant Photo is designed to recognize important details in a photo and make adjustments automatically, some users want to apply it in a very targeted way.
For example, maybe you want to select just one part of a photo, like a sky, for manipulation or only want to adjust the color of the clothing your subject is wearing. You can make precise adjustments by combining the power of Photoshop’s selection tools and using Radiant Photo as a smart filter.
Making a selection
Let’s make a targeted nondestructive adjustment. In other words, we’ll select a particular area of a photo for adjustment and then apply Radiant Photo in a way that’s easy to tweak or modify.
- To start, open an image in Photoshop. Choose File > Open, navigate to the file you want, and click Open.
- Now, let’s work with Radiant Photo in a non-destructive manner. This technique is done by converting a layer or image into a Smart Object. This can be done by right-clicking on a layer and choosing Convert to Smart Object. You can also choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters.
- Choose the Quick Selection tool. Now drag over our subject to make a basic selection. Don’t worry about being perfect. You can hold down the Option or the Alt key to subtract from the selection. You can also use other shortcuts from the Select menu.
- Once the subject is roughly selected, click the Select and Mask button in the toolbar. A new dialog opens; this allows you to refine the selection. Check the box for Smart Radius under Edge Detection.
- Drag the Radius selection to improve the selection and create a gentler, more natural selection.
- You can also drag the Feather and Smooth sliders to create a more gradual transition between selected and deselected pixels. If you’d like, you can also click and paint on the preview image to touch up the selection. Be sure to try the Option and Alt key modifier as you paint as well.
- When the preview selection looks good, make sure the Output to the menu has the option chosen for Selection. Click OK to create an active selection.
- Now, let’s apply Radiant Photo to just the selected subject. Choose Filter > Radiant Imaging Labs > Radiant Photo.
The initial preview may show that the entire photo is being selected; this is what’s wanted. Due to the Smart Filter approach and the selection applied, but the mask will hide parts of the adjusted photo.
- When satisfied, Click OK.
You can click to make the mask active if you’d like to refine this mix. Now using a paintbrush, to can modify the mask. White adds to the mask, and black subtracts. You can also use a lower opacity brush or gray to blend the Smart Filter.
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