Quick Photoshop question

[Richard Austin]

I wonder if someone can provide feedback on this question...

I'm working in greyscale in Photoshop and whenever I use the 'Curves' or 'Brightness/Contrast' functionality I find, after making and previewing changes, that the chenges are not fully made to my image. The contrast/brightness changes are less than shown in the preview window.

After making the changes, I can see a kind of additional 'grey level' placed over my image by Photoshop and the amount of contrast/brightness I requested is not occuring.

Is there some preference of some control I have missed that is stopping the contrast/brightness changes being made as I would like?

The images are 8-bit, greyscale.

Thanks for any asisstance!

 

[The_Traveler]

Does this happen with a b/w image in RGB mode?

 

[glaston]

The brightness/contrast adjustment is crap, unless you're using CS3 avoid it at all costs.
Are the images coming into the computer in grayscale?

I find that the best workflow is to edit images in RGB, then convert to grayscale using the channel mixer if you're using CS2 or below, or a B&W adjustment layer if you're using CS3.

Is there a specific reason that you're working in grayscale mode?

 

[Doug]

Hello Richard,

I don't know if I even qualify to answer your question but I have a way of converting color image to black and white that might help when it comes to adjusting the Curves, Brightness and Contrast.

First open your color image then click on:

1. Image / Mode / Lab
2. Lightness Channel
3. Image / Mode / Grayscale
4. Image / Mode / RGB
5. Save as ...

Hope this helps

 

[Flash Harry]

ditch the greyscale, google dr brown and download his scripts or follow his tutorials, pretty much as above but the scripts do it for ya. H

 

[warrenmarcus]

Try flatten the image first and start over again.

 

[Richard Austin]

Does this happen with a b/w image in RGB mode?

No, I've converted the RGB images to greyscale.

 

[Richard Austin]

The brightness/contrast adjustment is crap, unless you're using CS3 avoid it at all costs.
Are the images coming into the computer in grayscale?

I find that the best workflow is to edit images in RGB, then convert to grayscale using the channel mixer if you're using CS2 or below, or a B&W adjustment layer if you're using CS3.

Is there a specific reason that you're working in grayscale mode?

Yes, I've used the Channel Mixer to get my images into B&W, but then wanted to use a 'grain' filter and found I got better effects by also converting into greyscale.

 

[Richard Austin]

Hello Richard,

I don't know if I even qualify to answer your question but I have a way of converting color image to black and white that might help when it comes to adjusting the Curves, Brightness and Contrast.

First open your color image then click on:

1. Image / Mode / Lab
2. Lightness Channel
3. Image / Mode / Grayscale
4. Image / Mode / RGB
5. Save as ...

Hope this helps

Thanks! Haven't tried that, so will check it out...

 

[Richard Austin]

ditch the greyscale, google dr brown and download his scripts or follow his tutorials, pretty much as above but the scripts do it for ya. H

Thanks for the tip. I googled 'dr brown' but all I got was "Dr. Brown's Natural Flow® Baby Bottle and Breast Pumps"!
Couldn't see anything on the Goolge page for his tutorials. Do you have a URL? Thanks

 

[Richard Austin]

Try flatten the image first and start over again.

Will try that, but I'm thinking now the problem may lie with me using a 'grain' filter and then using Curves to further change contrast. The grain fiilter may 'smudge' things together after each Curve settings change....