LOCAL ADJUSTMENT TOOLS

1 Graduated Filter

The Graduated Filter tool is a bit like a ‘souped up’ digital ND filter in that it can affect a section of the image with a soft or hard edge and use the additional Raw data to tweak the exposure. Unlike an ND filter, it can also change other Raw adjustments like colour, white balance and sharpness. It’s ideal for editing skies – just drag it down to apply, move to adjust its position and drag the green and red dotted lines to change the ‘hardness’ of your gradient. Then tweak the settings on the panel on the right.

2 Radial Filter

For circular or elliptical areas, the Radial Filter excels. Grab it from the toolbox, drag it where you’d like the adjustment to be and hold Shift for a perfect circle. You can push and pull edges of the adjustment to reshape and reposition it. As with the Graduated Filter, you can input your settings on the right to make your adjustment. Change the Feather to give the radial adjustment a hard or soft edge and tick the Invert box if you’d rather adjust what’s on the outside of your selection than inside of it.

3 Adjustment Brush

The Adjustment Brush tool allows you to paint over a part of your image to make adjustments. Grab the Adjustment Brush tool (K) from the Toolbox and use the square bracket keys to resize your brush (you can also change the Feather for a softer or hard-edged brush and also the Flow to make your brushing more or less gradual). You can also tick the Mask Options box so you can clearly see the areas you’ve brushed over. Tweak the Adjustment sliders to edit the area that you’ve painted over.