Modify a photo with an ON-IMAGE ADJUSTMENT TOOL

Some adjustment layers include a targeting tool for editing specific areas in an image. 

With a Curves adjustment layer, you click in the image using the On-image adjustment tool to set a point on the curve and drag up or down to edit the contrast and tones. The shape of the curve in the Properties panel changes to match. Each time you click another area in the photo, a new point is set and dragging alters the curve. 

With a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, you click a particular color in the image with the On-image adjustment tool and drag left or right to reduce or increase that color’s saturation. Each time you click a different area in the image, the corresponding color’s saturation decreases or increases in the photo and the color slider moves in the Properties panel. 

When you use a Black & White adjustment layer to convert a color photo, you can adjust the range of tones by clicking with the tool and dragging left or right directly on dark or light areas in the photo. 

This task applies a Black & White adjustment layer. The steps are basically the same for the other types of adjustment layers with an On-image adjustment tool.

 1 Open a color photo. 

2 Click the Adjustment Layer button in the Layers panel. 

3 Click Black & White. 

Note: You can optionally click the Black & White Adjustment Layer button ( ) in the Adjustment Layer panel.

 The photo changes to black and white and the Properties panel opens. 

4 Click the On-image adjustment tool. 

5 Click in the image on an area to lighten and drag to the right.

 Note: The mouse pointer changes to an eyedropper. 

The grays in the area are lightened and the corresponding sliders in the Properties panel move. 

6 Click in the image on an area to darken and drag to the left. 

The grays in the area are darkened and the corresponding sliders in the Properties panel move. 

7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 for any other tones to adjust. 

8 Click the On-image adjustment tool again to return the tool to the Properties panel. 

9 Click and drag any sliders to edit other tones.

 TIPS 

Did You Know? 

You can combine multiple adjustment layers on top of one another, and change the parameters for each type of layer. The image remains editable and the original pixels are not permanently changed as long as the layers are not flattened or merged into the Background layer. 

Try This!

 With all three types of adjustment layers that include the On-image adjustment tool, you can use the tool by itself, or you can start with one of the presets from the dropdown menu in the Properties panel. You can customize the preset visually by using the On-image adjustment tool to click and drag on specific areas on the photograph. 

Did You Know? 

Adjustment layers affect all the layers below it. Click on the Properties panel to clip or limit the adjustment to the one layer below. Click to reset the adjustment to the default setting. Click on the Properties panel to delete an adjustment layer without going back to the Layers panel.