Tips | Tricks | Fixes
Rescue clipped highlights Use Photoshop’s histograms and adjustments to correct clipped detail in overexposed images
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lipped highlights is one of the most problematic areas of photography that you’ll come across when capturing images under bright daylight. As the dynamic range of a sensor isn’t as wide as the human eye, we need to call upon a number of techniques to control clipping. Bracketing is one
Detailed highlights What wasn’t visible before applying a handful of key adjustments can now be spotted, such as smaller clouds in the distance
164 Photography Tips, Tricks & Fixes
such way to avoid clipping, but what if we only have one image to work with? Clipped areas in this image include the central parts of the sky and some of the paintwork on the car. Where there should be texture and vibrant colour, there’s just a bleaching of white. Using Photoshop’s
colour histograms, we can view the balance of red, green and blue throughout the image. Unfortunately, not all the lost detail in the image can be retrieved, but using the following techniques you’ll find that there’s still a considerable amount of detail and texture waiting to be exposed.