Description
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Photoshop 27.10 quietly retired Brightness/Contrast and replaced it with a brand new Light adjustment layer — six Camera Raw-style tone controls that live right in your layer stack, take a mask, and never touch your original pixels.
In this tutorial, we break down the correct order to use the six sliders, show you how to mask the effect separately onto your subject and background, build a soft glow of light behind your subject using a double-masked group, and cover the quirks Adobe built into this new tool, plus how to bring back the legacy Brightness/Contrast controls if you'd rather stick with the classic tool.
CHAPTERS
0:00 New Light Adjustment Layer Overview
1:09 Restoring Legacy Brightness and Contrast
1:48 Correct Slider Order for Light
2:30 Selecting Before Masking Your Adjustment
4:28 Darkening the Background with Light
5:45 Brightening Your Subject with Light
8:22 Creating a Background Glow Effect
11:27 Quirks and Features to Know
12:42 Color and Vibrance Camera Raw Tools
13:20 Final Thoughts on the Light Tool
THE STEPS
1. Switch between the new Light layer and legacy Brightness/Contrast in the Properties panel menu
2. Select your subject first, then create the adjustment layer so the selection becomes your mask
3. Work the sliders in order: Exposure, then Whites and Blacks, then Highlights and Shadows, then Contrast
4. Mask Light separately onto the background and onto the subject for independent control
5. Group a layer with itself to add a second mask for a background glow effect
6. Shape the glow with a black-to-white radial gradient
7. Finish with the ported Camera Raw Color and Vibrance sliders for temperature, tint, and vibrance
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