Retouching image areas by using brushes

You can retouch images by applying brushstrokes. Some retouch brushes mimic photographic effects, while others change pixels based on their lightness, saturation, hue, or color values. Some retouch brushes create effects that are similar to those produced with the color-correction commands. The retouch brushes are described in the following table.

Brush	Effect
Lighten/Darken	Increases or decreases brightness; affects the RGB or Lightness value of pixels
Dodge	Lightens and brings out details of areas that are in shadow (mimics the traditional photographic darkroom technique of holding back light to produce lighter areas in printed photos)
Burn	Darkens areas of the image that are too light
Smudge	Spreads color and image details from the starting point and picks up new color and image details as it moves, as though smearing paint
Push	Spreads color and image details from the starting point but does not pick up any new color or image details
Soften	Smooths edges and reduces contrast
Sharpen	Heightens edges and accentuates contrast
Emboss	Causes the foreground to appear raised from the background by suppressing color and tracing edges in black
Saturation Up/Down	Increases or decreases saturation; affects the HSL value of pixels
Hue Up/Down	Increases or decreases hue; affects the HSL value of pixels
Change to Target	Changes pixels based on a characteristic of the current foreground color on the Materials palette: color, hue, saturation, or lightness • If you choose the color as the target, the brush applies the foreground color without affecting the luminance. • If you choose the hue, saturation, or lightness as the target, the brush applies the hue, saturation, or lightness value of the foreground color without changing the other values.
Color Replacer	For information about the Color Replacer tool, see Replacing colors, gradients, or patterns.

To use a retouch brush

You can also	On the Tool Options palette
Reverse the tool behavior	Mark the Swap mouse button check box when using the Lighten/Darken , Saturation Up/Down , or Hue Up/Down tools.
Retouch data from all layers	Mark the Use all layers check box when using the Smudge , Push , Soften , Sharpen , or Emboss tools.
Lighten or darken an image with the Lighten/Darken tool based on the lightness or RGB values	Choose RGB or Lightness from the Mode drop-list.
Choose a characteristic of the foreground color to target with the Change to Target tool	Choose an option from the Mode drop-list.
Apply brush strokes only to specific areas that match the brush stroke sample area	Mark the Smart Edge check box.
Limit the changes to shadows, midtones, or highlights with the Dodge and Burn tools	Choose an option from the Limit drop-list.

For more information about setting brush options, see Choosing brush options.

You can apply the opposite effect of a retouch brush by right-clicking as you apply the brush to the image.