A typical issue that photographers face when capturing digital images is limited dynamic range of DSLR cameras. We always have to choose between which detail we would like to keep, and which detail will unfortunately be lost.

If you choose to expose for the highlights – the shadow detail may be compromised. Likewise, if you choose to expose for the shadows – the highlights may get overexposed and you’ll end up capturing no detail in the brightest parts of the image.

This is a quick tip that will show you how you can enhance and retain the light and dark information within an image.

Typically this is used for landscape photography, however can be applied to any type of image. This technique enables you to adjust the contrast of the scene to try and reflect your initial vision, to show “why” you decided to capture this image in the first place.

Feel free to download and view the PSD file of the photo above:
From Dropbox
From Google Drive

Follow these steps to add contrast and drama to your image:

1. Duplicate your background layer: press Ctrl + J or Command + J on a Mac.

2. Select “Apply Image…” from the Image menu:

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Now depending on the image at hand you will have a few adjustment options.

TO ENHANCE LIGHT INFORMATION DETAIL

With this particular adjustment, you are darkening the image, specifically targeting the highlight detail within the image.
Change the blending mode in the Apply Image dialogue box to Multiply.

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TO ENHANCE DARK INFORMATION DETAIL

With this adjustment, you are lightening the image, targeting the shadows in the image.
Change the blending mode in the Apply Image dialogue box to Screen.

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TO ENHANCE CONTRAST

With this adjustment, you are darkening the shadows and brightening the highlights, in other words, adding contrast. Change the blending mode of the Apply Image dialogue box to Overlay or Soft Light, depending on how much contrast you wish to introduce.

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Additional Notes

• All of these adjustments can be refined using Blend If slider. If you are unfamiliar with Blend If you should check out our Working with Layer Blend If Sliders in Adobe Photoshop article by  Michael Woloszynowicz.
• You can apply each or some of these adjustments as separate layers and then selectively mask out the areas where you wish those specific effects to be shown. For example, for the image above, I used two Apply Image layers for the highlights and one for contrast. This is a simple, yet very effective way for adding contrast to your image.
• The greatest thing about this method is that you can introduce contrast without the side effect ofcreating banding!