Benefits
of the plugin

Control black in photo editing as if it's a color channel.
Edit the black content of colors without changing hue (black saturation).
Strengthen the clarity and graphic modeling of objects in the photo (black definition).
Target either saturated or unsaturated colors for filtering.
A unique and discreet way to edit color saturation and brightness.

The Black Definition plugin works with these image modes (Windows and Mac)...
8,16, 48 & 64 bit: RGB, Grayscale, Duotone, CMYK, Multichannel, Lab.

Black Definition
filter controls

This is the Black Definition plug-ins control panel. Click on the photo or the links to the right to see the plug-in at full size.

The filter has three main controls:
1. Adjust blacks - changes the black content
2. Gray include - change unsaturated colors
3. Color include - change saturated colors

In addition you can restrict your retouching to a specified brightness-range or color-range or apply a gradated effect.

Example - Removing black (left) and adding black (right)

The Black Definition plugin gives you a unique and easy way to control the black content of colors.

The middle image is the original unfiltered.

The Black Definition plug-ins controls

The three sliders are arranged in two groups. The first "Black Definition" has only one slider, that will add or subtract black from the image. The second "Include" defines which areas of the photo are to be changed.

Adjust Blacks %

This slider lets you adjust the black content of colors as if black were a separate color channel - like red, green, blue. The effect of the adjustment can be fine tuned by the two sliders in the next frame...

Gray Include %

This determines how much the filter will change the black content of grayish and unsaturated colors. It will target dark and bright areas as well as grayish areas the most. If you set Include colors to 0, you probably won't set this slider to more than 60% unless you intend to blacken the highlights - or the entire image. However, as you raise "Include colors", you can raise "Include grays" too, since the two are interdependent. "Include grays" is the primary factor in the plug-ins filter-algorithm and also the only slider available for one-channel image modes like grayscale. Rarely go beyond 60%.

Color Include %

This determines how much the black adjustment will change the black content of vivid hues. This is usually less strong in effect than "Include grays", since the black content of colors by nature is lower than in grays or grayish hues. This slider can often be set to 100%.

If you set both sliders to near 0, you will change only the blackest areas.

Retouch levels


Black Alert

Retouch levels lets you control how strong the retouching should be in the lights, midtones and darks.

If you check "Black Alert" the preview will mask areas that are pure black. You can change the yellow color of the mask by clicking in the yellow rectangle.

Graduated Effect

These controls are common for many of the Power Retouche plug-ins. Using graduated effect will cause the filter to apply it's filtering at full strength in one side of the image and then fade the effect out towards the other side. You can change direction by right clicking the preview. Midpoint will shift the balance between how large an area will be filtered at full strength and how much will have a faded out effect. Contrast will change the accelleration and spread of the fade-out.

In this example we applied a graduated effect towards the lower right corner. This removes the flat light in the original and enhances the romantic impression of the sunset.

Ranges

These controls are also common for most of the Power Retouche plug-ins. If you use the brightness range, only areas brighter than "From" and darker than "To" will be changed. If you use Color-range, then only colors to the right of the "From" slider and to the left of the "Up to" slider will be changed. This also counts if you place the "From" slider to the right of the "Up to" slider. In this way any selection is possible. You can also use both controls to edit a specific color range of a certain brightness, like only the bright blue sky, for example.

Mask unchanged will apply the color of the mask to areas outside of the selected ranges. This helps set the range sliders.

In the example below we used Color range to select the face. We also used Retouch Levels to pull black out of the lights and midtones, but not the darks.

Examples

Mood in portraits

The Black-definition plugin can be used to change the mood in a photo without changing the brightness of the mid tones.

Enhancing three dimensional and spatial impression

When you enhance the black element, you will usually also enhance the spatial, or 3D, modeling of the objects in the photo. This gives a greater sense of space around objects.

Black & White photos and grayscale images

The plugin can be used with Black & White RGB images as well as Grayscale-mode images. Be aware that if you filter a Black & White RGB image, the slider Color Include will still be available, but will have no effect. If the image-mode is grayscale, then the Color Include slider will be disabled.