Painting With Contrast? Give It A Try

As mentioned earlier on this site, I am a huge fan of the TK7 panel for luminosity masking, developed by Tony Kuyper. I owe my high-speed workflow to this panel in Photoshop. I really wouldn’t know what to do without it (by the way: there are also other panels that can be used properly, but TK7 is my personal favorite). Third-party Photoshop panels make it very easy to adjust an image because selections are made so fast and smooth, plus they also incorporate numerous ready-to-use Photoshop actions.

I recently came across the YouTube channel of Dave Kelly called The Joy of Editing. I couldn’t agree more with this title, as I myself really enjoy the post-production process. In this particular video, Dave goes through the process of painting with contrast using the TK7 panel. But what does that mean? This technique allows you to add contrast to specific tones in your image, exactly where you chose to brush them in. This seemingly simple method could be a powerful tool in your workflow. After you check out Dave’s tutorial on painting with contrast, start thinking how this simple instrument could enhance your own images. If you don’t work with the TK7 panel, no problem, as you can easily create this action by yourself!

Do you use this technique in your post-processing work? Let me know below!