It is fairly common in landscape photography to post-process the sky differently than the foreground. For example, many landscape photographers like their skies darkened. It is also common to add sharpening to an image, which gets applied to edges. Both of these techniques, and especially when used together, can cause \u201chalo\u2019s\u201d… or light lines that run along a transition zone, such as a horizon line or along the top of a mountain. I see these halo\u2019s all the time. They look bad, especially if you enlarge your image, such as for print.<\/p>\n
Below is what one looks like. You might have to look carefully, but there is a white line along the top of the red roof. It is even more pronounced on the left side of the chimney just under the red roof.<\/p>\n Fortunately, halo\u2019s are very easy to fix using a clever technique in Photoshop. <\/p>\n Start With a Pixel Layer on Top<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n To start out, you need a \u201cpixel layer\u201d, rather than an adjustment layer, at 100% opacity on top. Let\u2019s say that our layer stack looks like this… just the pixel layer and an adjustment layer on top. Because you need a 100% opacity pixel layer on top, we will next do a \u201cstamp visible\u201d, which is a new layer that is a picture of all the other layers as they appear. On a Mac, you hit \u201cCmd-Opt-Shift-E\u201d. With Windows, you hit \u201cShift-Ctrl-Alt-E\u201d. You\u2019ll then see a new layer appear on top of your layer stack. Clone Stamp Tool, Darken Mode<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n With the top layer active, grab the Clone Stamp Tool, which you are probably already familiar with:<\/p>\n Switch the mode of the Clone Stamp Tool to \u201cDarken\u201d. This is done using the pull-down box that you should see above your image after you have activated the tool. There is a good chance that it is currently set to \u201cNormal\u201d.<\/p>\n Change it to \u201cDarken\u201d mode.<\/p>\n Next, make sure that the Opacity and Flow of the Clone Stamp Tool are both set to 100%.<\/p>\n Make sure \u201cAligned\u201d is checked:<\/p>\n Lastly, make sure that the hardness of the brush is set to 0% and is a relatively small brush.<\/p>\n And Now… The Magic Happens<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n You have probably used the Clone Stamp Tool before, so I will not go into detail here on that. You simply alt-click on a source area and then brush over the destination area with the tool. The pixels in the destination area are replaced with the source pixels. <\/p>\n With Darken mode, however, only the pixels that are LIGHTER than the source pixels are replaced. Anything darker or exactly the same luminosity level is level alone. Halo\u2019s are usually brighter than the surrounding pixels. So, by clicking in a nearby spot in the sky and dragging your cursor over the halo, the brighter halo is replaced but the surrounding area (in this case the sky and the red roof) is left alone. Although difficult to see, the halo in the next picture is gone. This took me less than one minute.<\/p>\n After you have finished, it is a good idea to switch your Clone Stamp Tool mode back to Normal so that you do not forget and are confused later why it does not appear to be working (the voice of experience talking). Also, it is a good idea to rename your layer something like \u201cHalo Fixed\u201d so that you can tell later what the purpose of the layer is. It might be difficult to see the modification to the layer and you might inadvertently delete it if it is not re-named.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Church-on-Snaefellsnes-Peninsula.jpg\")
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