Table Of Contents:
Foreword ix

David Biedny
Introduction xiii

The Canyon Conundrum

Introduction 3(1)

The Rules of the Game 4(1)

A 30-Second Definition of LAB 5(2)

Assembling the Ingredients 7(2)

A Canyon Correction, Step by Step 9(1)

Finding Color Where None Exists 9(2)

A River Runs Through It 11(4)

A Closer Look 15(4)

Going Too Far, and Then Coming Back 19(4)

LAB by the Numbers

Introduction 23(2)

Three Pairs of Channels 25(2)

The Role of Each Channel 27(2)

The Easiest of the Three 29(3)

A Closer Look 32(1)

An Introduction to the Imaginary 33(3)

So Hurry Sundown, Be on Your Way 36(3)

Vary the Recipe, Vary the Color

Introduction 39(2)

Three Channels, One Image 41(1)

Flight Check: The Photoshop Settings 42(3)

The Recipe and Its Ramifications 45(2)

LAB and the Greens of Nature 47(1)

Summarizing the Setup Steps 47(2)

The Artificial Tanned Look 49(3)

A Closer Look 52(1)

The Protanope-a-Dope Strategy 52(2)

It Can't Be Put into Words 54(2)

And What If God Is Color-Blind? 56(3)

It's All About The Center Point

Introduction 59(2)

What Should Be Gray? 61(1)

The White Point and the Threshold 61(2)

Its Fleece Was Green as Snow 63(2)

0A 0B Isn't the Holy Grail 65(1)

A Walk in the Park 66(2)

A Horse Is a Horse, of Course, of Course 68(4)

A Closer Look 72(1)

The White Point That's Not White 72(2)

A Tour with Eight Stops 74(1)

Finding the Impossible Color 75(1)

The Whole Is More Than the Two Halves 76(4)

The Return of the Canyon Conundrum 80(1)

Sharpen the L, Blur the AB

Introduction 81(1)

The Second Stage Is Sharpening 82(2)

Selecting a Single Channel 84(3)

Photoshop CS2 Launches a Winner 87(2)

A Small Step for a Man 89(1)

When and How to Blur 89(2)

We Have Liftoff 91(1)

High Radius, Low Amount 91(2)

A Closer Look 93(1)

Making RGB Behave Like LAB---Almost 93(2)

Houston, We Have a Problem 95(1)

A Burst of Gamma Radiation 96(2)

256 Levels per Channel 98(1)

The Clues That I Sharpening Is Better 99(1)

The Blur Is Not Just an Average 100(1)

Blur Early, Sharpen Late 101(4)

Blurring in the Digital Age 105(2)

Entering the Forest: Myths and Dangers

Introduction 107(1)

More Than Once Upon a Time 108(11)

A Closer Look 119(3)

And Why Not Look, If You Please? 122(4)

When the Impossible Happens 126(1)

Of Salaries and Pixels 126(2)

Of Translations and Transfers 128(1)

The Most Useful Statistic 129(1)

The Odds Are Against It 129(1)

The Torture Test 130(1)

The Tale of the Tape 131(1)

The Plus Sign and the Times Sign 132(1)

A Bit About Bits 132(1)

8- and 16-Bit: An Exception 133(1)

Ton Nom Est Dans Mon Coeur 134(1)

Summing Up: LAB and the Workflow

Introduction 135(1)

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words 136(1)

When Speed Is All-Important 137(2)

The Going Gets Tough 139(2)

Mandatory Steps, Optional Steps 141(1)

Which One Works Best Where? 142(1)

The Get-Halfway-There Principle 143(1)

Will There Be a Step Three? 144(2)

The Channel Structure Bites Back 146(2)

A Comprehensive Approach 148(3)

By Numbers and by Instinct 151(1)

When to Go Too Far 151(2)

Partial Casts 153(2)

The Minute Waltz at the Masked Ball 155(2)

An Up-to-the-Minute Use 157(2)

It Only Takes a Minute 159(2)

The Imaginary Color, The Impossible Retouch

Introduction 161(3)

Enter, Stage Left, the Ghost of Color 164(1)

The Theater of the Absurd 165(2)

It Would Be Argument for a Week 167(3)

We Shall Have More Anon 170(2)

Methinks It Were an Easy Leap 172(2)

The Better Part of Valour Is Discretion 174(3)

Thou Hast Damnable Iteration 177(2)

A Deal of Skimble-Skamble Stuff 179(1)

And So Ends My Catechism 180(1)

The LAB Advantage in Selections and Masking

Introduction 181(2)

Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose 183(1)

Roses White and Roses Red 184(2)

So Fair Art Thou, My Bonny Lass 186(1)

A Rose by Any Other Name 187(3)

Each Morn a Thousand Roses Brings 190(3)

Masks and Blurring 193(1)

But Where Is the Rose of Yesterday? 194(3)

Lighting Through Rose-Colored Glasses 197(3)

The Outlook Is Rosy 200(1)

The Product Is Red but The Client Wants Green

Introduction 201(3)

Three Steps to a Color Change 204(2)

Blending Options and Layer Masks 206(2)

From One Channel to the Next 208(2)

Three Sets of Sliders 210(2)

Saving a Blending Options Mask 212(1)

When the Colors Aren't Opposites 212(3)

When Three Layers Are Needed 215(2)

The Best Retouching Space

Introduction 217(2)

Color and Contrast, Again 219(2)

The Rays Are Not Coloured 221(2)

Channels That Don't Have to Line Up 223(3)

Four Generations and Still Feisty 226(4)

The Sponge on Steroids 230(3)

The Best Way to Experiment 233(1)

How to Eliminate Moire 234(3)

The Bleeding Edge: Black and White to Color 237(2)

The Fabric and the Photographer 239(4)

Command, Click, Control

Introduction 243(1)

Introducing the Man from Mars 243(1)

Why the Recipe Works 244(2)

The Invisible Background 246(1)

And That's No Fish Story 247(1)

Four Tips for the Command--Clicker 248(1)

The Search for the Scapegoat 248(4)

Warm Things Are Doubly Positive 252(1)

When to Use the Method 252(4)

Too Many Choices, Not Enough Time 256(1)

How Horses Look on Mars 257(3)

A Simple Field of Sunflowers 260(5)

The Universal Interchange Standard

Introduction 265(1)

Of Reds and References 266(1)

The Ref Needs a Pair of Glasses 267(2)

The Search for Perceptual Uniformity 269(1)

Finding an xyY Equivalent 269(2)

To Each His Dulcinea 271(2)

Matching Unmatchable Pantone Colors 273(2)

Maintaining the Distinction 275(2)

The Knight of the Unambiguous Transfer 277(1)

To Run Where the Brave Dare Not Go 278(2)

Of Children and Colorspaces 280(2)

To Dream the Impossible Dream 282(1)

Once for Color, Once for Contrast

Introduction 283(1)

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet 284(1)

Detail, Range, and a Letterform 285(1)

When to Do the Averaging 286(3)

Older Yes, Wiser Maybe 289(4)

Finding the Right RGB Channel 293(1)

The Language of Layers 294(4)

Better Color Through Better Gray 298(3)

A Vote for Fluency 301(2)

Blending With the A and B

Introduction 303(1)

When Zero Equals Fifty Percent 304(3)

The Easy Way to Brighter Color 307(1)

The Overlay Sextuplets 307(2)

Of Blues and Butterflies 309(3)

Fighting Blend-Induced Grain 312(1)

The Art of Selective Lightening 312(1)

Don't Believe What You See 313(3)

Separating Greens Conventionally... 316(2)

...And Unconventionally 318(2)

Whites and Blacks Are Both Grays 320(3)

A Face Is Like a Canyon

Introduction 323(1)

The Recipe 324(1)

Building Contrast with the Green 324(2)

Making the Jump to LAB 326(2)

The Question of Sharpening 328(2)

Three Faces, One Recipe 330(5)

But Here Is the Best Part 335(4)

You Have a Head Start 339(3)

If You Are Among the Very Young at Heart 342(1)

The Tilt Toward Yellow 343(1)

First, Analyze the Image 343(3)

Second, Set the Contrast 346(2)

Third, Add the Color 348(1)

Fourth, Save and Close 349(2)
Notes & Credits 351(10)
Index 361