Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

Levels is how you set the W and B points.  However, if you perform Levels directly on the 
pixel (Background) layers, these changes rewrite pixel values permanently.  You cannot 
undo them once you've saved, and if you clip highlights or shadows, they are gone from 
the file forever.  Better to add a Levels Adjustment layer right over the top of the 
Background layer.  That way you can go back and adjust it whenever you choose.  It's 
very simple and completely safe from an information preservation point of view.

Again, if you're not clear on this see the pdf I posted, as mentioned earlier.

Cheers,
Phil
http://cirrus-digital.com
http://philbard.com


> 
> One point, however wonderful dodge/burn and curves may be, how do you 
> set your black / white points???  I dont get this, my scans / digital 
> images nearly always have unclipped headroom at one or both ends and 
> I thought I had to do this via level setting.  Does on do this on a 
> global basis to the image first and THEN play with the other tools?
> 
> Thanks for clearing up....
> 
> Steve