Selectively adjust clarity and texture of an image
Last updated
Last updated
Selective Clarity adjustment lets you enhance image texture and clarity exclusively in the shadows, midtones, and highlights of an image. Using Clarity, you can subtly enhance image brightness and colors, making the image look overall sharper and clearer. By reducing clarity, you can also create an opposite effect and make the image smoother. Texture lets you subtly add contrast to images, especially the edges of objects, making textures pop. Alternatively, you can reduce texture to smooth out the image.
Powered by a texture-aware algorithm, Selective Clarity is especially precise, so when you're adjusting an individual range, let's say shadows, only the darkest areas of the image will be affected, leaving no halos around.
The Selective Clarity adjustment can be applied directly to a single layer or, using a color adjustments layer, to multiple layers in a composition.
Choose Format > Color Adjustments > Selective Clarity from the Format menu at the top of your screen.
In the Tools sidebar, click Color Adjustments and turn on the Selective Clarity adjustment.
Press A on your keyboard and turn on the Selective Clarity adjustment.
Choose Insert > Color Adjustments from the Insert menu at the top of your screen and turn on the Selective Clarity adjustment in the Tool Options pane.
Click Insert a layer at the top of the Layers sidebar, choose Color Adjustments, and turn on the Selective Clarity adjustment.
Press Shift ⇧ + Command ⌘ + A on your keyboard, and turn on the Selective Clarity adjustment.
📘 Note: If the adjustment isn't visible, you can turn it on from the Customize menu at the bottom of the Color Adjustments pane.
Click Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights at the top of the adjustment to select which areas of the image to adjust.
Drag the clarity or texture sliders:
Drag the Clarity slider to the right to make the image clearer, or to the left to make it smoother. You can also enter a percentage value from –100% to 100%.
Drag the Texture slider to the right to add more texture, or to the left to make the image smoother. You can also enter a percentage value from -100% to 100%.
Show Original: Click the Show Original button or press Control ⌃ + M on your keyboard to see what the image looks like without any color adjustments.
Show Split Comparison: Option ⌥ – click the Show Original button, press Control ⌃ + C on your keyboard, or force-click the canvas.
To reset all Color Adjustments, click Reset at the bottom of the Color Adjustments pane.
