Help Selecting Lightness Ranges

[PSD]

I want to create selections which will target pixels based on their lightness values. This seems like it should be a simple task but I'm plain stumped.

My goal is to create an action that will assign lightness-based Layer Masks (that only target specific ranges and exclude all others) to Hue/Sat Adjustment Layers for awesome color control.

Specifically, I'm trying to select these ranges:

Highlights: Only pixels with lightness values between 1% and 14%.
Lights: Only pixels with lightness values between 15% and 28%.
Light Mids: Only pixels with lightness values between 29% and 42%.
Midtones: Only pixels with lightness values between 43% and 58%.
Dark Mids: Only pixels with lightness values between 59% and 72%.
Darks: Only pixels with lightness values between 73% and 86%.
Shadows: Only pixels with lightness values between 87% and 100%.



Does anyone have some ideas?

I developed the idea based on the HSL and Tone Curve controls in Camera Raw. In theory, this will allow for better color control than anything currently available in Photoshop or Camera Raw. I would love to make this action available for free online as well as use it in my own workflow!

[jerryb]

hi,
I am novice, and your superior to me... and i am just primarily posting so that i can follow your thread, when replies are made, interested in the subject and still learning alot.... ... but i wa just thinking instead of thinking terms of of percentage use the actual values 0-255 ... for example 43-58% translate into 109-147 it seems it would be lot easier to then make a action based on that when look at the let say the levels display either in the layer or channels..

what wrong with utilizing a luminocity mask vice a layer mask?

I want to create selections which will target pixels based on their lightness values. This seems like it should be a simple task but I'm plain stumped.

My goal is to create an action that will assign lightness-based Layer Masks (that only target specific ranges and exclude all others) to Hue/Sat Adjustment Layers for awesome color control.

Specifically, I'm trying to select these ranges:

Highlights: Only pixels with lightness values between 1% and 14%.
Lights: Only pixels with lightness values between 15% and 28%.
Light Mids: Only pixels with lightness values between 29% and 42%.
Midtones: Only pixels with lightness values between 43% and 58%.
Dark Mids: Only pixels with lightness values between 59% and 72%.
Darks: Only pixels with lightness values between 73% and 86%.
Shadows: Only pixels with lightness values between 87% and 100%.



Does anyone have some ideas?

I developed the idea based on the HSL and Tone Curve controls in Camera Raw. In theory, this will allow for better color control than anything currently available in Photoshop or Camera Raw. I would love to make this action available for free online as well as use it in my own workflow!

[PSD]

Yes, that's exactly what I mean, selecting all pixels based on their numerical lightness values, but I don't think that's possible so the next best option was to select a range of lightnesses, and the best way I could depict that is with percentages. Also a luminosity mask is precisely the type that will result, but I'm trying to restrict the values to specific ranges -- to exclude all lightnesses that are outside of a given range.

[PSD]

It turns out there are plenty of solutions. The best one was originally posted by SCTRWD at photoshopgurus.com. Following are links to discussions where that solutions was posted by me. The first link is the original topic where SCTRWD described the solution:

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/gen ... #post65864

http://www.mogo-media.com/forums/showth ... post221706

http://www.photoshopforums.com/post58416.html#58416

http://photocamel.com/forum/image-editi ... post851419

[jerryb]

hi psd,

great yo found a solution that works for you...

I been trying to find something but had no luck and nothing to reports...

been looking also if there was some sort of action or scrip that would do also but came up with nothing on that....

i am bookmarking this one.. smiling

It turns out there are plenty of solutions. The best one was originally posted by SCTRWD at photoshopgurus.com. Following are links to discussions where that solutions was posted by me. The first link is the original topic where SCTRWD described the solution:

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/gen ... #post65864

http://www.mogo-media.com/forums/showth ... post221706

http://www.photoshopforums.com/post58416.html#58416

http://photocamel.com/forum/image-editi ... post851419