I’m all about speed and quality when it comes to image processing. While I like to publish nice images, I don’t like spending hours on them to get them just right: I like to find quick and effective ways of improving image quality.

This article walks you through making two powerful adjustments that can make a dramatic difference in your images: extract details from the bright core of a galaxy and improve contrast.

The Results

First is the original image of Messier 51:

The image is good, but the core of the galaxy lacks detail and the surrounding regions lack contrast, effectively hiding a lot of details.

Consider this image after making a couple of quick adjustments:

If you compare the two images, you’ll note that there’s a lot more detail in the core of the galaxy and the surrounding nebulosity has much more contrast and detail in it.

Download Sample

I have made the final PSD available for you to download and experiment with. To return the image back to its original state delete all of the layers, except the background layer.

Bringing Out Detail In the Core

The cores of some galaxies are quite bright and can have a blur effect even though the image is in focus. That’s the problem with this galaxy and you could try to fix it with an unsharp mask, or smart sharpen filter.

The problem with sharpening is that introduces artifacts if you get the settings wrong, even though the subject might still be sharpened. I wanted something that reduced the brightness of the core and boosted the details. I found the high pass filter.

Apply the High Pass filter as follows:

1. Duplicate the background layer

2. Select Filter – Other – High Pass

3. Enter 20px in the Radius field or move the slider

4. Change the layer’s blending mode to Overlay (you’ll find the blending mode above the listing of layers in the Layers panel – it defaults to Normal and has a small downward point arrow next to it)

5. Rename the layer to ‘high pass’

If you find the effect is too strong, reduce the radius to about 8 pixels

Click the eye icon next to the new layer and note the dramatic difference this one adjustment made.

Boost Contrast

While the galaxy’s core looks good, the surrounding nebulosity is lacking detail.

You can quickly boost the contrast by doing the following:

1. Duplicate the background layer

2. Ensure the duplicated background layer is below the ‘high pass’ layer

3. Select Image – Adjustments – Hue/Saturation

4. Reduce the Saturation to -100

5. Select Image – Adjustments – Invert

6. Change the layer’s blending mode to Overlay (you’ll find the blending mode above the listing of layers in the Layers panel – it defaults to Normal and has a small downward point arrow next to it)

7. Rename the layer to ‘color invert’

This adjustment dramatically improves the contrast, bringing out the details in the nebulosity around the galaxy.

Adjust Levels

Make a slight adjustment to the image’s Levels to make the background darker while retaining details.

1. Select the ‘high pass’ layer

2. Select Layer – New Adjustment Layer – Levels

3. Adjust the levels as shown in the following screenshot:

Conclusion

In this article, you learned about two very powerful adjustments that provide excellent results for boosting details and enhancing contrast. The problem with these types of adjustments is that many people don’t know how to use them properly – this article demonstrated how to use the adjustments properly.