This filter is very versatile because it provides a range of several contrast controls, including Contrast Only, which adjusts contrast without affecting the color of the image. Soft Contrast produces a moody contrast, which is less harsh than the traditional contrast methods due to soft transitions between tonal areas. Standard Contrast runs the standard contrast routines available in other image editing applications. When combined, these three contrast controls, along with Brightness and Saturation, give you great control over the desired look and feel of your image.

We will take a closer look at each of the different filter effects in the Contrast Only adjustment panel.

Contrast Only Adjustment Panel

The Brightness slider will increase the overall brightness of the image when the slider is moved to the right, moving the slider to the left will darken the entire image.

The Contrast slider helps add more dimension to your image. This filter adds contrast in much the same way that other image editing applications will apply contrast.

Contrast Only is a unique solution that works well when you want to add contrast without affecting the color in your image.

If you are looking to add a softer contrast to your image, then you will want to try Soft Contrast. This creates a nice moody contrast that is not as harsh as the traditional Contrast methods.

The Saturation slider defaults at 0%, but simply moving it to the right will increase the saturation of colors throughout the image. Moving the slider to the left will decrease the saturation, and at -100, will desaturate the colors from the image completely to create a gray scale image.

Tip: The Contrast Only filter works great when trying to reduce wrinkles too! For example, Janice Wendt, Education Manager at Nik Software, uses the following settings along with the Brush feature in Photoshop to retouch bags under the eyes.

Brightness at +80%, Contrast Only at -26% and Saturation at -2%

Settings for reducing wrinkles with Contrast Only filter