Generally
speaking, brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness are thought to be the
four simplest controls as they have been developed as long as the color TV was
invented in the first place. However, people often turn blind eyes to the fact
that all these four controls are related to each other. As a matter of fact,
changing any one of these four controls will influence and change the other
three.
An
image must have the proper contrast for easy viewing. Contrast refers to the
difference in brightness between objects or regions. For example, a white
rabbit running across a snowy field has poor contrast, while a black dog
against the same white background has good contrast. Contrast is specifically
defined as the separation between dark and bright, which means that shadows can
be darker and highlights can be brighter by changing the contrast. On the other
hand, you can decrease the contrast in order to bring the shadows up and the
highlights down, which can make them closer to each other. As a matter of fact,
adding contrast usually makes the image more popular because it seems more
vibrant. In comparison, the image will look duller and boring if the contrast
has been decreased to a great degree.
When
you have added contrast to an image, then you will notice that some part will
become darker while some parts become brighter. This can make the image look
more defined. Meanwhile, you have also increased the brightness of some parts. Besides,
the saturation of the brighter and darker parts will be increased, which also
increases the sharpness. Therefore, it is rather obvious that the four controls
do affect each other. Changing of one will also lead to the other three to have
corresponding changes. Keep in mind that you need to strike a balance;
otherwise, the image will be uncomfortable.
