ACE Image Retouching and Restoration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When removing red-eye from a portrait taken in RAW format, what is the most efficient first step in Photoshop?
- Use the Red Eye Tool in Camera Raw before opening the file (Correct answer)
- Select the red area with the Magic Wand and desaturate
- Apply Hue/Saturation to target the red channel
- Use Replace Color adjustment
Correct answer: Use the Red Eye Tool in Camera Raw before opening the file
Camera Raw's Red Eye Removal tool corrects red-eye before the file is processed, preserving maximum image quality.
Question 2: To restore faded color in an old scanned photograph, which adjustment provides the most targeted control?
- Brightness/Contrast
- Curves with individual channel control (Correct answer)
- Auto Tone
- Vibrance
Correct answer: Curves with individual channel control
Curves allows independent control of each color channel, letting you precisely correct color cast and contrast simultaneously.
Question 3: Which selection technique is most accurate for isolating flyaway hair against a complex background before retouching?
- Polygonal Lasso Tool
- Select and Mask with Refine Edge Brush (Correct answer)
- Quick Selection Tool alone
- Color Range with fuzziness set to 200
Correct answer: Select and Mask with Refine Edge Brush
Select and Mask's Refine Edge Brush is specifically designed to capture fine hair and wispy edges against complex backgrounds.
Question 4: A photographer wants to remove a tourist from a vacation photo taken with a tripod. What is the fastest Photoshop-native method?
- Clone Stamp each section manually
- Use File > Scripts > Statistics with Median stack mode (Correct answer)
- Apply Content-Aware Fill with the person selected
- Use the Healing Brush in multiple passes
Correct answer: Use File > Scripts > Statistics with Median stack mode
Stacking multiple exposures with Median mode automatically removes moving subjects like tourists by keeping only stationary pixels.
Question 5: The 'Darken' blend mode on a Clone Stamp layer will:
- Only replace pixels lighter than the sampled source (Correct answer)
- Only affect shadows in the image
- Multiply the cloned pixels with the destination
- Invert the luminosity of cloned pixels
Correct answer: Only replace pixels lighter than the sampled source
In Darken mode, the Clone Stamp only applies sampled pixels where the destination is lighter, leaving darker pixels untouched.
Question 6: When restoring detail in a severely overexposed area of a JPEG, what is the realistic limitation?
- The Shadows/Highlights adjustment cannot process JPEGs
- Completely blown highlights contain no recoverable data in any channel (Correct answer)
- Curves adjustments will introduce banding on JPEGs
- Camera Raw cannot open JPEG files
Correct answer: Completely blown highlights contain no recoverable data in any channel
Pixels clipped to pure white (255,255,255) in all channels contain no information to recover, making highlight restoration impossible in those areas.
Question 7: Which Liquify tool is most appropriate for subtly slimming a face without distorting surrounding areas?
- Warp Tool at maximum pressure
- Pucker Tool
- Forward Warp Tool at low pressure with a large brush (Correct answer)
- Bloat Tool with reduced rate
Correct answer: Forward Warp Tool at low pressure with a large brush
The Forward Warp Tool with a large brush and low pressure allows gentle, gradual reshaping that minimizes distortion in adjacent areas.
ACE Image Retouching and Restoration 3
When removing red-eye from a portrait taken in RAW format, what is the most efficient first step in Photoshop?