Adobe photoshop elements User Manual

Page of 296
CHAPTER 9
200
Applying Filters and Effects
Despeckle
Detects the edges in an image (areas 
where significant color changes occur) and blurs 
all of the selection except those edges. This blur-
ring removes noise while preserving detail.
Dust & Scratches
Reduces noise by changing 
dissimilar pixels. To achieve a balance between 
sharpening the image and hiding defects, 
try various combinations of radius and threshold 
settings. Or apply the filter on selected areas in
the image.
To use the Dust & Scratches filter:
1
Choose Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches, or 
use the Filters palette to apply the Dust & Scratches 
filter.
2
If necessary, adjust the preview zoom ratio until 
the area containing noise is visible. 
3
Drag the Threshold slider left to 0 to turn off the 
value, so that all pixels in the selection or image 
can be examined. 
The Threshold determines how different the 
pixels’ values should be before they are eliminated. 
Note: The Threshold slider gives greater control for 
values between 0 and 128—the most common range 
for images—than for values between 128 and 255.
4
Drag the Radius slider left or right, or enter a 
value in the text box from 1 to 100 pixels. The 
radius determines how far the filter searches for 
differences among pixels. 
Adjusting the radius makes the image blurry. Stop 
at the smallest value that eliminates the defects.
5
Increase the threshold gradually by entering a 
value or by dragging the slider to the highest value 
possible that eliminates defects.
6
Click OK.
Median
Reduces noise in an image by blending 
the brightness of pixels within a selection. 
The filter searches the radius of a pixel selection 
for pixels of similar brightness, discarding pixels 
that differ too much from adjacent pixels, and 
replaces the center pixel with the median 
brightness value of the searched pixels. This filter 
is useful for eliminating or reducing the effect of 
motion on an image.
Pixelate filters
The filters in the Pixelate submenu sharply define 
a selection by clumping pixels of similar color 
values in cells.
Color Halftone
Simulates the effect of using an 
enlarged halftone screen on the image. The filter 
divides the image into rectangles and replaces each 
rectangle with a circle. The circle size is propor-
tional to the brightness of the rectangle. 
To use the Color Halftone filter:
1
Choose Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone, 
or use the Filters palette to apply the Color 
Halftone filter.
2
Enter a value in pixels for the maximum radius 
of a halftone dot, from 4 to 127.
3
Enter a screen-angle value (the angle of the
dot from the true horizontal) for one or 
more channels: