Mel,
Open your image to work on. This should be either a duplicate image or duplicate it in PSE and close the original.
Have the Layers Palette permanently visible on the side of your workarea so you can always know which layer is the active one. If the palette is not visible, drag it out of the well.
A new image has one layer called "Background". Double click that layer in the palette and accept the offer to rename it Layer 0. Right click Layer 0, choose duplicate. You have two layers; 0 and 1.
The active layer should be the top layer in the palette, layer 1. Choose one of the selection tools as you must separate out that part of the image you wish to change. I like the polygonal lasso tool. In the Tool Palette, choose the lasso. Hold the mouse down over the tool and options for type of lasso appear. Choose, for example, the polygonal. Above the image, where it says Feather, type in a 1 to 4 ish (depending on the size of the image). This will blend the edges of the selection to avoid a sharp transition area.
You are going to zoom way in on your image to better place the selection line drawn with the lasso tool. To do this, hit Ctrl key and "+" sign a few times. To move image around to keep area of interest in sight, hold the space bar and a little hand appears. Hold mouse button and spacebar down and drag image to resposition it. Carefully trace around the area you wish to change with the lasso tool. A line will be drawn inbetween each click. Begin with a click, move the mouse a little along the edge, click again, move the mouse etc. Go all the way around until you touch the starting point. You have a selected area.
On the bottom of the Layers Palette, click the blk/white circle and choose Levels. On the graph that appears, play with the bottom three sliders. To make the background darker you would move the left most slider to the right. Changes are reflected immediately as you view. To get rid of the selection lines, either go to Select>deselect or hit Ctrl/D.
Let us know if this works out for you.
Nancy
edit—make sure Image>Mode is set to Greyscale
Mel,
Sometimes it is easier to select out the part you are not interested in and then just reverse the selection to focus the selection on your intended target area. In your example, you would select the foreground object, then go to Select>Inverse and your background would be selected.
Nancy:
Thank you so much for your interest, and your beautifully clear instructions. One of the greatest features of PSE is this forum, where everyone is always willing to share their experiences. It is comforting thing to know that one is not alone. After Turkey festivities are over I will definitely follow through. Thanks again.
Mel
