1.5

What Is the Secondaries Room Used For?
The Secondaries room has been designed for maximum flexibility. While its central purpose
is to facilitate targeted corrections to specific features of the image, it can be used for a
variety of tasks.
• Isolating areas for targeted corrections: This is the primary purpose of the Secondaries
room. Using a variety of techniques, you can perform functions such as isolating the
highlights in an image to change the quality of light; targeting the color of an overly
bright sweater to desaturate it without affecting the rest of the image; or selecting an
actor’s face to create a post-production sunburn. Once you master the ability to
selectively adjust portions of the image, the possibilities are endless.
Before After
• Creating vignetting effects: Traditionally, vignettes used for creative purposes described
a darkening around the edges of the image that used to be created with mattes or lens
filters. You can create any type of vignette you need using either preset or custom
shapes, to darken or otherwise flag areas of the image. Vignettes can be used to focus
viewer attention by highlighting a subject in the foreground or by shading background
features that you don’t want sticking out.
Before After
258 Chapter 10 The Secondaries Room