Adjusting Color Balance

JS
Posted By
John Stone
Aug 4, 2003
Views
316
Replies
10
Status
Closed
I am taking pictures of my wife’s paintings and need to get the colors exactly right. Does anyone know how to use Elements adjust the color balance of an entire photo for different temperatures of white light?

Thanks,

John

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PL
Paul L UK
Aug 4, 2003
John

Try to include a sheet of white paper at one side of the shot, then you have a reference for adjusting from. A straightforward colour-cast adjustment, using the paper as a reference, should do the job.

It is done by a stepped greyscale card by professional photographers and have seen it mentioned before, but I cannot remember what it is called.

Hope it helps

Paul
LK
Leen Koper
Aug 4, 2003
The "white paper trick" works OK, but don’t make the same mistake as I did. I didnot take in account that a lot of white paper contains artificial whiteners that cause a color cast as well. Ever since I use the white side of the Kodak Neutral Grey card.
BTW: this neutral grey isn’t neutral grey at all, so don’t rely on that side of the card.

If your wife wants the colours to be exactly right -I have been married for 33 years now and I so know who ‘s the boss- take care your monitor has been calibrated exactly to the right colors. Else you will have another problem in explaining to her why the colours are right, but she neverthless won’t be able to see it. ;-))

Leen
PL
Paul L UK
Aug 4, 2003
Thanks Leen, I knew the idea, but I am not a professional, as you truly are (when your wife says)

😉

Paul
JS
John Stone
Aug 4, 2003
Thanks to all for your help. The white side of the Kodak card should help me capture neutral for color balance on my Canon G3.

But if I save my images in Raw format and I still need to tweek the balance a bit, I do not know how to do that in Elements 2.0. Does anyone know the Elements 2.0 menu items or commands that enable me to modify the color balance?

Thanks,

John
NS
Nancy S
Aug 4, 2003
John,

You can try using an adjustment layer, a Levels Adj. one. Double click the white point dropper (far right) set it to desired value for RGB (around 250-250-250). Double click shadow eyedropper and set (around 8-8-8 or whatever).

Open image, zoom way in…choose a pixel which should be white, grey or black and click on it with the corresponding eyedropper. Edit>Undone if it was a bad choice. Zoom back out and take a look. Further tweak by choosing one color channel at a time (instead of the RBG composite which is the default, with the little drop down arrow). Experiment with moving the sliders for all different channels to adjust. Example: using only the red channel, moving the middle slider to the left will make your image redder, moving it right will make it more cyan. Remember the colors are like opposites: R-C….B-Y….G-M. (Red Cadillac BY GM) Less red equals more cyan etc. If you have your eyedropper sampler out from the toolbox, you can check on the actual numerical value of data. This you can set to sample at; one pixel, an average of 3×3 pixels or ave. of 5×5. If your sampling should indicate a ‘white pixel’ with 240-240-180, you need to add more blue for neutrality in the highlights. With the blue channel in Levels, move the right triangle to the left until your eyedropper measures about equal values.

For color casts, sometimes this tool nails it and sometimes not…. try Enhance>Color>Color Cast and follow directions. (I think the eyedropper/Levels way is much better though) Can undo any bad choice by Reset.

HTH

Nancy
CS
Chuck Snyder
Aug 4, 2003
Nancy, thanks for the memory jogger on the complementary colors – never saw that one before!

🙂

Chuck
NS
Nancy S
Aug 4, 2003
Chuck,

It absolutely sticks in my mind this way!!

🙂
NS
Nancy S
Aug 4, 2003
Chuck,

well sure…it’s ‘catchy’!!
NS
Nancy S
Aug 4, 2003
John,

to edit my post #5…

"if value is 240-240-180, you need to LIGHTEN the blue" (it had read Add)

Nancy
JS
John Stone
Aug 5, 2003
Nancy,

Thanks for your help

John

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

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