Photoshop 101 Color Correction

I am no Photoshop guru. Everything I know I learned from photographers Ken Hubbard and Andre Costantini, two pros who DO know their Photoshop. But I can fix a shot that’s too dark, or the wrong tint. Sometimes sharpen it up a bit. The thing to remember with digital is that almost all images need a little boost. If you send your images out to a lab to make prints (like Shutterfly or any other online processing) or drop them off at a drug store, the images automatically go through processing to increase contrast, correct a little color and sharpen them. But if you print at home like me, it’s worth the little bit of time to take a great shot and make it even better. Software like Photoshop Elements, Picassa and more are a great investment of both time and money. I noticed my shot of her in the pool from Sunday’s aperture post was looking a little blue. So I took a moment to fix it and thought this would be a good post. Here we go…

Step 1: Go to Edit > Adjustments > Levels (Ctr+L) and move your slider on the right until you meet the black hill. If need be, move the slider on the left to meet the black hill, too.1_levels
Step 2: Next, I zoomed in on the photo and went to Image > Adjustments > Curves (Ctr + M) and clicked the eyedropper on the right (white) and selected a white point in the photo (the rail of the pool in the background). The image now shifted color and became brighter.
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Step 3: However, I thought it was too bright. So I went to Edit > Fade > Fade Curves (fade will adjust the opacity of whatever your last action was) and selected 50%. I like the difference. I think the retouched version pops a little more and it not so blue.
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Black & White Beauty

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I was waiting to catch my limo to take me away from my daughter for 5 days. And I needed an updated photo of her to show off to my colleagues and to look at while the plane took off (since having her I fear take-off and landing terribly). So I took five minutes to sit her on the ledge of our bay window and snapped for as long as she would let me. I made a quick bw print to take with me. But while surfing ThePioneerWoman.com website, I found her photoshop actions and decided to try to make a new black and white today that would really bring out her eyes. I used Black and White Beauty and Boost. I really loved how the light from the window sculpted her face: since she was so close to the window, the side farther away from the window is a little in shadow, which gives the portrait dimension. If she was further away from the window, her face would have a more even tone from left to right. I used a medium telephoto setting combined with an F5.6 in aperture priority mode. That was enough to blur out the patio furniture that was visible outside the window.