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Section III Digital Postprocessing
A color correction method that does not
offer control as precise as the
Curves
adjustment
layer, but is somewhat less complex to use, is
the
Color Balance
adjustment layer. It presents
the three pairs of complementary colors,
with a slider control for each pair. To make
a color correction, the appropriate slider is
moved toward the color that is to be increased,
Figure 15-32. The color balance can be adjusted
differently, if desired, in the image’s shadows,
midtones, and highlights.
Figure 15-32. This photo, taken with incandescent light
on daylight-balanced film, is much too yellow. The
Color
Balance
command can be used to add blue, effectively
decreasing the yellow. The amount of decrease can be
different in shadow, midtone, or highlight areas.
Color
Balance
is quicker and easier to use than Curves, but
control is less precise.
Figure 15-31. To brighten the image, the composite
curve is pulled slightly upward. The proper amount
of adjustment can be judged by changes on the
displayed image.
4. The changes in the green and blue curves may
cause the image to darken somewhat. To lighten
the entire image, switch to the composite (RGB)
curve and pull diagonally up to the left on the
midpoint of the curve,
Figure 15-31.
Color adjustment
The
Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer can be
used to fine-tune colors in an image. It permits
selection of any of the six primary colors in the
image (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow)
and adjusting the hue, saturation, and brightness
of the chosen color.
As shown in Figure 15-33, the
Hue
slider
can shift a given color toward its neighbors
on the color wheel (the two colors that are its
components). If the selected color is red, for
example, sliding the control to the left will change
the red values in the image to magenta; sliding
to the right will change them to yellow. Such
extreme shifts are seldom made—more often, you
would make the red just a bit more magenta or
a bit more yellow. The
Saturation
slider changes
the intensity (strength) of the color; the
Lightness
slider alters the overall brightness.
Similar changes can be made with
the
Replace Color
command or the
Color
Replacement
tool. The
Replace Color
command’s
dialog box, Figure 15-34, has a preview window
that shows (in white) the color selected for
replacement. The selection is made by using an
eyedropper to sample the desired area of the
image. Moving the
Fuzziness
slider in the dialog
box will expand or contract the selection in the
preview window. The selected color is replaced
by using the Hue, Saturation, and
Lightness
sliders.
The
Color Replacement
tool is selected from
the toolbox (right click on the
Brush
tool to see it).