Colour correction

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LN Strike Eagle
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Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Any good tips for colour correcting an image in Photoshop?

Did a shoot yesterday with a black car but the colours seem a little off and the exposure of a dark subject on light concrete means either the highlights or shadows get clipped, and in terms of colours things look off but I can’t quite put my finger on why.

I’m still learning the ropes when it comes to processing RAW files so pointers are welcomed (I can share some images when I’m at the PC later).
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5944
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Re: Colour correction

Post by 5944 »

I only do the absolute basics when it comes to RAW, so others will probably have a better idea. Have you checked the white balance? It's the one thing I always forget to adjust when images don't look quite right. Sometimes just a little adjustment can make a lot of difference to the colours.

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Re: Colour correction

Post by Berf »

Do you mean the black does not look black?

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GeorgeP
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Re: Colour correction

Post by GeorgeP »

Happy to help once you have uploaded an example. Please also mention the camera type and all the software that you usually employ to process the file (s).
Cheers,

George

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nighthawk999
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Re: Colour correction

Post by nighthawk999 »

I'm not familiar with Photoshop,being a user of Lightroom for all my RAW files,but is there a ' eye dropper' tool in P-shop?
Sometimes my white balance is a bit off,I use the dropper tool to select a neutral grey area of an image then apply that,sometimes it evens out the white balance,sometimes not.
I always use the 'lens correction' tools too with each image,which has an effect on WB.

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Thanks for the replies chaps, I forgot to post an image yesterday so here's one of my edits and a copy of the 'as shot' RAW image with no alterations.

I still think it looks off, there's a weird colour cast to my eye (possibly from the hangar doors?) but I've tried the eyedropper trick, adjusting the individual R, G and B curves, changing white balance and picture style presets in the RAW editor and also followed some YouTube tutorials but I can't seem to find a result I'm happy with, it's always looking either too green or too blue. Am I seeing something that isn't there?

I'm using an EOS 50D, EF 70-300 L and editing in Photoshop CS6.

Edit:
Image

As shot:
Image
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Mooshie1956
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Re: Colour correction

Post by Mooshie1956 »

I can't help with colour correction but I can see what you mean. I wonder if there's to many different shades of shadows on the car that's causing it.
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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

I'm pretty sure a polarising filter would have helped with those reflections but a) I don't own one and b) I've never really done this kind of thing before so it was all a bit of a learning curve. I've just got to make the best of what I have for the owner now.
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jalfrezi
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Re: Colour correction

Post by jalfrezi »

I'm not seeing any green/magenta tint on the image, you could make the image warmer or cooler - depending on what you prefer, but looks perfectly OK to me!

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Re: Colour correction

Post by Berf »

Image52015919055_5a77146a73_h copy2 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/184139720@N06/[/url], on Flickr


Difficult to see differences when uploaded - but on my screen this version is now 'blacker' and clearer. Used dehaze filter in PS (this s a bit like a polarising filter in a way) - this left the windscreen - which is already tinted and you can see the green tint in your original - dehaze made this greener/bluer so simply added an adjustment layer and heavily reduced saturation in the cyan channel. Not done selectively so it may affect other areas but you get the idea.( Looking at it here again its a bit yellow but that's just more adjustments - its all very subjective for the individual.

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

I like that, thank you. I don't have the dehaze filter in CS6 but I'll try and boost the contrast, and I just noticed myself that I think it's the tint on the window that is throwing the images off to my eye. If I mask that and desaturate it I think it looks better.
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Mooshie1956
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Re: Colour correction

Post by Mooshie1956 »

Is this the one from Frodsham. I've just been reading about it on the Manchester Evening News website. It looks very similar.
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Re: Colour correction

Post by Berf »

LN Strike Eagle wrote:
Tue 19 Apr 2022, 5:28 pm
I like that, thank you. I don't have the dehaze filter in CS6 but I'll try and boost the contrast, and I just noticed myself that I think it's the tint on the window that is throwing the images off to my eye. If I mask that and desaturate it I think it looks better.
I know it s not much help to you but when the dehaze filter came out one reviewer said there we not many pictures that would not benefit from it to one degree or another - he was probably right - at least for the sort of stuff I do, if you don't overdo it.

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jalfrezi
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Re: Colour correction

Post by jalfrezi »

Need to be careful with the use of dehaze as it can create a halo around objects, particularly aircraft in the air.

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Mooshie1956 wrote:
Tue 19 Apr 2022, 5:36 pm
Is this the one from Frodsham. I've just been reading about it on the Manchester Evening News website. It looks very similar.
No, I photographed this one at North Weald and it's local to this area. It's still a work in progress (taken the owner eight years to get to this point) with much of the interior still to be modified.

I just looked up the one you mentioned on the MEN website - it's not screen accurate and he's put fake, oversize wheels and rims on it that make it look like a Hot Wheels toy car. The one in my shots has the correct 15" rims as used on the show.
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Re: Colour correction

Post by Berf »

jalfrezi wrote:
Tue 19 Apr 2022, 6:20 pm
Need to be careful with the use of dehaze as it can create a halo around objects, particularly aircraft in the air.
Yes quite right it is easy to over do it or not use it selectively

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GeorgeP
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Re: Colour correction

Post by GeorgeP »

I have opened both images in PS CS6 and also in PhotoLab 5.2 Elite and I cannot see a visible colour cast on the unprocessed image. Further, I have checked identical parts of each image and the RBG measurements are almost identical. To me (an amateur) this implies that the colour of each location is the same. It could be that the tinted windscreen is playing with your eyes/brain and making you think that there is a colour cast.

The unprocessed image really only requires some minimal work such as setting the black point in Levels and perhaps some further Shadows/Highlights adjustment, then crop to taste.

Be careful when you say that it is unprocessed because I believe (happy to be corrected) that the jpeg that either your camera or PS CS6 generate from the RAW file *are* slightly processed in accordance with the 'Picture Style' that you have selected in your camera's menu. That is, the Sharpening, Contrast etc. that you (may) have pre-set. This setting can be found in the red part of your camera's menu. You can see the effects of the presets if you open your RAW files with the (free, and excellent!) Canon DPP programme and check what level of contrast, saturation etc. have been applied to the RAW image to generate the jpeg. Hope this helps.
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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Colour correction

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Thanks. I think the tinted windscreen is what’s making me think something is off in the images, it immediately looks better if I mask it and desaturate the cyan.

Thanks for your help guys. I sent a selection of shots off to the owner yesterday and he seemed really happy, so I’ll bung a few in non-av photos later. There’s several things I would do differently given another chance, hopefully I can get an opportunity to put them into practice.
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Wrexham Mackem
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Re: Colour correction

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

Shiny black cars are so tricky to photograph, especially in a bright setting. They do look good to me too though Dan, no surprise the owner is happy.

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wallace
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Re: Colour correction

Post by wallace »

There is a lot of blue added to the picture, this could be from the white balance or it could come from the picture style/recipe that's in-built into your camera. Raw isn't raw when you apply a style or a film simulation.
The dark cammo patch has a lot of blue.

The other factor to be considered is the car is acting as a huge mirror, reflecting the light falling upon it, so if it's being hit by a lot of sunlight then it will reflect that same sunlight.

The histogram shows almost no blacks, an equal amount of shadows and mid-tones and a lot of highlights.
The camera light meter would try and boost the blacks to middle grey, so it may have been better to stop down to counteract this.

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