Assuming that your monitor is calibrated, image profiled and all that jazz, here are the basics to color correct a photograph.
I make global adjustments first to correct the color, remove color casts and improve the contrast. Then, I make the local tweaks, such as changing the color or contrast on part of the image. There are 2 advantages to this: Global changes can be saved and then applied to other images in the same shoot (assuming they have the same lighting characteristics), and global adjustments may fix most of the local issues.
1 - Set the Shadows and Highlights
Shadows - Create a curves adjustment layer. The darkest spot on this image was on the glasses frames, so I set that as the black point using the black eyedropper tool. Since the lightest color in the above image is specular (reflection on front tooth), I will handle highlights another way. Hit OK to close the curves adjustment layer for now.
Highlights - Create a levels adjustment layer. I pulled the right slider to the left until the skin tone looked good. In this case, that point was not all the way over to the data edge. It is usually better to err on the side of under adjusting than over adjusting, but we can easily change this adjustment later since it is on an adjustment layer. Hit OK to close the levels adjustment layer and rename the layer “white point”.
2 - Fix Color Casts
Reopen the curves adjustment layer. Click the neutral eyedropper (middle) in the curves dialog and then click an area of the image that should be neutral. I used the background as the neutral. This removes the color cast.
Hit OK to close the curves adjustment layer. I renamed the layer “black point & neutral”.
3 - Improve Contrast
Create a new curves adjustment layer. I created a subtle S curve to increase contrast, like this:
Hit OK and rename the layer “contrast”.
4 - Sharpen & Soften
Sometimes, I sharpen an entire image. Or, I may sharpen and soften selectively. On this image, I softened (blurred) the shirt only, and left everything else as is.
To do that, I selected the shirt with the magic wand and saved the selection. Then, I ran FILTER -> BLUR -> GAUSSIAN BLUR. Load the shirt selection and apply a mask (so that only the shirt is blurred).
5 - Make Color Enhancements
These are the local changes I made:
Eyes
- Select eyes and save selection as ‘eyes’.
- Copy image layer (originally the ‘background’ layer) and rename it “eyes”.
- Use the Dodge tool (at a very low exposure) to lighten the whites.
- Load the “eyes” selection and hit the mask button.
Eyeglass reflections
- Make another copy of the image layer and rename it “eyeglass reflections”.
- Using the clone stamp tool, replacing reflected areas with surrounding color (or whatever the reflection would be obscuring).
- Blend with healing brush, smudge, burn and dodge.
Shirt
- Select shirt with the magic wand. Save selection as “shirt”.
- Create Color Balance adjustment layer & tweak sliders.
- Load ’shirt’ selection & hit mask (so that the new color is applied to just the shirt).
Background
- Select background with the magic wand. Save selection as “background”.
- Create curves adjustment layer & and pull dark end up to lighter. (Or use levels).
- Load ‘background’ selection & hit mask.
Miscellaneous Tips
- If the image is in RAW format, the global changes can be done in Camera Raw. Or, corrections can be made as above in native Photoshop.
- Regardless of the format I start with (usually RAW), I save as TIFF early on. I prefer TIFF because it is lossless and is an industry standard. JPG, on the other hand, is a lossy format which means that the file losses information (quality!) every time it is saved.
- Preserve the original image by only editing on copies of it and using adjustment layers and masks. Future changes will be much easier and quality retained.
Tags: photoshop contrast, Photoshop tutorial on color correction, removing color casts
