DPP Part 3 - Processing the Image - Exercise 3: Managing Colour

DPP Part 3 - Processing the Image - Exercise 3: Managing Colour

For this exercise I am required to find 2 or images that have what I judge to have a significant colour cast on them as the purpose of this exercise is to correct it.

I will be using Adobe Photoshop version CS6

Image 1

I will refer back to an image created as part of Assignment 2, where I have used interior lights in the kitchen to get over a challenge with shadow though in itself it has created a problem  - this image has a magenta colour cast: This is a jpeg, there is no RAW file

On levels I've used the white dropper and placed this on the white tiles which I know will also whiten the kitchen ceiling which displays the magenta colour cast more. I can see for each of the colour channels there has been an adjustment where highlights side of the histogram has been stretched.

However the door on the left appears a little off-white, applying the white the white dropper on the door makes it appear as if its over exposed so I've made a small exposure adjustment, see below:

The final image does look a bit over exposed but I have removed the magenta colour cast I previously had,

Image 2

This image I took fairly recently and was a difficult image to take with the wedding party back lit my natural light, I was shooting into the window and with fluorescent light in the room.

This is the RAW file unprocessed:

Highlight clipping is shown as red. The image has a colour cast from the man made light.

I've adjust the white balance temperature to 4400 which is within the colour temperature range cool white fluorescent and day white fluorescent. I've reduced the whites slightly to reduce highlight clipping, adjusting exposure would result in the faces being too shadowed. I've also adjusted shadows just to the point before shadow clipping starts.

I've cropped the image to eliminate windows either side of the group and the radiators also both sides. I've considered hue / saturation but I'm happy with colour rendition now in this image. I'm a lot happier with this final image which looks much more natural

Exercise Learning's

a) I've never used the colour dropper on levels or curves and I personally think its too extreme in its changes and I don't feel in control the way I am when processing a RAW image via the RAW processor

b) For me processing the two images above I have far more control in processing the final image and in the case of image 2 I've not needed to process the image at all once I completed my changes in the RAW processor

c) I've had more control over tone and colour processing the RAW file and I am much happier with processing RAW files