A quick way to color correct in Photoshop for your pictures
It’s called Levels.
For those that don’t know, Levels is a badass tool. Most real photoshop buffs are all about Curves, but I’ve always found Levels and then adjustment layers to be good enough for me. Basically what Levels controls is where it shows black, white and middle-grey of tonalities (light/darkness of a color). And you adjust where those points are. It’s easiest to see it.
How to find the Levels function: Control L is the shortcut, but in Photoshop, Levels is in the Adjust pull-down menu. In Photoshop Elements it’s in the Enhance tab (then adjust colors). But in both it’s Control L. Use the shortcut.
What it will look like:
Go into each individual color, which will usually be Red, Green and Blue, but hey, maybe you’re working in CYMK, who’m I to judge? In each color pull the slider to the first major rise in the little mountain range histogram. Some pictures will have radical spikes and large areas of nothing. Try not to more the bars more than, say 45 or 50 points unless you’re trying to get an ‘artistic’ look. But, again, every picture is different. Here’s where I put the ‘black’ of red tones in this picture:
Sometimes you’ll have to move both ends of the bar (black and white) in. Doing that, just adjusting the three layers’ white and black levels will radically improve the colors in your photos in less than a minute (once you’re used to it). If you’re spending more time, fiddle around with the grey levels. That’s the middle tone. The pure colors of red, green and blue. Moving that bar to the left darkens the ‘not dark, not light’ tone of that color, moving the bar right lightens them. This comes in handy when a flash doesn’t fire, as it won’t just blow out the background.
And yes, that was a photoshop tip on Incendiary Lit. So what? Everyone should know how to color correct their photos whether it’s for myspace, photobucket or a national photography contest. Good colors are integral to a good photo (or, at least good tones, which is really what Levels affects) so get rid of that flash cast white-blue tone, the lamp’s yellow. It’s that easy.