Chpt 7 Adjusting Colors with Photoshop Elements: 15 ways to adjust your images.

One of the most important functions of PS is adjusting the color qualities of a photo. In a professional studio, it is not difficult with multiple lights and screens to frame your object in perfect lighting. However, most of us do not work under such ideal conditiions. We may have to take photos in dark rooms or under very contrasty skies ( harsh sunlight). Although you can never make an underexposed picture light perfect once the picture is taken, you certainly can improve quite it bit, to a level deemed acceptable by most viewers.

In today's class we won't go over all the adjustment techniques, but certainly enough of them to get you going. Make sure you cover them all in chpt 7 and a few in Chpt 8. If we don't finish the below, make sure you finish the notes as homework by next class!

Download from this link the following photos first to us work on!

Ocean beach
Gray Danube
Wine Lady

1. Change Brightness and Contrast

Most advanced digital photographers would not use this easy method as you lose a lot of information with it and have limited control. Sort of like using a hacksaw instead of a finer tool. However in the beginning it is easy to use..later for go this option.

To use the Brightness/Contrast command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window.

2. Do one of the following:Work on the Ocean picture
* Choose the Enhance column> Adjust Brightness/Contrast below > Brightness/Contrast.choice OR
* First Create a new Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer by duplicating the photo on a new layer then going to the above,
3. Drag the sliders to adjust the brightness and contrast.
Dragging to the left decreases the level; dragging to the right increases it. The number at the right of each slider value displays the brightness or contrast value. Values range from -100 to +100.
4. Click OK.

2.Adjust Levels

The Levels dialog box lets you correct the tonal range and color balance of an image by adjusting intensity levels of the image's shadows, midtones, and highlights. The Levels histogram serves as a visual guide for adjusting the image's key tones.
Note that dragging the gray slider in Levels has no effect on the black and white points of the image. You can set the highlights and shadows in an image by moving Input sliders to the first group of pixels on both ends of the Levels histogram. This maps these pixels--the darkest and lightest pixels in each channel--to black and white, increasing the tonal range of the image. The corresponding pixels in the other channels are adjusted proportionately to avoid altering the color balance. You can use the middle Input slider to change the intensity values of the middle range of gray tones without dramatically altering the highlights and shadows.

To adjust tonal range using Levels:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window. See Selecting pixels.

2.Choose Enhance > Adjust Brightness/Contrast > Levels.
3. To adjust the values for the composite channels (RGB) or for a specific color channel (red, green, or blue), choose an option from the Channel menu.There is a set of choices under the RGB label. If you hit the up and down arrows you can select to adjust an individual color or the whole set. For now just work with the total RGB set.
4. To adjust the shadows or highlights, do any of the following:
* Drag the black and white Input Levels sliders (directly underneath the histogram) to the edge of the first group of pixels on either end of the histogram. You can also enter values directly into the first and third Input Levels text boxes.
* Drag the black and white Output Levels sliders (at the bottom of the dialog box) to adjust the shadow and highlight range. You can also enter values directly into the Output Levels text boxes.

Note: You can click Auto to move the highlight and shadow sliders automatically to the brightest and darkest points. This is the same as using the Auto Levels command and may be adequate for an average-key image. (See Using the Auto Levels command.)
5. If your image needs midtone corrections, use the gray middle Input Levels slider. Drag the slider to the right to darken the midtones; drag it to the left to lighten the midtones. You can also enter values directly in the middle Input Levels text box. (A value of 1.0 represents the current unadjusted midtone value.)
6. Click OK. Save your adjustments as we will use this photo ifor the next two techniques.
7. To view the adjusted histogram, reopen the Levels dialog box.
Gaps in the adjusted histogram do not indicate a problem unless they are large.

3. Use Blur and Sharpen Tools
The focus tools consist of the blur tool and the sharpen tool. The blur tool softens hard edges or areas in an image to reduce detail. The sharpen tool focuses soft edges to increase clarity. For information on other ways to adjust sharpness, see Sharpen filters.
To use the blur or sharpen tool:

Using the image of the lady once more take your improved more lit lady. At the left bottom of the photo you should see a %. Increase this percentage from 100 or whatever you have it at to 200%. Using the two tools below, blur out some(but not all) of her wrinkles, and sharpen her eye.You can highlight the gold chains and embroidery/lace by using the sharpeing tool.
1. Select the blur tool or sharpen tool .
2. Choose a brush from the pop-up palette in the options bar, and drag the Size pop-up slider to set the brush size.For wrinkles you may want to use a smaller brush size!
3. Specify a blending mode and stroke strength. (See Setting options for painting and editing tools.)
4. To blur or sharpen using data from all layers visible in the document window, select Use All Layers. To affect only the active layer, deselect this option.
Drag over the part of the image you want to blur or sharpen.

The toning tools consist of the dodge tool and the burn tool. Used to lighten or darken areas of the image, the dodge and burn tools are based on a traditional photographer's technique for changing exposure on specific areas of a print. Photographers hold back light to lighten an area on the print (dodging) or increase the exposure to darken areas on a print (burning). You can use the dodge tool to bring out details in shadows and the burn tool to bring out details in highlights.

With the wine lady photo give her face more character by artfully using the two tools below: To make the lace on her dress and the folds in her white shirt seem more 3-D use the burn tool. Often white object reflect too much light and flatten down. The use of the burn brings out some of the shadows to give depth.

To use the dodge or burn tool:
1. Select the dodge tool or burn tool .
2. Choose a brush from the pop-up palette in the options bar above, and drag the Size pop-up slider to set the brush size.
3. Select the tonal range in the bar above to change in the image:

* Midtones to change the middle range of grays.
* Shadows to change the dark areas.
* Highlights to change the light areas

.
4. Specify the exposure for the tool. You really don't want to over do it. Better to use a lower value and more often then have to repair a too dark or light adjustment!
5. Drag over the part of the image you want to modify.
To gradually dodge or burn an area, set the tool with a low exposure value and drag several times over the area you want to correct.

The Hue/Saturation command lets you adjust the hue (color), saturation, and lightness of the entire image or of individual color components in an image. Adjusting the hue represents a move around the color wheel. Adjusting the saturation, or purity of the color, represents a move across the radius of the color wheel.
You can also use the Colorize option to add color to a grayscale image converted to RGB, or to an RGB image--for example, to make it look like a duotone by reducing its color values to one hue.

First open up the ocean photo and use the levels to lighten it up if you haven't already. Then

To use the Hue/Saturation command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window.

2. Do one of the following:
* Choose Enhance > Adjust Color > Hue/Saturation. OR Create a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer,
The two color bars in the dialog box represent the colors in their order on the color wheel. The upper bar shows the color before the adjustment; the lower bar shows how the adjustment affects all hues at full saturation.
3. For Edit, choose which colors to adjust:
* Choose Master to adjust all colors at once.
* Choose one of the other preset color ranges listed for the color you want to adjust. (An adjustment slider appears between the color bars, which you can use to edit any range of hues.
4. For Hue, enter a value or drag the slider until the colors appear as you want.
The values displayed in the text box reflect the number of degrees of rotation around the wheel from the pixel's original color. A positive value indicates clockwise rotation, a negative value counterclockwise rotation. Values range from -180 to +180. (See About the color wheel.)
5. For Saturation, enter a value or drag the slider to the right to increase the saturation or to the left to decrease it.
The color shifts away from or toward the center of the wheel, relative to the beginning color values of the selected pixels. Values range from -100 to +100.
6. For Lightness, enter a value or drag the slider to the right to increase the lightness or to the left to decrease it. Values range from -100 to +100.
7. Click OK.

When you get more advanced :
To modify the range of an adjustment slider:
1. In the Hue/Saturation dialog box, choose an individual color from the Edit menu.
2. Do any of the following to the adjustment slider:
* Drag one of the triangles to adjust the amount of color fall-off without affecting the range.
* Drag one of the light gray bars to adjust the range without affecting the amount of fall-off.
* Drag the dark-gray center part to move the entire adjustment slider, selecting a different color area.
* Drag one of the vertical white bars next to the dark gray center part to adjust the range of the color component. Increasing the range decreases the fall-off, and vice versa.
* To move the color bar and the adjustment slider bar together, Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) the color bar.

Adjustment slider A. Adjusts fall-off without affecting range B. Adjusts range without affecting fall-off C. Adjusts range of color component D. Moves entire slider
If you modify the adjustment slider so that it falls into a different color range, the name changes to reflect this. For example, if you choose Yellow and alter its range so that it falls in the red part of the color bar, the name changes to Red 2. You can convert up to six of the individual color ranges to varieties of the same color range (for example, Red through Red 6).
Note: By default, the range of color selected when you choose a color component is 30° wide, with 30° of fall-off on either side. Setting the fall-off too low can produce banding in the image.
3. To edit the range by choosing colors from the image, select the eyedropper tool in the dialog box, and click in the image. Use the eyedropper + tool to add to the range; use the eyedropper - tool to subtract from the range.
While the eyedropper tool is selected, you can also press Shift to add to the range or Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to subtract from it.

6. Use the Variations Command

The Color Variations command lets you adjust the color balance, contrast, and saturation of an image by selecting previews that show the effect of different adjustments.
This command is most useful for average-key images that don't require precise color adjustments.

In the full version of PS you would have sliders which gives you more control. But this system is not bad.
Note: You can't use the Color Variations command with images in Indexed Color mode.You must be in RGB mode.

Use the ocean photo to make the water more green, the sky more blue.

To use the Color Variations command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window. See Selecting pixels.

2. To open the Color Variations dialog box, you can either choose Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations, or click the Color Variations button in the Shortcuts bar.
The two thumbnails at the top of the dialog box show the original image (Before) and the image with its currently selected adjustments (After). When you first open the dialog box, these two images are the same. As you make adjustments, the After image changes to reflect your choices.
3. Select what to adjust in the image:
* Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights to indicate whether you want to adjust the dark, middle, or light areas.
* Saturation to change the vividness of color in the image.
4. Drag the Adjust Color Intensity slider to determine the amount of each adjustment. Dragging the slider to the left decreases the amount, and dragging to the right increases it.
5. With either the Midtones, Shadows, or Highlights option selected, do either of the following:
* To add a color to the image, click the appropriate Increase color thumbnail.
* To subtract a color, click the appropriate Decrease color thumbnail.
Each time you click a thumbnail, all thumbnails are updated.
6. With the Saturation option selected, click either the Less Saturation or More Saturation buttons.
7. To undo or redo adjustments made in the Quick Fix dialog box, you can do any of the following:
* Click Reset Image to start over and undo all adjustments you've set in the current Quick Fix dialog box.
* Click Undo once or multiple times for each successive adjustment you'd like to undo. You cannot undo the Reset Image option.
* Click Redo once or multiple times for each adjustment you'd like to redo that was undone.
8. To apply the adjustments to your image, click OK.

Continuing on with the ocean ocean photo
7. Use the Sponge Tools

The sponge tool subtly changes the color saturation or vividness of an area. In Grayscale mode, the tool increases or decreases contrast by moving gray levels away from or toward the neutral gray.
To use the sponge tool:
1. Select the sponge tool .
2. Choose a brush from the pop-up palette in the options bar, and drag the Size pop-up slider to set the brush size.
3. Select how to change the color:
* Saturate to intensify the color's saturation.
* Desaturate to dilute the color's saturation.
4. To set the rate of saturation change, drag the Flow pop-up slider or enter a value in the text box.
5. Drag over the part of the image you want to modify.

8. Replace a color
Use the ocean photo, and select the sky to make it a nice blue color!

The Replace Color command lets you create a mask around specific colors and then replace those colors in the image. You can set the hue, saturation, and lightness of the area identified by the mask. The mask is temporary.
To use the Replace Color command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window. (See Selecting pixels.)
2. Choose Enhance > Adjust Color > Replace Color.
3. Select a display option under the image thumbnail:
* Selection to display the mask in the preview box. Masked areas are black and unmasked areas are white. Partially masked areas (areas covered with a semitransparent mask) appear as varying levels of gray according to their opacity.
* Image to display the image in the preview box. This option is useful when you are working with a magnified image or have limited screen space.
4. Click the eyedropper button, and then click in the image or in the preview box to select the area exposed by the mask. Use the eyedropper + button to add areas or use the eyedropper - button to remove areas.
5. Adjust the tolerance of the mask by dragging the Fuzziness slider or entering a value. This controls the degree to which related colors are included in the selection.
6. Drag the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders (or enter values in the text boxes) to change the color of the selected areas.
7. Click OK.

9. Equalize Colors

This is a touchy filter.. either it works beautifully or just awful. Be ready to undo or use a layer copy and tone it down.

The Equalize command redistributes the brightness values of the pixels in an image so that they more evenly represent the entire range of brightness levels. When you apply this command, Photoshop Elements finds the brightest and darkest values in the composite image and remaps them so that the brightest value represents white and the darkest value represents black. Photoshop Elements then attempts to equalize the brightness--that is, to distribute the intermediate pixel values evenly throughout the grayscale.
You might use the Equalize command when a scanned image appears darker than the original and you want to balance the values to produce a lighter image. Using Equalize together with the Histogram command lets you see before-and-after brightness comparisons.
To use the Equalize command:
1. Choose Image > Adjustments > Equalize.
2. If you selected an area of the image, select what to equalize in the dialog box, and click OK:
* Equalize Selected Area Only to evenly distribute only the selection's pixels.
* Equalize Entire Image Based on Selected Area to evenly distribute all image pixels based on those in the selection.

10. Posterize Colors
Use the ocean picture to play with this one.. try 1,2,and then increasing levels. A simpler picture with strong design elements with work best with this.

I am not sure how often you would use this effect.. more for graphics than fine photography.. but who knows?

The Posterize command lets you specify the number of tonal levels (or brightness values) for each channel in an image and then maps pixels to the closest matching level. For example, choosing two tonal levels in an RGB image gives six colors, two for red, two for green, and two for blue.
This command is useful for creating special effects, such as large, flat areas in a photograph. Its effects are most evident when you reduce the number of gray levels in a grayscale image. But it also produces interesting effects in color images.

To use the Posterize command:
1. Do one of the following:
* Choose Image > Adjustments > Posterize.
* Create a new Posterize adjustment layer, or open an existing Posterize adjustment layer. (See Using adjustment and fill layers.)
2. Enter the number of tonal levels you want, and click OK.

11. Using the threshold Command

Again use the ocean photo..good with strong elements, simple lines...

The Threshold command converts grayscale or color images to high-contrast, black-and-white images. You can specify a certain level as a threshold. All pixels lighter than the threshold are converted to white; and all pixels darker are converted to black. The

Threshold command is useful for determining the lightest and darkest areas of an image.This can be used when setting your wihite and dark points for levels adjustment.

To use the Threshold command to convert images to black and white:
1. Do one of the following:
* Choose Image > Adjustments > Threshold.
* Create a new Threshold adjustment layer, or open an existing Threshold adjustment layer. (See Using adjustment and fill layers.)
The Threshold dialog box displays a histogram of the luminance levels of the pixels in the current selection.
2. Drag the slider below the histogram until the threshold level you want appears at the top of the dialog box, and click OK. As you drag, the image changes to reflect the new threshold setting.

12. Inverting Colors

This is more of a fun effect.. however I used this technique once to create a really neat image..building a composite of COLOR inverted and non-inverted lizards. I like it best with subtle colors....Try this out on the ocean photo.

The Invert command inverts the colors in an image. You might use this command to make a positive black-and-white image negative or to make a positive from a scanned black-and-white negative.
Note: Because color print film contains an orange mask in its base, the Invert command cannot make accurate positive images from scanned color negatives. Be sure to use the proper settings for color negatives when scanning film on slide scanners.
When you invert an image, the brightness value of each pixel in the channels is converted to the inverse value on the 256-step color-values scale. For example, a pixel in a positive image with a value of 255 is changed to 0, and a pixel with a value of 5 is changed to 250.
To use the Invert command:Do one of the following:
* Choose Image > Adjustments > Invert.
* Create an Invert adjustment layer. (See Using adjustment and fill layers.)

13. Add Fill Flash
Something we can all use.. yes you can do the same thing with levels and curves ( in the full PS version). This is a quick fix touch.You might want to do it to a layer copy to soften it or compare with that by using levels instead.

In pictures taken in bright light, shadows are often so dark that they show little detail. You can lighten such shadows using the Fill Flash command.

Original image, and Fill Flash applied

Open the danube river shot, the original dark version. Using the selction wand select the house down below in the shadow. You might want to increase the feather component on the select options bar. Now use the fill flash only on this section to make it equal in llight intenisty to the parliment building above. It does work!
To use the Fill Flash command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window. See Selecting pixels.
2. Choose Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Fill Flash.
3. Drag the Lighter slider or enter a value in the text box to adjust the tonal variation in the image. Values can range from 0 to 100.
4. Click OK.

When taking photos with a camera, you can use backlighting to emphasize the shape of the subject. However, backlighting can cause overexposure in the areas surrounding the subject. You can use the Adjust Backlighting command to correct this problem by darkening the overexposed areas.

Original image, and Backlighting applied

The Adjust Backlighting command is especially useful for correcting overexposed skies, and other backgrounds.

Open up the ocean photo.. use the magic wand to select the white sand up to the posts.. try the backlighting and see what appears!

To use the Adjust Backlighting command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window.
2. Choose Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Adjust Backlighting.
3. Drag the Darker slider or enter a value in the text box to adjust the tonal variation in the image. Values can range from 0 to 100.
4. Click OK.

15. Remove a Color Cast
Color casts may form from taking pictures in areas with heavy shadows or where objects in the environment either absorb or reflect more of one wavelenth or another. In a forest, tree leaves absorb the blue and red spectrum for photosynthesis leaving mostly yellow and orange. If you were to scan in film that is old, you often get horrible color casts as certain pigments breakdown. To adjust for this...

The Color Cast command changes the overall mixture of colors to remove color casts in your image.

Use the wine lady.. and use the dropper on the most white section. Note how the photo becomes more yellow tones.. making it richer, then adjust with layers to lighten.
To use the Color Cast command:
1. Do one of the following:
* To make adjustments to your entire image, choose Select > Deselect to make sure nothing is selected. If your image has multiple layers, select a layer to adjust in the Layers palette.
* To make adjustments to a portion of your image, make a selection in the document window. (See Selecting pixels.)
2. Choose Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Cast.
3. In your image, click an area that should be neutral gray, white, or black. The image changes based on the color you selected.
To start over, and undo the changes made to the image, click the Reset button.
4. Click OK.