DTP


 
Lively discussions on the graphic arts and publishing — in print or on the web


Go Back   Desktop Publishing Forum > General Discussions > Images

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-16-2006, 03:17 AM   #1
Dav.B
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 6
Default Adjusting colour in photoshop

Hi,

I have scanned in some pics of people (from transparencies) and when viewed in photoshop the pictures have come out quite dark. In particular the faces of the people are quite red. Does anyone have any good tips for improving the colour of the faces in photoshop without altering too dramatically the colour throughout the image.

Thanks

Dav.B
Dav.B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2006, 05:49 AM   #2
ktinkel
Founding Sysop
 
ktinkel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: In Connecticut, on the Housatonic River near its mouth at Long Island Sound.
Posts: 11,187
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dav.B
I have scanned in some pics of people (from transparencies) and when viewed in photoshop the pictures have come out quite dark. In particular the faces of the people are quite red. Does anyone have any good tips for improving the colour of the faces in photoshop without altering too dramatically the colour throughout the image.
How did you scan them? With a transparency adapter on a flatbed scanner, or in a dedicated transparency scanner?

As for trying to fix them in Photoshop, you can work on each layer of the image. I am no Photoshop whiz, but suspect that is where you start.

You can also look in Image > Adjustments > Variations to fiddle with each color as well as levels. (Maybe best used as a diagnostic aid than a remedy, though — you can fool around and see how it looks, then cancel if you’re afraid you’ve gone too far.)

::

   
__________________
[SIZE=2][COLOR=LemonChiffon]::[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
ktinkel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2006, 06:45 AM   #3
Howard White
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hudson, MA
Posts: 183
Default

Many (large) books have been written on this subject. Eventually, you will want to understand Levels and Curves (including masking so you can work on just a specific area such as a face.)
In th short term and quick 'n dirty, use Image>Adjustments> Auto Levels and Auto Contrast. (You can also use Auto Color, but I find it is often likely to produce bad results that need to be undone.)
Resist the temptation to use the Brightness and Contrast options; they seem sometimes to help, but in the process destroy much information you would want later.
Suggestion: instead of working on the main (background) layer, duplicate it in the Levels palette and work on the copy - makes it easier to clean up after yourself. (Of course if you really mess up, you can always Revert -- just don't mess up your original scan by saving bad corrections over the original file.)

HW
Howard White is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2006, 04:41 PM   #4
Andrew B.
Staff
 
Andrew B.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 4,353
Default

Sometimes faces look too red because the photo is too dark or too saturated. IOW, don't target the face color before trying a routine adjustment. As for how to begin, seeing the photo would help a lot.
Andrew B. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2006, 02:10 PM   #5
terrie
Sysop
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,478
Default

Quote:
Dav. B: I have scanned in some pics of people (from transparencies) and when viewed in photoshop the pictures have come out quite dark. In particular the faces of the people are quite red. Does anyone have any good tips for improving the colour of the faces in photoshop without altering too dramatically the colour throughout the image.
What hardware and software did you use to scan the slides?

It's not unusual that the resulting scan might not have "good" color.

In Photoshop, I'd probably start with a Levels Adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels) and see what moving both the black and white sliders would get me...

Let me know if you need more detail on how to do this...

Terrie
terrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Screen colour V's Print Colour FlipSide Print Design 2 10-12-2006 12:42 PM
Is the [Paper] colour ever used? Robin Springall Print Design 13 10-07-2006 01:32 PM
Colour Management PeterArnel Print Production & Automation 8 07-28-2006 12:20 PM
Web Colour Selector donmcc Web Site Building & Maintenance 5 03-25-2005 02:39 PM
Colour shift! annc Images 27 02-24-2005 01:31 PM


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 09:25 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Contents copyright 2004–2019 Desktop Publishing Forum and its members.