I previously shared with you how I love taking photos without my flash. Sometimes, especially in low-light situations, this can leave photos looking very warm. A sort of reddish-yellow tinge.
Here’s some suggestions on how you can clean those photos up in Photoshop. I don’t claim to be a photo editing genius, by any means. I totally go off of instinct and what my eye likes. And I also go by my monitor, which can be dangerous if you’re trying to print your photos and your monitor isn’t calibrated to the printer.
But being the blogger that I am, nine times out of ten, I’m enjoying my photos on my monitor anyway. So this works for me. And later, I can always tweak adjustments specifically for printing with some trial and error if need be.
*Note – I always edit a duplicate image instead of my original.
My favorite adjustment options to use are Hue/Saturation, Curves, and Color Balance. Every now and then I’ll use Levels as well.
Here’s my photo straight off my camera. I shot this without a flash, looking into my bathroom mirror.
Now if I was just going to go with one of the “Auto” Adjustments in Photoshop, I would end up with a photo looking like this. Not much change, in fact, I think it got a little redder.
So I prefer editing it myself.
There is no real science to this for me. It’s play around until I like what I see.
First I played around with the hue/saturation. Reducing the saturation a bit can take the edge off the harsh redness of a photo. You can also change the hue a bit to take some red out.
My photo after tweaking the hue/saturation.
One of my favorite tricks to increase the contrast in a photo is by using Curves. I usually pull the middle node up some and the left node to the right some. I bet you could get similar results using Levels or Brightness/Contrast, but Curves is my natural “go-to.”
Here’s the photo after my Curves adjustment.
Now to get me and Luther looking a little less pasty-yellow and little more artsy-cool.
I love to use Color Balance because I can take out colors and add to colors based on Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. Color Variations is a nice option too, and probably good for beginners. But I just can never seem to get the exact look I want.
So to get really technical on you, in the Color Balance Dialog Box, I just move stuff around until it makes me happy. Typically, on these sorts of no flash/bad lighting photos, I seem to need to add some cyan and blue to my photos. I almost always end up adding more than I should, but I like a sort of blue cast anyway. And I like living on the edge…well, in Photoshop anyway.
Again you’ve just gotta go with your gut. Live a little. Play around. Make yourself sickly green and then drag the dials back to normal. Decide what suits you. Maybe you like more warm tones than my cool tones. That’s fine. You’re doing this for you afterall, right? Not me.
So here’s my finished photo after the Color Balance Adjustments.
Side-By-Side of Before and After Photos
Anything you love to do in Photoshop every time with your photos? Any other questions you have about my highly technical (or rather not at all technical) photo-editing process?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I almost always use curves – but usually put in 3 nodes, just what i’ve always done. And I always adjust hue/saturation. It’s cool to see your before and after shots.
That’s awesome – I can’t wait to try that – I have so many photos that are warm – or even bordering on”hot”!
And I love this blog. I often don’t bother trying to create because I’m a “frustrated perfectionist”. If I can’t get it perfect, I don’t want to try. This blog is encouraging me to get back to it and see what happens when I let go of that restriction.
Courtney, do you find yourself sliding the third node to the left, on what would be the top right of the graph?
Amanda, I hear you on frustrated perfectionist. Only you can let yourself go from that. It’s a battle I fight daily. I hope you can leave here feeling encouraged in your imperfection!
I want to cry. I don’t get it. I’ve told you I have a mindblock in this area! Why can’t I get it? I hate the flash too, and my photos are all WAY too warm. Maaaannnndddyyyyy!
Deleise, I would be happy to help you sometime in person. That might be easier for you. There is this thing about Photoshop where you have to get over an initial learning curve and once you can make it past that point, things start making more sense. If I could just get you there, you’d have a lot more fun just messing with your photos.
Maybe if we girls are at your house some nite I could help you? Ack! I think I just invited myself over.
You are always invited here, you know that! I’m always up for some in-person Mandiness. I would love for you to hold my hand so I can learn to use my photoshop better…or at all, actually.
This is beautiful… I can barely get the photos from the camera to the computer. Photoshop what?????? Do I even have that :0)
Ok, I want to be invited to the Deleise/Mandy holding hand thing. I need help too! The main thing I do is make layers and use the overlay and screen layers the most. I love the sharpening and burning tools too, but the only reason I know these tricks is from another blog that I followed step by step. Now I’m stuck just doing that same trick over and over.