Photo Color Correction

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial

Introduction

Original Photo (Before any correction)

What is wrong with this picture?

The photo of TV actress Jennie Garth was chosen because she is cute, the picture is strong, and the difference in quality after the color correction is remarkable.

It was initially unclear how significant the difference would be. You never really know how much of a difference you can make.

The initial observation was the scanned color picture of Jennie Garth had problems in two main areas: it was both out of focus and required color correction. Besides the blur, she looks as if she has a serious sunburn. The red channel has dominated.

The picture is also muddy or flat in its tone, lacking balanced contrast and brightness in its high, low, and mid tonal ranges.

The following sequence used for the color correction is basic and logical. It keeps with the order established by the software (Photoshop).

Starting in a new file, the image above was pasted. It was then duplicated onto a separate layer. Followed by these color corrections (see Steps 1 - 6).

Note: the Adjustment Layers were stacked on top of each other in the order of the default settings of the software (Curves under Levels, etc.)