Color Correction for Experts

Looks more like a contrast thing to me,more than color correction.certainly can be done in photoshop

After looking at this set closer,i am now leaning toward this being done with filters. i think diffuse glow was used but not sure what they tried on the background. probably a series of things with layer masking involved. just my thoughts

Here’s something I tried; it’s a rollover image so you can see the difference between the original and modified:

Color Modification <http://www.geocities.com/bmphan/color.html>

There are many, many ways to do this, but what I did was:

1) Duplicate the original image to a new layer, and set the blending mode to Hard Light (this emphasizes the highlights and shadows of the image).

2) Stamp the two layers onto a third layer (just so I can tweak each layer if necessary); Gaussian Blur this layer. Then, using a mask, I masked out the detail areas (eyes, hair, mouth, etc.). I actually created a mask using the Find Edges Filter, it’s a quick way to isolate the detailed areas.

3) Stamp all this onto a fourth layer; Unsharp mask this layer. I used the same mask, but inverted (so that the detailed areas were affected). This way the blurred and sharpened areas are isolated.

4) Finally, add a Levels Adjustment layer and tweak as needed (it looks like the designer mainly added blue highlights).

wow, thanks glen, the rollover image just looks perfect! But I am not that expert to follow the description.

1) I got
2) Gaussian blur at what amount, 1, 2?
Using a mask – you mean creating a third layer with the details of the picture (mouth, eyes,…) – but are these selections taken from the image before or after the gaussian blur.
3) Unsharp mask, does it have a specific amount? I have 50, 1, 0.
4) got it.

Still I end up with that <http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6020/testeh0.jpg> , which is not quite your image. Could you teach me like I was a newbie because obviously there is something I didn’t get from the first time.

Sure thing Megalie. I’m going to change the steps a bit to add more detail to the tutorial. Keep in mind that it although there seems to be a lot of steps, it’s actually a very quick process.

1) First, I wanted to create a mask that would isolate the detail areas. To do this, I: – duplicated the original layer to a new layer
– desaturated the new layer (Ctrl+U)

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1tNGsbLwNmDpXV4sG5 InhxQRYvA38>

2) I used the "Find Edges" filter on the new layer.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1eEJp7422jWTUpeoS5 1GOYJfAb9Yc0>

3) Now I want to tweak this layer a bit. Notice that the black lines are pretty thin; I want to thicken them so that they really include all the fine details. I used levels to darken the black lines and wash out the lighter, less detailed areas.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1FG9FzfNRejsZ5JnBo mLQdBwx9erv>

4) To further darken and thicken the lines, I applied the filter Other>Minimum. After applying this, I faded the filter a bit.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1YYnSByDUOwaGGykQm Jyo0fp09t5G0>

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1k0EjwAI56QX7SyvVf adrBDY3gz>

5) Now, I copy this layer and paste it into a new alpha channel. Go to the Channels palette, click on the new channel icon, and then paste. Because the alpha channel is now in the channels palette, you can delete that layer from the layers palette (so all you have in the layers palette is the original image layer).

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1AnGPmbHuR8bM3qCbG 8EtXOWpkqrN>

6) Now I’m finally going to work on the image itself. This part you already got, just dupe the layer and set it to Hard Light (or experiment with the different blending modes and see what you like).

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1OxiVwKATxBJA7IQTm osfUa44Yu3t1>

7) I create a new blank layer (this will be a third layer on top of the original image and the Hard Light image). Then I stamp visible (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E).

Duplicate this layer so that you’ll a fourth layer. The reason for having these identical 3rd and 4th layers is that one will be used for blurring and the other for sharpening.

On the 4th layer, I use Gaussian Blur, then fade the effect a bit (which gives a hazy, dreamy quality as opposed to just blurred).

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1sL6vEj0QwtflEjLZm asa5PUeXiYKS1>

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1WhXr0TAmf4VOUxhEo pSwt7pwSb5I0>

8} There’s a blurred layer, but I only want certain areas to show through. So, use the mask created in step 5. To do this, go to the Channels palette, and Ctrl+click on the alpha channel thumbnail. This loads the selection.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=19UPU1vPf07NWtQz9n tTZkYOOR9fT>

9) Now that the selection is loaded, add a mask to the layer. The blurred layer should now have a mask on it that masks out (blocks) the detailed areas, so only the less detailed areas will be blurred.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TEJgilVS2dMZIf99t m9IWXFjkLaY1>

10) Now, click on the 3rd layer to make it active. Apply the Unsharp mask filter. Then load the alpha channel as in step 8 and add a mask to the 3rd layer. Click on the mask to make it active, then invert it (Ctrl+I). Now the opposite parts of the image will be sharpened, i.e. the detailed parts.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12vkWyP9WlgllsbjUm 0CX6OVeFAP9K1>

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1JD65F2nxJSnvuNrjD XdBpXxEoLq>

11) Finally, add a Levels Adjustment layer on top of the whole stack and tweak as desired.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=18exvXS2ETmRMDbBFR gLOOsgVXZEi>

Again, it seems like a lot of steps, but it goes by pretty quickly. There are different, probably more efficient ways of doing it, but at least you’ll have an idea of why I did what I did.

Coool! Many Thanks !!
I still need some practice, but that was a great learning experience. Just one little thing, what is the last step? Do I stamp visible (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E)… ?

Your very welcome.

The last step is to add a Levels Adjustment layer. This allows you to change the appearance of everything under the adjustment layer, not just one layer.

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1RMjDyIS4nF6BVGK39 UXuFR7FkX20>

But I mean, how do I combine the sharp layer and the gausian blur layer. If I do flatten, I lose either the sharp or the burry one – depending on which layer is on top.

So how do I combine those layer in one – without losing the work I have made on the image.

😉

Oops, now I understand the question. You should be able to just flatten the whole thing, and you won’t lose either the sharp or blurry one. If not, you can just stamp visible on a new layer.

But ideally you want to save a master copy of the file with all the layers intact