correctmyphotos

CorrectPhoto is a Windows photo editor. What does a Mac user do to get good color?
The other day I got a call from Burt, a CorrectPhoto user, who was perplexed that his favorite photo editor was not available for the Mac. His family had talked him into switching from a Windows computer to a new Mac and when he realized CorrectPhoto would not run on a Mac he called to ask if we planned a Mac version. He was disappointed when I told him no because he like the simplicity of CorrectPhoto, in particular the OneClick color correction which made his photos really look good. Fortunately, his family gave him a copy of Photoshop Elements and, although he expressed concern about the complexity of Elements, he was happy to learn about iCorrect OneClick Plug-in which adds the same simple and accurate color correction technology that is in CorrectPhoto to Elements. I assured him that since all he really did to his photos was cropping and color correction that Elements wasn’t that intimidating.  After adding iCorrect OneClick to Elements there are the few simple steps to follow to turn an average photo into a great shot.

Here is a photo I took the day after a devastating apartment complex fire near our home in Burnsville (fortunately, no one was hurt). Even though it was a sunny morning the photo is really dull with a gray color cast and the portion of the security fence detracts from the photo.  Here are the few simple steps to follow to create the photo on the right.

Before and After photo editing with Photoshop Elements and iCorrect OneClick Color

Elements Cropping Tool

After you open Elements and select the picture to edit click on the cropping tool on the left task bar. Another menu bar will appear at below the main menu at the top of the Elements window where you can select the aspect ratio (photo ratio, 3×5, 4×6, etc.) of the cropping window. In this example I selected Use Photo Ratio (this is the same 3×4 ratio of the chip in most cameras). Expand the crop window over the desired area and either click on the little green arrow (lower right under the crop window) or hit Enter to save the cropped area.

Photoshop Elements Cropping Tool

Fix the color with iCorrect OneClick Plug-in

Assuming you have purchased and installed iCorrect OneClick in the Elements Filters Folder simply click on Filter on the main top menu bar and select iCorrect OneClick from the pull down window.

Select iCorrect OneClick plug-in from Elements Filter menu

The OneClick window will open. Find an area in the photo that is neutral (white, gray, or black—not beige) and click on it. OneClick automatically removes any color cast, corrects the tonal range, adjusts the overall brightness, and makes any photo more vivid and life-like.

PictoColor iCorrect OneClick Color Correction-Click on Neutral for auto color correction

OneClick Enhancements.

For most photos the OneClick is all that is required. However, if the photo would benefit from a little more tweaking click on the Enhancements button and the enhancements window will open where additional adjustments to brightness, contrast and saturation can be made.

iCorrect OneClick Enhancements may be used for tweaking color

Summary

Edited photo-Photoshop Elements and iCorrect OneClick Color Plug-in

I talked to Burt after he installed iCorrect OneClick into Elements and walked him through the above procedure and he was delighted that it was really easy to crop photos in Elements and that the OneClick plug-in was just like the OneClick Color correction in CorrectPhoto.  He is really proud to share his photos with friends and when they comment on how good his camera is he acknowledges that it is OneClick Color and not the camera that Makes the Color Right.  So, if you have Elements don’t be intimidated by all the tools and features. Just add iCorrect OneClick plug-in and use the cropping tool to crop and OneClick to fix the color and you too will be proud to share you photos with others.

Wayne www.correctphoto.com. www.pictocolor.com/oneclick.htm www.oneclickcolor.com

Sometimes you just have to see better color to know.
The other day our Rotary Club  cooked 250 hot dogs for the Burnsville Kids of Summer program’s final day, a project we have done for about 20years. Heather and I took a few photos of the event. When I got back to the office I edited a few with CorrectPhoto and sent them to Heather for our clubs website. She went back to her office and uploaded a few of my photos with a few of hers. (Heather is the editor of our club’s website.) Now Heather does have CorrectPhoto and loves it, however, she has it on her home computer and not on her office computer so she bypassed the photo editing step and uploaded uncorrected photos. (Sound familiar?) When I saw the photo gallery of the event I mentioned to my friend Bill and mentioned the fact that Heather hadn’t had time to color correct her photos. His comment was, “Only you would know that?” That is really not true, but it did get me to thinking about how does one really know the color is not right? I guess the reality is that most people just accept the color they get from their digital camera and don’t realize that the color could be better. So, do you think the color is right or okay in the following photo?

Is the Color Right? Look at the mustard bottle and the girls shirt.

Now compare it with this photo. Now, doesn’t the original photo look dull and lifeless compared with the color corrected one?

Look at the mustard bottle and the girl's shirt to see the difference in color

Do you need to see the photos side by side to tell the difference? (continue reading…)

I often ask people with digital cameras if they are pleased with the color they are getting from their camera.  The answer is usually, “Yeah, I guess its okay.” If I push a little and suggest that maybe the photos are a little dull and maybe not as vivid as when they use a film camera they acknowledge a bit of disappointment with digital photography. But, even if they know the color is not right they don’t have a clue as to how to fix it.

Fixing Color is Difficult
If you have tried to use the software that came with your camera or some other photo editing software like Photoshop Elements you know it is one of the most frustrating and difficult challenges. If the tools in Photoshop were easy their wouldn’t be a market for the hundreds of thousands of articles and the many books devoted to Color Correcting Photos in Photoshop. For most of us, it is just too much work and take too much time to fix the color. And, if you’ve tried to use the auto color feature you probably found that it really doesn’t do much good on most photos (see the middle photo in the example below).

The Original Color (left) is dull, Elements Auto Fix is a little better (middle), OneClick Color is accurate (right)

So, is there really and easy way to fix color?
I am going to assume you have Photoshop Elements to edit your photos, but you don’t have a good understanding of Levels and Curves and all the other color tools (and really don’t care to learn it).
(continue reading…)

Do you think the color of your photos is correct? And, do you care?

Chances are when you look at your digital photos on your computer screen or the prints you just picked up you don’t really ask yourself, “Is the Color Right?” And, unless some Smart Alec like me comments about the color (remember, that’s my business) you probably think the color is okay. Well, chances are pretty good that the color is not right. Look at the following photo comparison of Spearfish Falls in Spearfish Canyon, SD. The original photo (left) is dull and lifeless and seems to have a grey cloudy day color cast. The color corrected photo is much more alive and looks like the scene I saw when I took the picture.

Spearfish Falls-Before/After Color Correction

The nature of digital cameras is that unless you take the time to white balance your shots (and who has time to do that?) the color will be off to some degree. In fact, most will be dull and lifeless. And, it will vary with lighting conditions both outside and indoors. When shooting outdoors you will get the best color on a bright sunny day.  Generally, the color of indoor shots will vary greatly depending on the lighting conditions. Yes, with more expensive cameras you can compensate for incandescent or fluorescentlighting, but you will probably forget to make the adjustment. Here is an example of an indoor flash photo from a real estate listing. The room really is not a dull as it appears in the original photo posted on the internet.

Flash photos can appear dull and lifeless

 Even photos taken on a bright and sunny afternoon can appear dull. Now, if you saw the photo on the left by itself you may not think it is too bad. But, compared to a color corrected version it really is dull. 

Even a photo taken on a sunny day can be dull and lifeless

How White Is Your Dog?-Dickens is a Westie and He is White.

This is Dickens, a West Highland White Terrior (Westie) and he is white. “Well, ya! So What?”, you say. One of the more frustrating things about being in the “color” business is that most people, except for pro and semi-pro photographers, tend to be insensitive (how is that for being polically correct?) to color. They either don’t recognize that the color of their digital pictures is wrong or they just assume that the photos from their digital camera just aren’t as good as Kodak or Fuji film. In a way, that assumtion is correct, however, the color information is really there (unless the photo is over or under exposed) and it can be fixed. Here is a comparison of the original photo and the cropped and color corrected shot of Dickens.