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Auto Color Correction

Lesson 9 from: Color Techniques For Retouching

Lisa Carney

Auto Color Correction

Lesson 9 from: Color Techniques For Retouching

Lisa Carney

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Lesson Info

9. Auto Color Correction

Lesson Info

Auto Color Correction

I have some auto-correct conversation to have with you. Dah dah dah, queue the music. Auto can be good and dangerous at the same time, and I want to explain why I think that. So, with Photoshop, given there are so many options for you to do, I think when folks rely on auto too much, you don't know actually how the final file got to where it's got, where the effect came from. And I think that leaves you handicapped. So my suggestion is, if you decide to use some auto functions, make sure you decipher and go look and diagnose what the file did, so you can learn, or don't use it, okay? It's, and I know it's one of those handicap things where you get a job, and you want to get it done and you want to hurry and the auto function just works. But ultimately, as you go on through your career, it makes your brain not able to solve problems. And then things will change. Photoshop will change the algorithms and the buttons won't work the same way, and then you're like, oh, I only know how to colo...

r correct by using that auto button. So, I'm gonna show you some auto stuff, but I'd like to give a kind of danger, Will Ronbinson, buyer beware here as I do it. So, in many of the adjustment layers, you will see that there are some auto, first of all, there's an Auto button, like this, it's auto-correct. And again, what Photoshop's trying to do here is balance out your histogram and balance out your layers, your levels, pardon me. And that's fine and dandy, and you can use that. But instead, what I'd prefer you start investigating is just doing it on your own. So you just have this sense of understanding what the computer is doing. But also, there's some parameters here, some options you have. And it's the fly-out menu on the right-hand side. And I'm gonna show the Auto Color Options, and I do want to reiterate, that's on the bonus material that you can get. And inside here, you have some interesting choices. This, we are once again in levels. So you can say, hey, find the dark and light colors and smooth them out. And you can put clipping, the only people I know who know how to do the clipping are printers. I don't know what clipping percentages to use. I have been told by printers what to put in here, but I don't know them off the top of my head, and I've been doing this a long time. So you do not need to feel you need to know all that. You can also enhance by channel contrast or monochromatic effect. So you can do some pretty cool stuff here. Now, here's an often missed button, the Snap Neutral Midtones. And what that will do is that will basically neutralize your color, do you see that? Before, it's cyan, after, it's neutralized. Okay, and that can be really handy, especially if you're trying to balance your white points or your mid-tones. And, it can be useful, however, where that is dangerous if you ask me is, you don't know what it did. So, do you go down in here and start looking at what the numbers are? Can you find it? You might be able to find it here. It was a mid-tone correction. But, if you're trying to do a job fast, then so be it. That option's available to you, and I'd like you to know it's available to you. Again, it balanced the blacks and the whites and did the neutral coloring. You find it under Auto Options. And you need to be careful, however you've set your Auto Options is how it's gonna work the next time you use it. So if you don't want it to neutralize, you gotta turn that off and then do it again. So, it'll keep that recorded until you crash in Photoshop, which I'm sure you never crash. Anyway, again, Snap to Neutral Midtones. It's handy, it can be useful. Feel free to experiment with it, it's just in levels. And, I think I might have gone over that a little quickly, so let's talk about this again. There is a bunch of other options in here, and they do completely different effects. So have fun, play with it, see what you're gonna do. I would personally not suggest you go into the tonal clippings, 'cause I think that can be a little dangerous. Do you remember how I said, you have to change the density for a newspaper? This is where you could type it in as well.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Color Channel Explanation Images
Color Techniques Workbook

Bonus Materials with RSVP

Outline Cards
Adobe Stock Contributor

Ratings and Reviews

user-6180b9
 

Another awesome course by Lisa Carney, packed full of information This course is really a comprehensive look at colors ... I learned so much, and even stuff I thought I knew pretty well, I found some pretty eye opening new information. I find Lisa Carney to be a wonderful teacher. When she has an important point to make she'll say her point, pause and then repeat what she just said, just to lock it into your memory. Fantastic. Side note: I signed up for the CreativeLive creative pass as soon as I realized how great all of Lisa Carney's classes are. I'd started to buy them one by one and quickly realized they are all wonderful. You can watch this class from beginning to end and get great information ... but to get the most bang for the buck you'll want to pause, hit rewind, get a cup of coffee, open Photoshop and try out her tips while you watch. There are sections I rewound and watched about 5 times, to be sure I understood all the subtle points. Lisa Carney is pretty amazing - she works really hard to thoroughly explain the process she uses to solve problems, and she never glosses over anything important. To cover a particular point, she'll start with a finished file with all the layers - and instead of simply explaining each layer like a mortal would do, she'll literally delete all the adjustment layers and start from scratch to show the process. This is incredibly empowering since it gives you an understanding of just how easy the process can be once you get the hang of it

user-93854c
 

This is an EXCELLENT class for Photoshop users! Lisa is very professional, knowledgeable and, also, a delight to watch and listen to! Not only that she explains the concepts but she also shares her own experience and her practical ways of using those concepts! Great, great class! Thank you, Lisa and CreativeLive!

Maggie Lobl
 

I am really enjoying this class! Lisa makes complicated concepts easy to understand. She presents various ways of doing things so that you have options and can use the method that best works for your own situation. She moves quickly through the material, which I appreciate, and I since I own the class I know I can go back and review material when I need to. I love her style and approach to teaching, as well as her real world anecdotes and the way she shares her experience, both good and bad examples from her career. I'm so glad I purchased this class!

Student Work

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