Photoshop - Color
matching photos
Helen Bradley
Use Color Matching to create photos that look
like they've been taken in similar light.
When you're using a series of
photos in a single document and when they’ve each been taken in
different light conditions, you may want to adjust the tones in them so
they look better matched on the page. To do this, settle on one image
with tones you'd like to see reproduced in the other images. Here's how
to use these tones to correct all your photos – we'll show you how this
is done in Photoshop CS and in PaintShop Pro.
Step 1
 In
Photoshop CS, you can match tones automatically using the new Match
Color tool. Begin by opening the images to work with. On the left is the
image which we will fix and on the right is the one with the warmer
colours that we want to match.
Step 2
 Use
Image, Duplicate to duplicate the original image so you can compare the
results. Click the image to fix and choose Image, Adjustments, Match
Color. From the Source list, choose the image to use to match the
colours to.
Step 3
 The
effect will probably be too strong. To adjust it down, use the Color
Intensity slider to remove some of the saturation and, if desired, use
the Fade slider to adjust the effect to a lesser amount. When you're
done, compare the results and save your newly fixed image.
Step 4
 To
achieve the same result in PaintShop Pro, open both the image to alter
and the one to base the colour correction on (you'll use this second one
as a visual reference). In PaintShop Pro there is no automatic
correction so you must do it manually - start by selecting the image to
fix and choose Adjust, Color Balance, Color Balance.
Step 5
 Select
the Midtones option and now use the sliders to adjust the colour. Adding
yellow removes blue, adding magenta removes green and adding cyan
removes red (and vice versa). When you have the midtones adjusted click
the Shadows option and adjust the shadows.
Step 6
 When
you're done with the shadows, use the highlights option to adjust the
highlights. You might have to return to tweak the midtones, highlights
and shadows again to fine tune the results. When you have a look that
you like, click Ok to confirm the change to your image.
(c) H Bradley, 2007-2009 |
