Hi
Have a go at this I use it all the time. it workes 90% of the time. Shoot RAW preset WB with Expodisc or Gray card. Or set WB with NC then follow this tutorial. It will make your photos POP
How to correct colour!!!!!!
Setting white and black points first
1) Make either a curves or levels adjustment layer. It doesn't matter which
because both have the eyedroppers. For now don't change anything just press
enter so it's sitting there. Click on the eye beside it so that layer isn't
visible. We'll use it later.
2) Duplicate your background layer and work with the duped layer. Select
Image> Adjustments> Threshold
3) Slide the slider all the way to the left; the image is monochrome now and
as you slide left it turns white. Slide it all the way to the left, then
gradually slide it back to the right. You'll see the darkest parts of your
image begin to appear. These are your black point(s). You'll need to mark
one.
4) Your eyedropper tool should be active, if not, get it. Hold the Shift key
as you click on one of the first dark spots to appear, which is the darkest
part of your image. It should leave a little circle there with a 1.
5) Repeat the same thing, except go all the way to the right and begin
sliding it back to the left. Your image goes black when dragged to the right
and as you drag the slider back to the left, one of the first places to turn
white is your white point. Once again, shift-click it with the eyedropper and
once again, it'll leave a little round marker with a 2. Hit cancel now
because all you wanted to do was mark these two points.
Now you've identified where in the image to set your white and black points,
but you need to know where in the hell is middle gray, right? Sometimes this
trick will work. First you need to make a new layer above your background.
There's probably a better way to make this layer but here's how I just did
it:
1) Press CTRL-SHIFT-N but don't hit enter yet. Under Mode, select Overlay
(This will be temporary)
2) Now a little gray box beneath it should appear that was grayed out. It
should say something like Fill with 50% neutral gray. Check that box and now
press enter.
3) You now have a layer sitting on top filled with gray and a blending mode
of Overlay. Only trouble is, you'll need to change that blending mode to
Difference. Once you do, your image will look pretty funky beneath it.
4) Look at your (now funky) image closely. The darkest, blackest part of your
image is likely to now be "middle gray". Look closely because it may be hard
to see or find. If you can find a black spot, that's it.You can use the
Threshold and slide to the left to help find the darkest part.
5) Select the eyedropper tool, Shift click on that black spot. You should get
a 3rd round marker with a 3 beside it. With any luck, that's your middle
gray.
6) Cancel out, delete all layers except your background layer and the
adjustment layer (either curves or levels) that you made way back in step
one. You should now have your black (1), white (2) and midpoint (3) marked in the image for the corresponding eyedroppers.
I set by numbers in the info palette. using Levels Set dark to the lowest number, set light to the highest number. Then with the centre eyedropper click on the midpoint (3)
It sounds Long but it wont take you more then 2 minutes
I have made a action for this to use in PhotoShop
I hope this works for you.
Paul.
PS I got this tip from a guy called Beau Hooker @ Photo.net
--
Don't be afraid of the dark, as it's only a lack of light !!!!!!
