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Adjusting the Color Balance

How to adjust the color values in your image using Photoshop's Color Balance adjustment.

Color Balance

Now that the image is brighter, it is clear that the digital scan is “skewed” slightly toward green and cyan when we compare it with the original slide. In other words, the red and orange in the original are more vibrant. Don’t worry if you cannot assess color balance issues at a glance.

From the menu bar select: Image > Adjustments > Color Balance

Peacock - Adjust Color Balance


As you can see in the resulting dialogue box, to lessen the appearance of one color, you shift the value toward its opposite. To decrease the amount of Cyan in your image, slide the slider (blue triangle) toward Red. In most cases, only very minor adjustments are necessary.

Photoshop allows you to adjust the Color Balance of the Shadows, Midtones and Highlights separately. By default when you launch this dialogue, the sliders correspond to the Midtones. Once you have adjusted these sliders, make sure to click the radio button next to Highlights to adjust those values also. Do the same for Shadows.

Color Balance is more complex and more difficult to assess visually than Levels. Expect to experiment quite a bit, switching between Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights, before you attain the desired result. Make sure you have the Preview and Preserve Luminosity (brightness / white values) boxes checked so that you can see how your adjustments affect the image. When you are satisfied, click OK.



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