Repairs possible for way off white balance?

[NancyLynn]

I have PSP XI, as well. (or maybe IX - I don't recall at the moment.) I keep PSP 8 installed, since somewhere between 8 and XI PSP lost the grey world balance (which is the heart of what I used to correct the first picture - when it works, it really works well). PSP apparently dumped it (and at least three other tools I use frequently) in favor of adding a bunch of one click multi-tier fixes (which often fix features I don't want fixed, as well as the one I do).

Mostly I used PSP XI on the second picture.

I corrected the picture so the foreground (upper - closest objects) looked right to me. I either used grey world balance or channel mixer (both are color balance tools - one is relatively automatic, the other takes a lot of playing).

Next I selected the background (the portion including the barracuda) and adjusted the color in the selection with channel mixing until the sand looked right. (Channel mixing allows you to adjust the amount of three different colors in the source document - since red disappears more the farther underwater you go you need to boost it, drop the blue, and play with the third).

Finally I did a fade correction on the whole picture to get rid of the faded look that underwater pictures often get. I also had to tone down the fish with the bright yellow fins and tail a bit, since it got too bright with the sand the proper color.

 

[amajamar]

I have PSP XI, as well. (or maybe IX - I don't recall at the moment.) I keep PSP 8 installed, since somewhere between 8 and XI PSP lost the grey world balance (which is the heart of what I used to correct the first picture - when it works, it really works well). PSP apparently dumped it (and at least three other tools I use frequently) in favor of adding a bunch of one click multi-tier fixes (which often fix features I don't want fixed, as well as the one I do).

Mostly I used PSP XI on the second picture.

I corrected the picture so the foreground (upper - closest objects) looked right to me. I either used grey world balance or channel mixer (both are color balance tools - one is relatively automatic, the other takes a lot of playing).

Next I selected the background (the portion including the barracuda) and adjusted the color in the selection with channel mixing until the sand looked right. (Channel mixing allows you to adjust the amount of three different colors in the source document - since red disappears more the farther underwater you go you need to boost it, drop the blue, and play with the third).

Finally I did a fade correction on the whole picture to get rid of the faded look that underwater pictures often get. I also had to tone down the fish with the bright yellow fins and tail a bit, since it got too bright with the sand the proper color.

I'm going to have to figure it out on Elements. The barracuda pic is the one that really was dramamatically better. The correction for the sand color fixed the color of the fish as well. As far as a fade correction, I don't know what function that may be in Elements. And channel mixing might be what is called Levels in Elements, you can manipulate the RGB or each individually. I was not able to get the blue out like you did without losing the detail. Your work was spot on.

Do you do your work on adjusment layers or directly on the file?

Could you use PSP XI alone for the entire image? If so, then I could get that. PSP 8 is not readily available.

 

[NancyLynn]

I'm going to have to figure it out on Elements. The barracuda pic is the one that really was dramamatically better. The correction for the sand color fixed the color of the fish as well. As far as a fade correction, I don't know what function that may be in Elements. And channel mixing might be what is called Levels in Elements, you can manipulate the RGB or each individually. I was not able to get the blue out like you did without losing the detail. Your work was spot on.

Do you do your work on adjusment layers or directly on the file?

Could you use PSP XI alone for the entire image? If so, then I could get that. PSP 8 is not readily available.

I never figured out the layers thing. I never modify the original - but I work directly with the copy - mostly using selections when I don't want to do the same thing to all portions of it.

There is a Channel mixer in Elements. Here is a tutorial that shows the tool, although they are using it to convert black and white photos to color. Channel Mixer Method - Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

It appears to be the same tool - I usually work in the red source channel. I play with the red and blue first and get them close, then tinker with the green. If I don't like the looks of the first attempt, I can usually get it fine tuned on the second attempt.

There is a fade tool in Elements - it is in Edit, rather than colors adjustment - so I don't know if it does the same thing. It is on the same scale - if it is the same tool, I rarely use more than 5%

I'm pretty sure I could do everything in PSP XI - I'm just lazy. I like my grey world balance .

Nancy

 

[solisti]

I kind of like the deep-blue feeling in the second picture. And I suppose correcting the WB with software in this case is quite a hard task. Software can only help you do some minor adjusting, the only way to get the colours right is to use a strobe. Setting WB manually might help though. But I guess its a bit late to try either one...

 

[sasscuba]

I kind of like the deep-blue feeling in the second picture. And I suppose correcting the WB with software in this case is quite a hard task. Software can only help you do some minor adjusting, the only way to get the colours right is to use a strobe. Setting WB manually might help though. But I guess its a bit late to try either one...

I agree. I like how the sand turned out better but the water now looks white. I like a little blue, it would look more natural.

 

[howard4113]

I think I know where the "grey world balance" went. In Paint Shop Pro X -- select: Adjust -> Color Balance to open the dialog. Then check the "Advanced Options" box.
Move the mouse cursor over the source image to a white, gray, or black area and click. Simple as that.
With some images, it is not possible to get a valid source pixel. In that case manually balance the image and click "OK" -- then rebalance using the modified image. I REALLY like this feature and also the CLARIFY tool. This tool is found under "Brightness and Contrast". Doesn't make sense to put it there but it does work well.
I'd really be interested in the steps NancyLynn used - besides "grey world balance". I can get almost exactly the same result with the aforementioned tools, but I cannot achieve the range of colors in the lower part of the second image (barracuda). That area is pretty much black and white. I tried selecting the bottom area and then color balancing but it applied the correction to the entire image (unlike photoshop).
Thanks for the info NancyLynn!

M

 

[amajamar]

Regardless or whether or not you like the image "white" or with a slightly "bluer" look to it, what is really amazing is how NancyLynn was able to get the bottom area and the barracuda to look like without losing much of the detail.

I have been playing with Elements 2.0 now and trying to figure out a workflow that would get to similar results. I have not got to NancyLynn's results but the issue I find is when I am close in color balance, I am losing the detail. Elements 2.0 doesn't have a dedicated channel mixer, although it does have a Levels control. It seem that the channel mixer function separates the RGB into seperate frames for adjustment which is seemingly more difficult to do with just the Levels control.

As far as the reality of the image, (which I can speak to, because, I was there!) the truth is that the sandy bottom was very white when viewed closely, but yes, there was water down there as well and it did color everything a little blue/green, as water tends to do.

However, every time I play with the image in Elements, I look back at NancyLynn's work and discard mine!! Her's is that remarkable! In addition, the image posted was reduced in size from my original so that it would be uploadable! Even with the original file I can't get it close to NancyLynn's!

 

[NancyLynn]

I think I know where the "grey world balance" went. In Paint Shop Pro X -- select: Adjust -> Color Balance to open the dialog. Then check the "Advanced Options" box.
Move the mouse cursor over the source image to a white, gray, or black area and click. Simple as that.
M

That's actually a different tool - black and white points (also a color balance tool which disappeared somewhere between PSP 9 and PSP XI). I didn't use that tool as often as grey world balance, but it was probably my 2nd or third choice - manual color adjustment (which also vanished) was tied with it. All three appear to have vanished to be replaced by the smart photo fix (which allows you to play with several features at once) a tool they added as a complement to the original one stop photo fix.

The grey world balance required no point selection - it just balanced the entire picture so the average color was grey. There was a single adjustment beyond that, which allowed you to shift within the warmer/cooler range (equivalent to which shades of grey you wanted to balance to, I believe). If you find the equivalent of that - let me know!

I'll see if I can replicate the steps with PSP XI alone and post step by step images. Maybe later tonight - maybe not until the weekend.

 

[NancyLynn]

I'd really be interested in the steps NancyLynn used - besides "grey world balance".

I tried to replicate the process using only PSP XI. I got close, but not exact. The thumbnails are linked to photos in my gallery so as not to overwhelm this thread with 9 full size photos. The correction at each stage is in the description.

Corrections to the entire picture:

Step 1: Adjust-> Color Balance: White Balance - Temperature 9477, Tint 64, (5000, 0) Enhance Color Balance Temperature 5000, Tint 0


Step 2: Adjust->Color->Fade Correction: 2


Select the water portion of the picture (I used edge seeker) and promote the selection to a layer. (Color balance didn't work on the selection - so I got desperate and figured out the basics of layers.) Remainder of the steps are performed on the layer or a sub-selection in the layer.

Step 3: Adjust->Color->Channel Mixer: 3, 154, -55 (Constant 0%)


Step 4: Adjust->Hue and Saturation->Hue, Saturation, Lightness: -22 (Hue), 32 (Saturation), 8 (Lightness)


Step 5: Adjust-> Sharpness-> Sharpen More


Step 6: Adjust -> Brightness and Contrast-> Clarify 3


Step 7: Adjust ->Color-> Channel Mixer: 53, 95, -68 (Constant 16%)


Step 8: Adjust-> Brightness and Contrast-> Brightness and Contrast: 10 (brightness), 15 (Contrast)


Step 9: Select fish with too orange yellow tail and desaturate tail: Adjust-> Hue and Saturation-> Hue, Saturation, and Lightness: Saturation -50 (everything else 0)


The last few steps were tinkering to get the right contrast, brightness, detail, and range of colors. I don't have any particular formula for figuring out what numbers to start out with. I plug in a guess, see what it does to the picture. If it moves it in the right direction, I bump it a little more until it stops moving in the right direction.

If anyone has any better algorithm, I'd love less trial and error!

 

[jbilicska]

Thanks NancyLynn. I have PSP X and was looking for some step by step help to color correct my underwater shots. I'm a novice and just needed someone to point me in the right direction. It seems everybody else has Photoshop.

Joe