Hi, I'm mandrake from the digital diver forum. Just wanted to say how honored I am that you're using a technique of mine (merging a b/w image projected with red back into the original image). I also wanted to point out a few things I consider important:
1) My idea came from reading (and extensively playing with) the chapter on color separations in the book 'The Hidden Power of PhotoShop Elements 2' by Richard Lynch. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone really into photo-editing. You'll benefit from it if you have PS Elements or the full PS, though you'll get most benefit out of it with PS Elements. It includes a CD toolset to give Elements many tools that exist in the full PS, like curves.
2) My technique is only a shortcut version of what I would really do, which is a full color separation and examination of the three layers (as described in the book, and automated through the 'split RGB with preview' tool). I would also create at least 2 and possibly as many as 4 different b/w images (there are several different options) and see which one worked best, whether as a replacement of the red tone layer or as a supplement to it.
The four different b/w images I consider for use are:
a) original image as luminosity layer merged back into 50% gray layer
b) desaturated image
c) the green tone from the original image
d) the blue tone from the original image
In general I find that either a) or c) is best, and d) is worst.
3) After you've put the red into your picture, you often have to take some of it back out again. I use the hue/saturation tool and make either a change of about -20 to -30 on the master hue, or else play with individual colors or make selections with the eyedropper tools. I consider this an essential step that goes hand-in-hand with adding the red back in. You must do something like this to turn your water blue again.
4) After all this is done, it still doesn't hurt to try auto-levels, auto-color correction, or if you have PS Elements, the color cast tool, or any other color-balancing tool or scheme you have, just as sanity checks.
Again, thanks for the tribute. But don't turn it into a formula. Every photo is different. I tend to get in a rut with these things, and forget to try simpler things sometimes. On a couple of photos recently I found that, after going through my 20 usual steps, that just an 'auto-levels' in a separate layer, with an opacity of somewhere less than 100%, was better than anything I could do.
I've also stumbled across a great technique called 'contrast masking' recently. Here's a pointer to the site I found it on, which also contains pointers to other places:
http://www.normankoren.com/PWP_contrast_masking.html
I can't believe how wonderfully this enhances many of my photos. Hope you like it. Read the 'Contrast Masking with PhotoShop' section -- I haven't bothered with anything after that.
If you'd like to check out my image galleries, try:
http://www.pbase.com/dkusner
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