Photoshop gurus! Help with getting the 'blue' out of my u/w pics

[Dubi]

Anyone here is Coz willing to spend a few minutes with a CS5 newb; I need to learn how to get rid of the blue. Also would like to know if there is an easy way to do that in Picasa 3.

Thanks! Dubi

:fail::fail::fail::fail:

 

[DevonDiver]

Here's a link to my article on Photoshop editing for underwater photographers:

5 Minute Photoshop Edit for Underwater Photographs

 

[annasea]

Dubi, you can tweak your photos in less than a minute by using the underwater action found on the Adobe website.

 

[caseywilson]

I like Devon's suggestion, except it will take you more than five minutes until you get the procedure down. You might try Crtl/Shft/L just as a quickie. If that doesn't satisfy you, definitely use Devon's fix. My Canon cameras both have a built in pre-shot color filter so I don't have to mess with anything after the fact.

Dive safe,

Casey

 

[annasea]

Why would you want to spend >5 min per photo when you can download the action from Adobe's website and get it done in mere seconds?

 

[caseywilson]

Why would you want to spend >5 min per photo when you can download the action from Adobe's website and get it done in mere seconds?

Well, just for discussion, I'm a professional photographer. I seldom ever take snapshots anymore. I sell photos. In a number of cases, probably like Devon, I've spent probably hours working over just one photo for a client or a magazine. Or perhaps just because I want to hang it on my wall. I'm new to the underwater stuff, however, and I imagine I'll be working on a steep learning curve.

Dubi, the OP, asked a question about PhotoShop, Devon and I answered him. He's got a pretty good package with CS5, why make him download another piece of software.

Five minutes? Heck it takes me longer than that to just frame a shot in my viewfinder most of the time.

Dive safe,

Casey

 

[annasea]

In the spirit of continuing the discussion...

What I suggested is not a piece of software, it's an 'action' that is downloadable from Adobe's website that can then be added to the Actions palette in Photoshop. I had a look at DevonDiver's link and at a quick glance, the steps in it are similar to what the underwater action does... but far quicker as it's 'automated.'

The OP asked for a method that was easy and mentioned Picasa. I'm more than happy to be wrong, but I'm getting the impression that he does take 'snapshots' and merely wants them to look less blue when he shares them with friends, etc.

 

[craracer]

My Canon cameras both have a built in pre-shot color filter so I don't have to mess with anything after the fact.

What camera are you using? Are you making adjustments depending upon your depth/available light?

 

[DevonDiver]

What I suggested is not a piece of software, it's an 'action' that is downloadable from Adobe's website that can then be added to the Actions palette in Photoshop. I had a look at DevonDiver's link and at a quick glance, the steps in it are similar to what the underwater action does... but far quicker as it's 'automated.'

I used to use the Underwater Action, but I found that it wasn't flexible enough to provide good results on the majority of photos, especially when there was a lack of original red pixel information.

You can get simularly good 1-step results simply by using the eyedrop sampler in Curves to designate black and white points in the photo. But if the red pixels aren't there, it will still look quite washed out, or can be color skewed.

Using the Channel Mixer is the only way to add the red pixel information, if it wasn't captured when you originally took the pic. That step cannot be automated well, because it is very individual to the photo.

 

[mikemill]

This is of course just personal opinion but I don't like UW photos that have been uniformly color balanced (example from that underwater action linked above)

I much prefer images where the subject is colorful and the background has the blue color to it. Images like the one above just seem to have lost its soul.

The best way to deal with the color is proper lighting which means taking a strobe with ya.