What's new
By:
Photoshop Gurus Forum

Welcome to Photoshop Gurus forum. Register a free account today to become a member! It's completely free. Once signed in, you'll enjoy an ad-free experience and be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Can't get turqouise color right (photo of a painting)


N

NMLiz

Member
Messages
5
Likes
0
I'm a photographer but I also scan & photograph my partner's paintings for marketing purposes. We live in New Mexico, and when I'm color-correcting, I can't get the color right in her gorgeous turquoise skies. In Photoshop, they come out a deep blue. I use Levels (separate R, G, B), Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc., etc. What seems to happen is that if I push the color too far toward more cyan (using any of these tools), I lose the deepness of the color, and it just looks washed out.

(I regularly calibrate my printer/monitor, etc.)

Suggestions welcome!
 
Hard to say without seeing a pic or an example of what you are going for, but are you shooting these pictures in RAW format? If you shoot in RAW I find it easier to color correct in Photoshop when processing the RAW image on import.

When using Levels, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation etc. I find it easiest to work with adjustment layers and will usually have several instances of my working layer with various different adjustment layers so I can experiment and dial in the right settings.

I know this is just kind of "general" advice, but maybe someone else can give you more specific details.
 
if you are printing, shouldn't you be using CMYK?
 
iDad said:
if you are printing, shouldn't you be using CMYK?
Click to expand...

That would be if you're sending the photo to a commercial printer.
It's a much smaller color space.

NMLiz, I assume you use PS but this would apply to other programs.

You can select that specific color or color range, and used "Color Balance, Hue/Saturation " as Yutosi said to adjust only that color.
 
OK, I see I wasn't being specific enough. First, to respond:


  • I always do my adjustments in layers. It's just that this specific issue keeps cropping up, and I don't know if it's something about these specific colors.
  • I print on my own HP B9180 printer, so no CMYK.
  • Also, I confused matter by saying these are photos; they are scans. So I don't have the RAW option--although I could go that route and shoot photos instead (which I hadn't considered--thanks). But scanning is so much easier when the image are small!

Here are the first two images (original scan first):
Little-Corn-Mama-orig-SM.jpg Little-Corn-Mama-SM.jpg
You may not be able to see it, but the "ears" on the color corrected one have lost a bit of the luminosity of the original scan. Still, I was able to get pretty good results by decreasing the blue in the levels and curves, and changing the hue.

Here's a better example:
Santa-Cruz-Dream-orig.jpg Santa-Cruz-Dream-edited.jpg
I've overdone it a bit on the second version (and blown out some highlights), but it gives the idea. Can you see that the sky on the color corrected one has lost some of the richness and mellowness of tone? It really looks nothing like the painting for this reason, especially when you see it full-size.

I've been playing around with everything I can think of in Photoshop for years without being able to solve this issue.

Thanks!
 
Ok, are the colors the way you want them on the original pieces that you are scanning, or is the image you are starting with in Photoshop true to the scanned material and thus the originals are in need of color correction?
 
AHA!! Watson, I think we may be on to something.... The image I'm starting with in Photoshop is definitely NOT true to the original piece I'm scanning....

OK, now I feel stupid, but at least I know where to start!

(I think it''s illegal to live in New Mexico and not be able to get your turquoise right.:-/)
 
Back
Top