remove colour cast from a colour photo

[RedDwarf4Ever]

could someone please point me in the right direction to do this thanks, my attempts have removed too much colour.

 

[JeffK]

You've chosen a real tough one to whisk you through. But I've found an easy way for you to go if you have a recent version of photoshop.

Open your image in Photoshop, and duplicae the layer. Turn off the background layer - this saves an original copy that you can compare to:



Now go to your top menu and click on Image>Adkjustments>Black and White. Click OK on the dialog box that opens up:



Now you've got a black and white version of your image in the layer stack.
Now for some AI magic - go back up to the top menu, click on Filter>Neural Filters. You'll see a switch for Colorize. Click that switch to turn it on:

Et voila - as we say in Brooklyn - you've got your color back as a new layer:



But - as we also say in Brooklyn - it ain't poifect:



We'll use AI again - go to your top menu and click on Image>Sky Replacement:



Woo-hoo! You got your color back. You can use the down facing arrow (circled) to choose different skies and use the adjustment sliders to adjust the brightness color. The click OK when done:



Now we gotta fix one more issue - the discolored grass in the lower left.
Now add a blank layer on top of the sky replacement folder, grab your lasso tool, and draw around the grassy area we need to change. Enlarge so you can better visualize:



Now, using your clone tool, start filling in that area:



Continue to use your clone tool to blend and fill in areas missed - watch out for doubling.
Lastly crop or fill in those missing areas:



Now you've got a finished piece:



From here you can play with additoinal tools Ie hue & saturation, sharpening etc.

Again this is the shortcut way which ain't that bad. Others may chime in with more serious types of encounters. But we've got you basically where you want to go and you've learned a couple of things
along the way.

 

[RedDwarf4Ever]

Wow Jeff, that’s incredible, yes I’m going to learn a lot from this, I have another photo, with similar problems, will try with that one, if this is successful, will post back before and after……thanks again

whats even better, is that I need to keep this as a reference, so on ipad I can save it as a PDF document and can keep it handy, for future projects

 

[JeffK]

As Bruce Lee once said after being criticized for knocking out an opponent with a right cross instead of a karate kick - "I use what works."

Photoshop offers many different ways to get to a destination. The image will guide you on what tools to use. That's also the great thing about PS - you never stop learning.

 

[RedDwarf4Ever]

Thanks again

 

[Rich54]

Jeff, excellent result. My old CS5 doesn't have this.
I'll have to read-up on this filter to understand who it works.

 

[JeffK]

Jeff, excellent result. My old CS5 doesn't have this.
I'll have to read-up on this filter to understand who it works.

Like most AI, it automates thru algorithms what you already know and can do. Makes life easier but certainly isn't a one-size-fits-all tool. But it can be quite amazing what it can do. There are times though you do end up filling in with the tried-and-true tools used before.

ADobe does keep making them better...although there seems to be a creative cost...as spoken by an old school do-it-yourselfer...

 

[RedDwarf4Ever]

Like most AI, it automates thru algorithms what you already know and can do. Makes life easier but certainly isn't a one-size-fits-all tool. But it can be quite amazing what it can do. There are times though you do end up filling in with the tried-and-true tools used before.

ADobe does keep making them better...although there seems to be a creative cost...as spoken by an old school do-it-yourselfer...

Hi
I finally got round to doing this photo, as per your guide, could i improve on this ? i tried coloor balance and added a litle red, it actually looked ok, the building bricks had a hint of red as per the original, cant do it in the neural filter, my PC is so old it takes ages every time i click a button.....heres the before and after, i used the shadows option as it gave a little more detail to the tree on the right, as i think you did

it was particularly rewarding, as zooming in with Photoshop i could see it was my Father and Wife, both of whom have now passed on, with two of my Children, dont even remember the occaison
thanks for the so helpfull guide

 

[JeffK]

I think you did a g reat job restoring the image and you've already had a response to it. I'm no expert in color but it looks good to me. Could use some sharpening but this is bit blurry and that might just add artifacts to it.
Others may weigh in with their opinions...but good work!

 

[RedDwarf4Ever]

I did a little sharpening with the unsnarl mask, I couldn’t push it anymore as it looked awful…..

its a very old photo. If I was to replace the grass mound under the statue, would it be best to get a grass image and using a mask overlay it….just wondered, saw some grass brushes but not sure if they are real or digital representations of grass…..oh and thank you

the sky replacement works well, wonder if there will be a grass replacement tool one day

 

[JeffK]

I did a little sharpening with the unsnarl mask, I couldn’t push it anymore as it looked awful…..

its a very old photo. If I was to replace the grass mound under the statue, would it be best to get a grass image and using a mask overlay it….just wondered, saw some grass brushes but not sure if they are real or digital representations of grass…..oh and thank you

the sky replacement works well, wonder if there will be a grass replacement tool one day

If you want to replace the grass, my first thought is to use the cloning tool. You certainly have enough area to pull from - here's a quick one:



This way you have matching color and resolution. Just pull from different areas and try to avoid doubling effect.

You could use brush tools - there are enough to pick from at Brusheezy.com. But then you might struggle with matching the surrounding areas. Same with filling with patches of grass.

Just my own thoughts...

And you're welcome from all of us who have helped you. Just remember with any tool, use what's appropriate - one size doesn't necessarily fit all.

 

[RedDwarf4Ever]

Thank you, yes I’m starting to realise , it’s often necessary to switch back and forth to different tools.