Quote:
Originally Posted by KFriede451
I'll do a picture and post the original, a color correction based on a tutorial, and what I think looks good. My biggest problem with corrections is in faces. One time I apparently made someone's face orange? Of course I was younger and just new to photo editing.....
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Great topic, KFriede -- I am mildly "colour deficient" also, pretty much the same you describe. For certain colour intensities, I find it difficult to distinguish grey/green, green/brown, blue/purple, etc... It's always on the fringes where these colours meet. Over the years and being well aware of this minor disability, I have worked on trying to distinguish colours better simply by confirming with people what a particular colour was when I saw it (not just on computer screen, but everywhere) -- and I've found that over time (years) I've learnt to distinguish them a little better. There's probably no scientific basis to this (I think the green cones in your eyes are physically deficient so your brain never 'receives' the signal that other people receive), but I'm a believer in the adaptability of the human brain and have at least lulled myself into thinking I can perceive colour better than 10 yrs ago. ;-)
Anyway, I find the hardest part about having this impairment is getting white balance correct (colour temperature and tint), especially the skin tones. Making someone's face orange is easy by setting the colour temp too warm.
Here are my hints:
1) I find that my eyes respond well when I can compare colours side-by-side. If you can get hold of some well-balanced images under various lighting, then you can refer to these while you're tuning your work.
2) Spend the money to have your monitor/screen correctly calibrated. It will help when you show others your stuff on screen for comments, and if you believe my theory then it may also help you learn the colours better over time.
3) Use the magic white balance tool in your editing software -- it seems to get pretty close for me in Apple Aperture.
4) Use manual white balance on your camera. There aren't many settings, so it is not hard to learn (on my 40D the main ones are: sunlight, shade, cloud, tungsten bulb). After each shot, review the image on the camera screen by holding the camera up and comparing the scene with what's on the screen. You should easily be able to see if it's too cold or too warm.
5) When you get a buddy to check your images, have the image open in the editing software and let them adjust the sliders for the colour temp and tint.
Hope this helps.
J