Correcting Color With The Eyedroppers; To Color Correct Using The Eyedroppers; To Identify Highlights And Shadows In Levels - Adobe PHOTOSHOP CS2 User Manual

Correcting color with the eyedroppers

You can use the eyedroppers in the Levels or Curves dialog boxes to correct a color cast. It's easier to color-balance
an image by first identifying an area that should be neutral and then removing the color cast from that area.
Depending on the image, you may want to use one or all three of the eyedroppers. The eyedroppers work best on an
image with easily identified neutrals.
Note: The Set Gray Point Eyedropper tool
with grayscale images.
For the best results, don't use the eyedroppers in images that require a large adjustment to map a pixel to the
maximum highlight or minimum shadow values.
Important: Using the eyedroppers undoes any previous adjustment you made in Levels or Curves (Photoshop). If you
plan to use the eyedroppers, it's best to use them first and then fine-tune your adjustments with the Levels sliders or
Curves points (Photoshop).

To color correct using the eyedroppers

1 Identify a highlight, midtone, and shadow area that should be neutral gray. Depending on the image and the result
you want, you may need to identify only one area.
Use a color sampler to mark a neutral area so that you can click it with an eyedropper later.
2 Open the Levels or Curves dialog box. Choose Image > Adjustments, and then choose Levels or Curves. You can
also use an adjustment layer.
Double-click the Set Black Point tool
3
Use the Adobe Color Picker to specify a neutral target color.
If you're working in RGB, enter the same values for R, G, and B to specify a neutral color. The neutral color should
be close as possible to the values of the color sampler.
If you want to preserve specific details in the shadow or highlight, specify a value for the Set Black Point and the Set
White Point Eyedropper tools that are within the gamut of the output device (printing press, laser printer, and so
forth).
With the targeted eyedropper, click the neutral area that you identified earlier. Make sure to use the appropriate
4
tool for the shadow and highlight.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 using a different eyedropper if necessary.
5
If necessary, make final adjustments in the Levels or Curves (Photoshop) dialog box.
6
7 Click OK. If you specified new target colors for an eyedropper, Photoshop asks whether you want to save the new
target colors as defaults.

To identify highlights and shadows in Levels

1 Open the Levels dialog box, and make sure the Preview option is selected.
Note: The Threshold mode in Levels is not available for CMYK images.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag the white or black Input Levels triangle.
2
is used primarily for color correction and is unavailable when you work
, the Set Gray Point tool , or the Set White Point Eyedropper tool
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User Guide
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