Perfect colours

[roberto_patrizi]

<p>I have a lot of shots that shows biased colours, some raw (.cr2) and a lot of jpeg. How to develop for perfect colours? I have made a try using the following settings (on ligthroom3) on the picture showed above:<br>

<br />Temp: 4900 (was 4900)<br />Tint: 50 (was 44)<br />Brightness: +67<br />Contrast: +25<br />Processing: 2010<br />Profile: Adobe Standard<br />Red Hue: +9<br />Green Saturation: +43<br />Blue Saturation: +15<br>

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Ahq4jAOjwCA/TG3DwgojYoI/AAAAAAAAC0Q/YRolv8aUsZI/s512/_MG_6986.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="512" /><br>

Do you have better settings? How to work on jpg like this?<br>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.it/lh/photo/jO5OXYPPNrdkkApvIxC9Ig?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Ahq4jAOjwCA/TG3EO6lMzvI/AAAAAAAAC0U/x3GyiiCjEVM/s144/_MG_6999.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

Thank you, Roberto</p>

[monika_epsefass]

<p>I do not think you could have a general statement about which colours are wrong or right. Seeing is something very subjective, and what pleases my eyes might not please yours.<br /> What I do is (in raw and ACR): I always, always work with the controls for light and shadow switched on (those little triangles above your histogram). If these two are OK, I will add some contrast, level the black if necessary (unless shadows drop again), add a slight bit of Clarity and Vibrance, and if need be, a hint of fill light. There are not too many occasions where I bother to adjust the white balance, as my camera does that quite well.</p>

<p>Your first picture, with a bit of light added, looks already quite right from the colours, while I feel the other two images below as too exaggerated.</p>

<p>Oh, and I take it you work with calibrated equipment and the proper colour space and profile?</p>

[roberto_patrizi]

<p>Thank you monika! I have a CRT monitor calibrated via software, sure, it is not perfect, but I hope it is quite accurate.<br />I’m concerning about two shots, the first one in given both in straight from camera version (on top) and retouched. I found the camera version too much greenish. In the retouched version I have tried to restore the color balance focusing on the skin, I don’t find it too bad, but maybe I have exaggerated with blue, as you were saying!<br />The small picture above (click to have a greater images) is an untouched jpeg, just resized for web and nothing else. I find it too yellowish, I am trying to fix this problems and nothing more.<br />Thank you a lot, regards, Roberto!<br /><br /></p>

[charles_m1]

<p>I use a Color Checker Passport to calibrate my camera, then I use an i1 Display 2 to calibrate my display. To get accurate white balance, I shoot the gray side of the Passport. In my opinion, this is probably the most accurate way to get perfect colors, but even then, sometimes my colors can be off. Usually, when my colors are off, it is due to mixed lighting situations. But, for a beach picture, you should do ok since there are no mixed lighting. </p>

<p>Of course, my advice only applies to your future pictures. If your pictures look too green, adjust the tint towards magenta. If the picture looks too yellow, adjust the WB to be cooler and the tint towards magenta. I usually don't play with the Hue and Saturation settings because I tend to mess them up more, and the Color Checker takes care of it anyways. I also don't use Brightness, but I do understand that the Brightness in LR has the advantage of affecting only the midtones. If you are using LR, I prefer using the exposure to control brightness, then using the fill light and blacks to give the picture a little pop. I also use the Tone Curve for contrast.</p>

<p>You can also try changing the "Adobe Standard" profile. I always use my own profiles created from the Color Checker, but LR has several different profiles you can use. Good luck!</p>