Making Colors POP In Photoshop

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by GordonMcGregor

What sort of detail are you losing ? Do you mean fine tonal differences within one range of colour ?

I am not so well versed in color adjustments to speak to it verbally... I will look for an example tonight and do some basic editing to show you what I mean...

The best way I can describe it is... the more you boost a saturation or color element the more you loose some of the natural shading caused either by the coloring itself or the lighting in that image... example... a green leaf macro... the more you boost the green or saturation ... the harder it becomes to see the detail between the veins/leaf and some of the fine plant hair elements

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by res0m50r

The best way I can describe it is... the more you boost a saturation or color element the more you loose some of the natural shading caused either by the coloring itself or the lighting in that image... example... a green leaf macro... the more you boost the green or saturation ... the harder it becomes to see the detail between the veins/leaf and some of the fine plant hair elements

Yup - that is certainly true.

The fix ? Don't boost it so much. There is only so high that saturation can go - you'll eventually start clipping and everything gets mushed together, giving you the loss of subtle detail that you are talking about.

That's the point I was trying to get at about exploiting colour relationships - if you take pictures that are well composed from a colour standpoint, or edited with an awareness of colour theory, then you don't have to artificially enhance it to the point of turning it in to a cartoon, to get good colour POP.

Things like knowing that warm colours appear to be coming towards you, while cool colours 'retreat' lets you edit to add depth to a scene, without having to push the colours so far as to lose the detail in the way you describe.

[beetleman]

Gordon that is exactly what I have started doing. Adjust the black to see what areas are affected and then adjust accordingly. I have found that manipulating the white can really help on some blown highligts.

[Silvernic]

Thanks Gordon, I knew I could count on you.

[huxley]

i dont want to make people feel bad and im not trying to sound condescending but that is what i teach in my basic high school art class. color theory is very important and if you can train your minds "eye" to see the relationships of color, youll soon discover and "see" new relationships in your photos. what gordon was saying (as usual :( ) was right on the money. if your trying to match colors in photoshop a free site is www.easyrgb.com type in the color numbers and it gives you complimentary colors. color theory can get complicated real fast if your not careful. check out www.colormatters.com for more color theory info and youll see what i mean. i hope these help.

huxley

[Gordon]

I get a frowny face for being right on the money ? :(

I keep meaning to write something on colour theory for photographers. You are right that it can get complex, quickly. However, it doesn't really need to be, at least from a photography stand point. There are some things that will help and enhance pictures and composition. As you said, it really is a matter of understanding the basic relationships then looking for them.

I think often, colour gets overlooked as a critical part of a good composition.

[jeffkohn]

Speaking of color theory here's a pretty decent book on the topic. Not the easiest read, but it does cover color theory in-depth. To a certain extent the book is written for painters, not specifically. But unlike some of the other books on this topic this one sticks to the theory and doesn't spent a bunch of time on stuff like paints and dyes. So even though most of the examples discussed are paintings, it's still relevent for photography.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047...lance&n=283155

[huxley]

gordon,

it was a frown of envy! you seem to have a good handle on most concepts covered around here and i have come to trust your posts (for the most part :) ). i just wish i had just as good a handle on the broad range photography can cover...thats all.... satisfied!??? :P

huxley

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by huxley

gordon,

it was a frown of envy! you seem to have a good handle on most concepts covered around here and i have come to trust your posts (for the most part :) ). i just wish i had just as good a handle on the broad range photography can cover...thats all.... satisfied!??? :P

huxley

A large pinch of salt is worth having for any posts on the internet though...

[huxley]

yes for the posts salt will work and thats how i take em. however, that broad range will translate into your photos. knowing and not knowing will (to me) make the difference in a superior/inferior photo. (or is it just the salt on my shoulder? im confused now.)