Photography Phriday… Gimme Some Color
Hey all! Cyndi here to give you a quick little photo tip today.
I love to take pictures in natural light. I love the colors and how wonderful they look in the sun. But at times, depending on if my subject is in the shade or as was the case with this picture, the car… the photo can look a little dull.
Check out this cute pic of my little man, Dan (a good friend’s little boy).
We were in the car and he was hugging his chick and it was just so cute, I couldn’t resist taking a picture (can anyone relate?) But we were in the car and although it was a bright day outside, the picture looks dull and gray. Here are a few steps I take to add light and hopefully save the picture.
Open your pic in your software program. Mine is Adobe Photoshop CS2. Create a new adjustment layer by clicking on the little half white/half black circle. Click on levels.
The levels tab will open. Set a dark point by clicking on the black eye dropper and then clicking on the darkest spot of your picture.
Do the same with the white eye dropper and click on the lightest part of your pic (sometimes you have to click on a couple different light spots to find just the right look.)
On this pic I clicked on the light part of his finger, real close to his cuticle. The program then brought light into the rest of the picture without blowing out that little spot. (And now you can REALLY see all the dirt on his little chick!!) These colors are truer to what my eyes saw when he was sitting in the back seat of the car.
Much better 
It may not work for every picture but it doesn’t take a whole lot of time, so I think it’s worth a try. This procedure has saved a few of my pics. Hope it works for you.
Happy Friday!!
May 8th, 2009 at 8:20 am
wow i never knew what to do with the levels toolbar, this is fab thanks!
May 8th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Thank you! Very helpful!
May 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am
This was a great tip and simple to do. Thanks for sharing, Cyndi. This was a great tip and simple to do.