Considerations When Using Automatic Color Correction
Although automatic color corrections are much simpler to learn and perform than manual corrections, practice and experience will still improve your ability to correct a range of images with different color characteristics. If one set of automatic corrections does not produce good results, remove it and try a different combination. Remember also that some images with extreme color characteristics might require manual correction in addition to or instead of automatic correction.
The following tips and suggestions will help you to achieve the best possible results when using automatic color correction:
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The Auto Contrast correction is most useful for images that should
have both areas of strong highlight (white or close to white) and areas
of strong shadow (black or close to black). If you make an Auto
Contrast correction on an image that should not have such a full tonal
range (many close-ups fall into this category), the correction might
introduce too much contrast. When an image requires strong highlights
but not strong shadows (or the reverse), you can use the Auto White or
the Auto Black button to set the white or black point without making
the overall range of tones too extreme.
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When you perform both an Auto Contrast and an Auto Balance
correction, the order in which you perform these two operations affects
the final quality of the correction. In most cases, you will achieve the
best results for most images by doing the following:
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In the Hue Offsets subdividing tab of the HSL tab, use Auto
Contrast first, and then use Auto Balance
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In the Curves tab, use Auto Balance first, and then use Auto
Contrast
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There is usually no gain in performing an automatic correction more
than once on the same image, even if the second correction would be
made in a different group from the first. For example, once you have
performed an Auto Balance in the Curves tab, you will not usually see
any improvement in the color balance of the image if you perform a
second Auto Balance either in the Curves tab or in the Hue Offsets
subdividing tab of the HSL tab.
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If an Auto Contrast and Auto Balance combination has improved an
image but some color cast remains, you can often fine-tune the
correction using one or more of the Remove Color Cast buttons.
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Automatic corrections you make in the Hue Offsets subdividing tab of
the HSL tab and those you make in the Curves tab do not produce
identical results for most images (and might produce markedly
different results for some images). This is because the methods for
calculating the corrections are different and because the controls that
are being adjusted operate differently. Automatic corrections in the
Curves tab often work well for correcting basic problems caused by
incorrect camera color balancing. Automatic corrections in the Hue
Offsets subdividing tab of the HSL tab are often better for more
extreme problems such as bad lighting conditions. However, there are
no rules that cover all situations. If automatic correction in one color
correction group does not yield good results, remove it and try a
correction in the other group.
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