Now that the holiday shopping rush is over, I'm slowly redoing some of the photos in my Etsy shop.
I like using white backgrounds for my photos, but sometimes it seems impossible to take a good photo on a white background. One problem I've noticed is that occasionally the backgrounds appear to be slightly yellow, green, or blue-gray, rather than pure white. I've read that the yellowish light can come from taking photos indoors with artificial lights, while the blue-gray cast can come from outdoor shots.
It's especially frustrating since I never see the problem when I'm looking at the screen on my digital camera while taking the photos. It's only later, when I've opened the photos on the computer to resize them, that I notice it. I can't always immediately retake the photos, so I've been trying to see if any of them are salvageable.
Before
This frog magnet is a great example. It looks like I took the photo on dingy, cream-colored paper or under a yellowish light bulb.
I was very happy when I discovered an easy way to fix it.
The Solution
Here's how to fix it in the two versions of Photoshop I have:
Photoshop CS5
1. Open Photoshop.
2. Open the image file to edit.
3. Select Image, then Adjustments and then Match Color. Click next to the Neutralize box. Click on OK.
Alternate method: You can also try selecting Image and then Auto Color and that may fix the problem, too.
Photoshop Elements 4
1. Open Photoshop.
2. Open the image file to edit.
3. Go to the Enhance menu and select Adjust Color, then Remove Color Cast. Click on the background of the photo until it is the color you want. (Usually it's just one click to get the white background corrected.)
If you need instructions for other versions of Photoshop, search the web for the words: color cast Photoshop and you'll find a variety of tutorials. Apparently, this problem and various solutions have been around for awhile.
That's a pretty dramatic difference! The photo's still dark, so I'd want to lighten it before using it, but at least the background doesn't have that sickly tinge of color.
I like knowing that I have another quick editing trick when I don't have the time or ideal conditions to take more photographs.
Do you have a great photo editing trick to share?