Thursday, October 17, 2013

CoffeeShop Color Cast Killer Photoshop/PSE Action!


Today I am posting a new Photoshop/PSE action called Color Cast Killer.  This action allows you to find and remove color casts and also has a layer where you can boost color/contrast.  I love using this action because I sometimes look at an image and know the color is slightly off, but can't figure out what is wrong without playing with layers.  This could be the first action you run on a SOOC image that needs editing because it gives you a "clean" edit.

I want to thank Erica (Linegar Photography) for allowing me to use this adorable SOOC (straight-from the camera) image for my tutorial.

CoffeeShop Color Cast Killer Action Tutorial:


This action is a perfect first edit step or clean edit action for SOOC images because you can fix color casts and boost color/contrast.   I think this image has a bit of a yellow cast on the skin that needs to be removed.





Start the action and press OK when the Levels 1 pane pops up.


Adjust the contrast of the image by using the sliders under the graph.  I love this tutorial on Everyday Elements which shows an easy way to get a simple color pop.  All you do is move the shadow slider to the right some and then move the middle slider to the left until you get a contrast/color pop.  I also moved the highlight slider up a bit to lighten the whites.  I think the image is looking much brighter now. I keep this layer in normal blending mode.


To remove color casts, turn on the layer labeled with the color you want to remove.  In this case I turned on the Yellow layer and adjusted the opacity to 49%.  I really think his skin color looks much nicer now.

If you know the colors are off but need help figuring out what is wrong, simply turn on each layer until your image looks more pleasing and adjust the opacity of that layer to taste.  Easy, right?  You can also add a layer mask and add the color layer selectively.


The beautiful image I used for the before/after below is from Victoria Ford of Photography by Victoria Ford (Facebook Page).  I removed the yellow from her skin and added some contrast.



You can also download the free here.

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop Actions or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks!!! I am eager to try it out :):)

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  2. Thanks for this action!

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  3. Thank you so much!! Your actions and website are amazing.

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  4. This is going to be very helpful. Thank you!

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  5. Hi! Is this action still available? The link isn’t working. I just discovered your site and have learned so much from the tutorials. Painting with Light is one of my faves.

    Have you ever thought about doing pet portrait actions? For example, I have black cats that sometimes get greenish blue color casts. I would love presets or actions to improve my indoor pet photos.

    Thank you for this wonderful resource.

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    1. Kay, the first link didn't work but the second one did, so I removed the first link! Thank you for letting me know. And I have a black dog and that is a great idea. I will look into doing an action for pets. Rita

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