How to optimise colour in your images
Peter Burian provides tips for getting the most suitable image colour balance and saturation with in-camera and software options.
As one of the most important aspects in digital imaging, colour rendition can make or break any image. Just about everyone loves pictures with rich, accurate hues and tones which enhance the subject. But we’re less impressed with photos which exhibit flat, dull colours or an artificial neon-like dazzle which seems garish. Much better results are possible, of course, by using some basic techniques. There’s no official standard for “correct” colour rendition. As a rule of thumb though, “optimal" colour is the one which is suitable for the scene or subject. That usually starts with an accurate colour balance without an unpleasant colour cast like green or magenta. It also refers to appropriate saturation. For example, you might want rich vivid hues in travel photos, but a softer, more realistic rendition of skin and hair tones in portraits. Occasionally, you can achieve the desired effect with your camera's default settings, but often you'll want to take advantage of more advanced techniques.
Optimise Colour Balance
Although we tend to perceive most types of illumination as white, the colour of light can vary significantly. That’s why images made under different types of illumination with Auto White Balance may exhibit an unusual colour cast - blue, yellow/red or green, for instance. Let’s consider why this problem occurs and how to prevent or correct it. Outdoors, the light is white only during the hours around noon on a sunny day. In overcast conditions or in a heavily shaded area, the light is quite blue, while at sunrise and sunset it’s yellow or red in tone. Indoors, the colour of artificial light varies too. It’s green with older fluorescent tubes, orange with household lamps and even stranger colours with sodium vapour or more esoteric types of lighting. In any of these conditions, your images may have an unsatisfactory colour cast...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Tips on how to improve your digital post-production workflow; How to use Photoshop Layers and Masks; Profile: Dr Alison Nordstrom; Tips on how to sell gear on eBay; Locations: Redland District, Qld; Canon EOS 600D SLR.
This story was first published in the Australian Photography September 2011 issue of Australian Photography > September 2011.
