Help...colors off

[beblessed]

Hi, I took some outside portraits and even after changing the colors on the histogram they still look a little red after having them printed. Is there anything I could have done at the shoot to have prevented the red in the first place? Also, can anyone recommend a tool to calibrate my monitor so that my colors are accuarate...

[thebishopp]

xrite eyeone display 2
spyder3

they do have a red tinge. most likely do to how how close the subject was to that deep red wall behind her (number2). Number one looks like a red tinge but it might be due to her complexion - possibly increased by what looks to be another reddish background. keep in mind that light reflected off of a colored object tends to have the tint of that colored object.

[Darvon]

One of two things to do: 1. shoot in raw and then color balance, or 2. do a custom white balance at the time of shooting with a gray card (if your camera has a white balance feature).

[Grimlock]

I also recommend the Spyder series. Cheap and does the job, period. There are calibrators out there that are much better, but let's be honest here... Do you need to spend $2000+ to get your monitor to display the correct colors? Unless you're doing serious marketing photos, I wouldn't worry about it. I've had good experiences with the consumer based technology available. And I only paid 50 bucks for mine.

P.S. Yes, the images posted above are very red and just need a accurate WB correction.

[beblessed]

Thank for the advance...I have photoshop 6.0 professional...I know it's old. :) Is there anything I can do to change the pics in photoshop other than working in curves after I change the histogram settings? When I mess with them in curves to remove the red then I get tints of yellow or blue pictures. BLAH...

I am def looking at getting Spyder3. Neat product...I do a lot of pics of my kids and their friends and will find that to be a very useful tool. A lot of them can't afford to have pro pics done and yet still want to have nice SR pictures. I have 2 SR's I am supposed to shoot in October so I need to try and get this figured out before then. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Overall I am pleased with the sharpness of the pics and will use the gaussain blur tool once the colors are right.

I am using the Rebel XT...

you mentioned a gray card...how is that used? Is it better to always shoot in RAW?

[Darvon]

Thank for the advance...I have photoshop 6.0 professional...I know it's old. :) Is there anything I can do to change the pics in photoshop other than working in curves after I change the histogram settings? When I mess with them in curves to remove the red then I get tints of yellow or blue pictures. BLAH...
................

you mentioned a gray card...how is that used? Is it better to always shoot in RAW?

When you adjust in curves and you are going into the separate color curves, right? If so to reduce red, pull the particular red curve down slightly. Then if it looks too magenta, go into the green curve and push that up slightly. Same with the blue curve - if too yellow, then add blue.

For a gray card you can do one of two things. Set the camera on the custom white balance, fill the screen with with the card under the lighting conditions that you will be using for your shots. Then either use the camera right then and there to adjust... OR use that photo of the gray card to color balance in PS with the midtones color "pointer" and sync all other photos to that shot. I don't think I'm explaining it very well, but hopefully you're getting the point. I can get more detailed if you want.

One thing to note is when I use PS and the midtones pointer to do the gray balance, I've noticed a yellow shift, so I usually adjust to my own preference any way.

Cheers