Removing color cast from an area

[MTalley]

I've got a portrait, taken outside in the shade, that unfortunately has a greenish cast under the subject's chin down into the chest area. I'm sure it was caused by sunlight reflecting off the grass quite a distance away. The subject also has a somewhat reddish/ruddy complexion on the face, making the transition even more apparent, especially when printed.

I have PS 5 (I know, I should really update sometime) and PS Elements 2. I've done various corrections in either program for stuff like removing blemishes, correcting an entire photo for bad color casts, etc. However, trying to remove this greenish cast from a limited area of the picture is stumping me.

I managed to use the magic wand tool and select most of the area, but the subject is female and had some stray hairs wandering down through the area. I assume that I want to select a fairly continguous area and adjust the color sliders to fade the greenish cast out, but I'm having problems doing this successfully.

Any pointers? I'll keep searching the web, but most of the tutorials and how-tos that I have run across so far tend to dwell on removing a color cast from an entire picture as opposed to a limited area.

[Chazs]

I'm not sure if PS5 or elements has a "history brush", but it sounds like a job for that. You can fix the colorcast to some more pleasing, select the history brush, and click back the history to the untouched photo. Then slowly "paint" the changes to just the area you want. It may take a little practice; I was a really slow learner with the history brush. Also, if possible, layers are EXTREMELY helpful when touching up any photo.

[MTalley]

Yup, I figured I should probably use a layer to perform the changes. Just wondering, once I have a duplicate layer, what tool I should use. I'll play around some more. At least I've since learned to use a reflector to get a more neutral lighting effect in such conditions.

[nitsch]

Hi Malcolm. Once you have your duplicate layer, apply your changes to it and then add a layer mask. The layer mask will allow you to choose which areas of your modified layer are visible - areas you brush in black will be hidden, white will show.

[MTalley]

Thanks. I'll try that out this weekend sometime.