CS6 question regarding selective WB adjustments

Ok, trying to figure out how to adjust WB on portions of a file. It's a TIFF (from HDR processing from RAW files).

I've tried the following:

-Create a Hue/Saturation Layer
-Select the areas I want to adjust
-Bring down the saturation on the blue channel

Unfortunately, when I do this, it adjusts blue for the WHOLE photo. I'm guessing I need to mask it but I have no idea how to--never used masks.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I can't find anything online explaining this. All of the things I find are adjusting in ACR but not in CS6 itself.

Thanks.

You could open the TIFF in ACR and then use the Adjustment brush to selectively alter the WB.

In CS6 - select the area first, then create the HS layer. As far as masking - black hides, white reveals. Paint on the mask to either hide or reveal the adjustment.

D Thompson wrote in post #14812890
You could open the TIFF in ACR and then use the Adjustment brush to selectively alter the WB.

In CS6 - select the area first, then create the HS layer. As far as masking - black hides, white reveals. Paint on the mask to either hide or reveal the adjustment.

Ah, I hadn't thought of opening it in ACR after it's been converted. Hmm...

And it looks like I'm just doing it wrong. I've been creating the layer then making the selection.

I've seen the paint it black/white but can't quite figure out how to do that. I'll go back and play around with it some more.

Thanks!

Just creating the HS Layer then selecting the area worked like a charm!

Thanks again!

GadgetRick wrote in post #14812938
I've seen the paint it black/white but can't quite figure out how to do that. I'll go back and play around with it some more.

You first have to click on the mask itself to make it active. It's easy in CS6 as you can click on the Mask in the Adjustment properties panel. Where the mask is black will hide the adjustment or whatever layer you have it on. Where it is white will let the adjustment come thru. Think of it like this - you've made the adjustment and looking down on it. You place a piece of clear paper (white) and you can see the adjustment. You then take a brush and paint black on the paper. It will hide the adjustment or whatever layer you're using the mask on. Masks are extremely powerful and one of the things that can really help you out.

GadgetRick wrote in post #14812948
Just creating the HS Layer then selecting the area worked like a charm!

I think you got that backwards .

D Thompson wrote in post #14812993
You first have to click on the mask itself to make it active. It's easy in CS6 as you can click on the Mask in the Adjustment properties panel. Where the mask is black will hide the adjustment or whatever layer you have it on. Where it is white will let the adjustment come thru. Think of it like this - you've made the adjustment and looking down on it. You place a piece of clear paper (white) and you can see the adjustment. You then take a brush and paint black on the paper. It will hide the adjustment or whatever layer you're using the mask on. Masks are extremely powerful and one of the things that can really help you out.

I think you got that backwards .

Thanks for the detailed explanation on how to do it. I've resisted learning things like this for way too long. Now that I'm starting to learn these little things (which are always easier than I thought they'd be), my PP has really gone to another level.

I appreciate it!!

GadgetRick wrote in post #14813060
Thanks for the detailed explanation on how to do it. I've resisted learning things like this for way too long. Now that I'm starting to learn these little things (which are always easier than I thought they'd be), my PP has really gone to another level.

I appreciate it!!

Glad to help. For some reason layer masks seem to be confusing at first, but learning how to use them opens up so many options.

You don't have to worry if your selection isn't perfect as you can always clean the mask up by painting black/white on it.

Here's a quick way of setting up an adjustment layer with a mask:

With the background layer active, draw a selection around the part that you want adjusted.

Then, create your desired adjustment layer -- it should open with the masking around your selection so that whatever adjustment you apply will only be to the selected area (in white, surrounded by black).

The layer "attributes" can be applied to alter the effects. They are fun to play with, not just opacity, but the various blend modes as well.

tonylong wrote in post #14815632
Here's a quick way of setting up an adjustment layer with a mask:

With the background layer active, draw a selection around the part that you want adjusted.

Then, create your desired adjustment layer -- it should open with the masking around your selection so that whatever adjustment you apply will only be to the selected area (in white, surrounded by black).

The layer "attributes" can be applied to alter the effects. They are fun to play with, not just opacity, but the various blend modes as well.

I was doing this backwards. Now I've got it right.

Thanks again for everyone helping!!

Just do it in ACR, it takes seconds.

tim wrote in post #14819253
Just do it in ACR, it takes seconds.

On one file...problem is, I shoot anywhere from 100-200 per property (3-shot bracketing for HDR) and I can do multiple properties in a day. Just not feasible for my workflow.

ACR will be MUCH faster than doing it in Photoshop. Are you familiar with ACR? Just open your batch of images, choose the change to paint in, then quickly go through the images doing it. It's not as precise as Photoshop, but good enough for most things IMHO.

tim wrote in post #14822324
ACR will be MUCH faster than doing it in Photoshop. Are you familiar with ACR? Just open your batch of images, choose the change to paint in, then quickly go through the images doing it. It's not as precise as Photoshop, but good enough for most things IMHO.

I'm not familiar with ACR. Currently, I bring everything into LR. If it's HDR, I use either HDR Efex Pro or CS6 for combining images for HDR. I'll do some editing in CS6 but most in LR.

It's more about speed for me but if I can find a faster/better way to do it I'm game.

GadgetRick wrote in post #14822562
I'm not familiar with ACR. Currently, I bring everything into LR. If it's HDR, I use either HDR Efex Pro or CS6 for combining images for HDR. I'll do some editing in CS6 but most in LR.

It's more about speed for me but if I can find a faster/better way to do it I'm game.

ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) and Lightroom have the same editing functions for Raw processing.

They both have a "local adjustment brush" that you can use for adjusting selected portions of the image for averything from White Balance, Exposure, all that stuff, including Sharpening and Noise Reduction, if you have a recent version of Photoshop/Lightroom.

For many folks and uses using Photoshop layers and masks can be easier/more effective than the LR/ACR brushes, but it's certainly worth getting accustomed to those brushes...you may find it suits your needs without needin to resort to the Photoshop editor.

Read about local adjustments in the latest ACR/LR, it's a brush that's quick and easy to use.