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Photo Thursdays- When your photos give you the blues

by 37 Comments

This is a how to fix for a reader. If you get home and your photos look something like this, there is something you can do to fix it.
In Picasa, you can open your file and go to tuning then play with the color temperature. That should help but it won’t be perfect. If you want to really be able to fix it, find someone with Photoshop and follow this simple process.

1. Open PhotoShop.
2. Go to “Image,” “Adjustments,” “Levels”
3. Press the “Auto” button. This fixes most of the problems 90% of the time. You may have to do further touch up. Either way, proceed to the next step. If it looks awful, press “Ctrl-Z” on your keyboard. Even when Auto looks pretty good, I do further touchups almost every time.
4. In the dropdown menu above the picture in the Levels palette, select “Blue”
5. Carefully and slowly move the shadows and midtowns to the right. Start with the midtones. Be careful. The more you do this, the more it tends to suck out the red and add the green in the photo.
6. You will probably need to add some red back in the photo, so select “Red” from the dropdown menu above the picture in the Levels palette.
7. Carefully and slowly move the highlights to the left. As you do this, it might blow out the picture. To compensate, carefully (and in a minor way), move the shadows to the right.
8. Your picture should look good. Press “OK.”
9. Now, your picture may be a little flat, so add some contrast by going to the Contrast palette. Don’t add too much.

With this picture, I added some overall highlights and I cropped the photo because I felt it showed too much nothing. I am more than willing to help you guys fix your photos. I prefer if you upload them to flickr or picasa web albums and send me a link from their sites, so I know where you are sending me to. My husband would be angry for days and days if I got a virus on my computer, so I am trying to be careful.

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Comments

  1. says

    How (mostly) simple! It's so sad that I've had Photoshop for 2+ years now and have NO idea how to edit most photos… Fail! 🙂

    Reply

  4. says

    Hey, I found you blog from TMC. I'm a huge photography fan and just recently bought Photoshope Elements and it's so flippin complicated!! Love the tutorials!!
    Plus I love to cook and finding new recipes. Glad I found you blog…new follower! Hope you will stop by and visit!

    Reply

  8. says

    FOund your blog through Follow Friday. Im really loving the photo tutes you have on here! (along with the cute pictures of your kiddos!) I'm following you now. Hop on over to my blog and do the same if you'd like!
    BecauseHeGave.blogspot.com

    Reply

  9. says

    Stumbled into your blog through friday follow 🙂 Really helpful tips, thanks for sharing! Although I don't think I've ever used Picasa before… Hmmmm…

    Anyway, new follower from FF! Hope you can visit mine too! 🙂

    Reply

  13. says

    Stopping by from Friday Follow to say hello. I am your newest follower. I can't wait to check up on your tips – I could use all the help I can get! LOL Hope you have a wonderful day. Please stop by and say hello if you get time. :o)

    Reply

  18. says

    I'm stopping by from FF! I am now following you. When you get a chance stop by my blog.

    I love the camera tips. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  23. says

    I just purchased photo shop elements, but I haven't had time to go through the program yet…Picassa is pretty good..I have done some good work with it…

    Reply

  29. says

    Thanks for fixing that picture! I'll get to doing the rest of them now! Your the BEST! OH, and can I count on you to do some pics of Capriel when we all get to Utah for Scotts wedding, or will you be swamped? Just let me know, I sure wish you would be around to do newborn ones for us.

    Reply

  30. says

    Oh, and just for the record- It was a beautiful, sunny day when those shots were taken. The idiot who took them just did an outdoor shot with her white balance on indoor incandescent lighting. Duh. Another thing for the record- it wasn't me who took the pic. 😉 I know better thanks for my photo guru. ( That would be you Deb.)

    Reply

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