Camera, Lens, Light, and Color From Shoot to Print and Everything In-Between; A Guide Toward More Professional Digital Images by Ed Ruth

Author:Ed Ruth [Ruth, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2018-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

To use ColorChecker to create a camera profile for your camera, start by taking a photograph with ColorChecker open so that the Creative Enhancement target is on top and the Classic 24 patch target is on the bottom. The target should occupy a generous amount of the photograph. Expose the target properly by protecting it from direct illumination. A “clipped” (underexposed or overexposed) target will not produce a suitable image for color calibration and the ColorChecker’s Passport software will reject any such exposure. Next, bring the image into Camera Raw. Save the file as a DNG (digital negative) using Camera Raw’s “Save Image” option found in the extreme lower left of the Camera Raw screen. I created a directory to hold all ColorChecker DNG files. Select “Cancel” to close the Raw Plugin.

Now, open ColorChecker’s “ColorChecker Passport” software program. Navigate to the folder that contains the saved target image file. Drag and drop the image file into Passport. The program then generates a camera profile and places it in the “Adobe > Camera Raw > Camera Profiles” folder. You should name the profile. Pick a name that reminds you of the shoot. Close Photoshop if it is open because the Camera Profiles Folder needs to be refreshed for the profile you created to become visible. Reopen Photoshop and open a Raw file taken at the same shoot as the image file of the ColorChecker target. Now open Camera Raw’s “Camera Calibration” option. Click the camera icon in the bar just below the histogram, and then open Camera Profile. Under the “Camera Profiles” drop-down menu, you will find the profile name you created using Passport. The colors of the image in Camera Raw change according to the calibration information contained in the DNG file that you created.

You can also set white balance in Camera Raw using the ColorChecker’s targets as a white balance card. Once the ColorChecker image file is open in Camera Raw, click the Camera Raw adjustment panel’s White Balance eyedropper tool over the white balance targets in ColorChecker’s “Creative Enhancement Target” to correct white balance or create a warmer or cooler image in minute increments. I have found this technique to be very useful in creating a solid foundation of white balance and color accuracy for an image. Color correction and white balance adjustment in JPEG images also use ColorChecker but you must either use Bridge to open JPEG files in Camera Raw or change Camera Raw’s preferences so that JPEG images (and TIFF files if you wish) open in Camera Raw by default. This is good practice.

When using artificial lights or a remote flash, obtain the exact Kelvin temperature from the manufacturer. Close is not good enough. Get the exact color temperature. A camera’s “flash” white balance option matches the color temperature of the onboard flash and may not be suitable for remote flashes. Flashes have a color temperature of about 5500K but knowledge of the exact color temperature of individual models is useful in the pursuit of accuracy.

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