Problems getting BROWNS and REDS Accurate

[Dirty Butter]

We sell plush toys, and I take photos in a light box with 100 watt Reveal light bulbs for illumination. The colors are accurate when I view them in my camera, but when I view them in Corel I have a problem with all brown animals. The colors are always too yellowish and always lighter than they should be. If there are various colors in the photo, the browns are accurate. This has been true through several different versions of Corel and several different cameras and laptops. I've been attempting to correct this by adjusting the contrast and setting the color balance to Cooler. But there's got to be a better way!

The other problem deals with all bright red toys. The red shows in the photos as a red blob with little detail, like the color is bleeding over. I've not found any way around this problem.

I hope someone can offer some suggestions.

[Tadjio]

What camera are you using and are you using RAW?

[WilsonC]

Is your monitor calibrated? Is this "strange color" happening in any other software?

[wds937]

A quick Google scan of the web, using reveal bulb photography in the search box, suggests you are not alone in this problem. In particular, many of the issues discussed remind me of the color film days, using daylight film with tungsten bulbs. While Reveal bulbs may be a little less warm than regular bulbs, they are still warmer than natural daylight.

In the film world, camera filters were the attempted solution. While this may work in the digital world, many cameras have settings for this specific compensation, and some have other settings that will shift the color balance in various ways. However, I prefer to have the camera produce a fairly neutral image and then let PSP do its thing afterward.

A few things you can try (probably only one at a time):

• Effects > Photo Effects > Film and Filters...; under Film looks, choose Vibrant foliage
• Effects > Photo Effects > Film and Filters...; under Filter color, choose Cooling
• Adjust > Color Balance...; check Advanced Options and experiment with the settings
• Try one of more of the suggestions in this thread: http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... 05&start=0

For the last part of your question, about the bright red, it sounds as though the color in the picture may be too saturated. Try correcting that using either of these:

• Adjust > Hue and Saturation > Hue/Saturation/Lightness...; drag the Saturation slider down somewhat
  Adjust > Hue and Saturation > Vibrancy...; drag the Strength slider to the left (negative number)