Easy to Use Solutions To Fix Color Cast in Digital Photos

Color cast is every photographers nightmare. It can prove to be the biggest demotivating factor, especially when the photographer went a level ahead to click the right snap. The presence of a yellow shadow on a normal outdoor picture, the orange tint on the picture you clicked in the flower market, or the fact that the sky looks unusually purple instead of blue.

These are some of the several frustrating scenarios where color cast ruins the pictures. To fix color casts in digital photos, you can take the help of some software and simple steps. These will help you get rid of the color cast forever. Read on to find out more about it.

Part 1: Why Do You Find Color Casts on Photos?

The reason the color casts end up running the photos is a simple mistake that photographers make when they adjust the settings on the camera. When taking a snap, adjusting the white balance is a necessity. The main task of white balance is to ensure that the pictures you click look like it is. In other words, white balance is going to take care that the colors in the picture appear close to reality. Any color cast or unwanted tints will not be found on the picture if the white balance is set right.

While that is the main reason, there are several other reasons why there might be a color cast on your picture. For example, if there is a natural light source, any bright colored object that is reflecting light, incompatible light sources during the shoot - all these can also cause color casts in digital photos. The photography experts in the field should be careful about these tiny details. While there are ways to fix color casts in digital photos, it is better to be careful than sorry.

Part 2: How to Fix Color Cast in Photos?

The best way to fix color casts in digital photos is to use appropriate editing software. These have high-end tools that will help you fix the anomalies in the coloring. Some of them are paid options while others are available as free tools on the world wide web. However, if the photo is corrupted or damaged beyond repair, You'll have to go with the repair tools.

We have everything explained clearly for your better understanding.

Method 1: Using Photoshop

Photoshop is one of the best photo editing software that professionals use. It is not just meant for erasing acne, the bad hair or eliminating any objects from the picture. It is capable of neutralizing colors and making them look natural. You can either choose to adjust the color cast on the whole picture or a small portion of it. You need to have some knowledge about the tools and procedures to fix color casts in digital photos using this application. You can do the job in one of these two ways:

#1 Automatic correction

Step 1: Open the picture that you want to edit on the photo editor app.

Step 2: Select the ‘Enhance option from the top tab.

Step 3: From the options that appear, click on ‘Adjust color and ‘remove color cast from the options that appear after that.

Step 4: Now click on the portions of the photo that need the editing and click ‘Ok.

The eyedropper tool is one of the many miracle tools that the photoshop application offers.

Step 1: Go for the layer and right-click on it to choose ‘Convert to Small Objects.

Step 2: On the upper menu bar, choose the ‘Filter option and then go with the ‘Camera Raw Filter.

Step 3: Now you can select the ‘eyedropper icon from the tool options that will appear on top of the screen, below the menu bar.

Step 4: Now you can click on the portion of your images that need color fixing. They will be automatically neutralized. You can also slide the temperature and tint settings on the right side of the page.

Method 2: Using Picasa

If you are one of those lucky people who bought the upgraded Picasa application while it was still available, then it becomes easier to edit the color casts. If not, even the free application provides enough tools to deal with this issue. Heres how you should be going about it.

Step 1: Start off by opening the picture on the Picasa photo editing tool.

Step 2: You need to double-click on the image to open all the editing options that Picasa provides.

Step 3: Go for the tuning tab. Then you can slide the slider to adjust the appropriate lighting and also go for the lighting adjustment that is right next to this setting.

Method 3: Using a free photo editor tool

If you are looking for a 'no investment solution', then you can go with free online tools that will help you with the editing. They have basic settings that let you change the color anomalies, remove the color cast, adjust the tint and also remove the negative influence of the wrong white balance settings.

Several apps are available in the market and you can choose the one that suits your demands. However, one big disadvantage of using free applications is that - you can never be sure about the picture quality. The software is free so you will have to compromise somewhere, such as Mediamodifier, Canva, or Lunapic.

Method 4: Using Repair Softwares - Wondershare Repairit

This should be your option when everything else fails. And also, when the damage is too deep for the editing software to repair. You'll sometimes find that the photo viewer will not be able to open the files or you'll get an error code because of file corruption. In that case, you should be using Wondershare Repairit to completely restore the photo file to its initial condition.

Wondershare Repairit is the best option for everyone, irrespective of your experience with any other repairing software. It can work with 1000+ formats and that includes most of the photo formats. It is an economical option and requires minimal steps to achieve complete Repair.

Step 1: Open Wondershare Repairit on your computer and go with the 'Photo Repair' option on the sidebar. Then upload the damaged file using the 'Add' option.

Step 2: Once the upload is complete, recheck if youve got the right file or all the files and click on 'Repair'. The process will be initiated immediately.

Step 3: After the process is complete, you can preview the files and see how they turned out and then 'Save'.

Optional: You can also go with the ‘Advanced repair option that is right next to the save option. Click on it and initiate 'Repair' for better results.

In the above sections we learned about methods we can use to fix color cast in digital photos, however, we also have shared a few tips below that will help you take better pictures. Let us take a look at these tips.

Part 3: Tips to Avoid Color Cast on Digital Photos

Now that we know how to get out of the problem and fix color casts in Digital Photos, let us understand what we must be doing to avoid the situation in the first place.

1. Format file: The format of your files matters. If you are planning to save your files as jpgwhile shooting them, then we have a better plan for you. Consider saving the files in the RAW format so that you get the right white balance settings for any kind of image.

2. Set Auto White Balance: When you are shooting in an outdoor setup, try to revert back to the ‘Auto white balance settings instead of tweaking everything on your own. This is inevitable in an indoor or dark set up but trust your camera when you are outdoors.If your DNG files turns to white balance, feel free to click it to check.

3. Check reflections: Try to keep the reflective surfaces and objects away while clicking snaps. These can include aluminum sheets, metal surfaces, or even mirrors.

4. Avoid intense light: If you have extremely bright light sources like the intense suns glare, and strong yellow/orange lights, take caution to reduce their influence on the snap. This may cause overexposed or underexposed images.

Conclusion

Though there are several options out there on the world wide web, weve only listed the ones that are sure-shot solutions and have an easy interface. You can get the work done easily even if you are not tech-savvy. If you have a damaged file, completely corrupted and out of reach, we suggest that you go with Wondershare Repairit. It will maintain the terrific quality of your files and restore them to their initial glory.