Color Equalizer Read-me file.

About Color Equalizer
Color Equalizer is a plug-in for Photoshop to intuitively change saturation and brightness in images.

Disclaimer: This software is provided "as is". No warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, are given. Not even to its functionality, use and applicability. Read the License agreement for further information.

Contents of this Read-me file:
1. Installation
2. Preview
3. Saturation sliders
4. Brightness sliders
5. Preserve Maximum
6. Correcting color fringing
7. Known issues and incompatibilities

1. Installation
Move or Copy the filter plug-in to your Photoshop filters folder, (re)start Photoshop, then the filter should be available under:

filter --> theimagingfactory --> Color Equalizer...

 

TIP: You can reset values to the last used setting by holding the alt-key while selecting cancel.
To reset values to the initial defaults, hold both the alt-key and shift-key while selecting cancel!

 

2. Preview
This plugin shows the results of its calculations in a preview pane. To better judge the effect of your settings the preview can be zoomed by the zoom-buttons below the preview pane indicated with a "+" (plus) and "-" (minus) symbol. Alternatively you can use the cmd-"+" or cmd-"-" key sequence.

A percentage of scaling is given between the zoom buttons. You can click the percentage text to quickly switch between 100% and best fit. If the preview is larger than the preview pane you can scroll through the preview by clicking the mouse in the previewpane and subsequently draging the preview.

The preview checkbox next to the preview pane allows you to switch between previewing the original data and previewing the filtered data. Mac users can use the ctrl-space key sequence to quickly switch the preview checkbox.

 

3. Saturation sliders
The top row of vertical sliders are the saturation sliders. Each slider above the hue bar controls the saturation of the corresponding color area. The first slider controls the red colors in the image, the second slider controls the yellow colors, etc. The last slider is the master slider, which controls the overall saturation of the image.
Note that the maximum saturation is not changed, just the pastel tints. Especially usefull for correcting skin tones, and for preparing an image for B&W conversion. (Also see our B&W Conversion plugins).

TIP: To reset values to the last used setting, hold the alt-key while selecting cancel.
To reset values to the initial defaults, hold both the alt-key and shift-key while selecting cancel!

 

4. Brightness sliders
The bottom row of vertical sliders are the brightness sliders. Each slider above the hue bar controls the brightness of the corresponding color area. The first slider controls the red colors in the image, the second slider controls the yellow colors, etc. The last slider is the master slider, which controls the overall brightness of the image.
Note that the minimum and maximum brightness are not changed, just the mid-tones are affected.

 

5. Preserve Maximum
By default the color equalizer corrects both saturation, as well as brightness using a gamma curve. Decreasing the sliders to negative values will primarily change the "pastel-tints" and "mid-tones". Sometimes it can be necessary to correct the fully saturated colors as well.
Turning off the Preserve Maximum in the Saturation section (by unchecking the checkbox) allows you to desaturate entire color areas, which enables special effects such as B&W images with partial duotones;
Turning off the Preserve Maximum in the Brightness section (by unchecking the checkbox) allows you to darken entire color areas (even the fully saturated color), which enables color corrections that preserve contrast.

6. Color fringing
One of the many interesting applications of this plugin is correcting color fringing. Color fringing sometimes occurs in digital images captured using a CCD. This effect appears as a (usually purplish) halo around overexposed areas in the image. Because the halo color primarily consists of a pastel tint, the corresponding color area can be desaturated using this filter which can effectively remove the entire artifact.

7. Known issues and incompatibilities
- For the NT family of OSes this plugin requires Windows NT 5.0 or higher!
- The windows versions will occasionally not update its values when first selecting a slider followed by immediate dragging. In this case, briefly release the mouse, then resume dragging.

For questions, suggestions, comments and other issues regarding this product, or for general information regarding all of our products you can visit our web-site at www.theimagingfactory.com.