3b. Getting Started: Color Editing Tools

EditLab has four color editing tools, arranged into a particular sequence. Graphically, the tools are shown in the window on tabs at the top of the edit tool panel:

Each of the four editing tools is activated by clicking on its tab. From left to right we have:

	Color balance, which is used to remove global color casts.
	Black, gray and white point selection, which is used to alter the range of the tones.
	Global brightness, contrast and saturation controls which are used to redistribute the tone values between black and white, and between neutral and fully saturated colors.
	Hue selective edits, which provide brightness, saturation and hue controls which are constrained to user defined hue regions.

The particular order of these tools allows a systematic method of color correction that reduces the amount of interaction among them. For example, if the image has a global color cast, we should fix that problem first before performing hue selective edits. If we did the hue selective edits first, we would find that color balancing would alter the hue that was specified for the hue selective edit. We would end up going back and forth between the two tools.

The logical progression of the editing tools is this:

1. Remove any color cast with the color balance tool, even though there may be other problems remaining. Once the balance has been fixed, none of the other three editing tools can ruin it, no matter how they are used.
2. After balancing, we progress to setting the black and white points. This usually (but not necessarily) pushes the blacks to darker values and stretches the whites to lighter values. The color balance from the previous step is not affected by this tool. When we have set the black and white points, our image is color balanced and covers the desired tone range at black and white. The distribution of tones between black and white may be changed with the gray point, and further modified with the next tool.
3. The brightness, contrast and saturation tool is used to redistribute the tones between full black and full white, and increase or decrease the saturation of non-neutral colors. This tool does not affect color balance, nor does it affect the black and white points.
4. After using these first three tools, the gray scale is correct in terms of balance, range and tone distribution. With that out of the way, we can zero in on any necessary corrections to the non-neutral colors. The hue selective editing tool is used for this purpose. Again note that this tool cannot alter the color balance, black point, white point or tone distribution, so the work you accomplished with the first three tools is protected.

Although the sequence of editing tools is fixed, you are certainly free to perform the editing operations in whatever order you choose. Because of the observation that each tool cannot affect any tools to its left, it is strongly recommended that you make the first pass through the tools from left to right, reserving the right to go back and make smaller refinements, if needed. If you do go back (moving from right to left), you will probably want to temporarily disable SmartColor Mode. Otherwise, controls that you have already set in tools to the right of the current tool will be changed to automatic settings, as described in the next section.