Photo Filter

Something else to take into consideration when preparing images for print is color temperature. Some of the images that you are working with may contain an unwanted “warm” or “cool” color cast, whereas others may require a warm or cool shift to emphasize the subject matter of the photo, and ultimately the message of your print design or layout. “Warm” images contain a predominant amount of reds, yellows, and oranges. “Cool” images contain a predominant amount of blues, cyans, and purples.

Photo Filter allows you to emulate the same filters that professional photographers use to correct tainted color temperature. It can be applied by choosing Image --> Adjustments --> Photo Filter, or by adding a Photo Filter adjustment layer. The Photo Filter dialog box allows you to choose a warming or cooling filter to apply to your image. You can also control the density (or strength) of the filter by moving the Density slider at the bottom of the dialog. The Preserve Luminosity option applies the color effect without altering density. Disabling this option darkens the effect.

Although there are much better tools for removing color casts, such as Levels or Curves, Photo Filter can be a lot easier to work with when correcting color temperature. You can use the warming filters to remove blue color casts or to add emphasis to warm images such as a sunrise or sunset. Cooling filters can remove yellow or orange color casts, or accentuate the cold nature of images such as a winter scene.