Read on to see what tools can help adjust your image in each of these three major graphics programs.
Repairing Inaccurate Color
Not every scene is going to come out looking stellar.
Stylizing Images With Color: How Much is Too Much?
In other words, be careful when you edit your images.
However, there’s nothing wrong with attempting unnatural color to stylize an image.
For most beginners in photo editing, simply trying to recreate true color will be quite a challenge.
Basic Tools with Surprising Control Over Color
Hue/Saturation: Basic tool for adjusting HSB values.
The top slider will adjust the values that represents the range of various colors.
Green shifts to Yellow, Purple shifts to Red, Blue Shifts to Green, and so on.
The GIMP and Photoshop have similar, powerful Hue/Saturation tools, unlike the simple slider in Paint.NET.
Available in Photoshop, Paint.NET, and GIMP.
Selective Color is Photoshop only.
See the video above to see dramatic color adjustments with this tool.
Photoshop and GIMP both provide a nearly identical Color Balance tool.
Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET all have very similar Curves tools.
All three programs have levels tools with very similar functions, if not similar user interfaces.
Image Credits: Girl in Kimono byBiggerPictureImages.com, available underCreative Commons.
Betelnut girl Ada, Taoyuan bybignosetw, available underCreative Commons.
Indian girls bygustaffo89, available underCreative Commons.
bySprengben, available underCreative Commons.
