Pictured is a photo damaged due to incorrect scan settings.
If you use conventional color correction methods to process it, the result will be: incomprehensible
If you think it still needs to exist, read on.
The reason why many people cannot fix this picture is because they treat this picture as a color cast to correct it. As a result, they spend a lot of effort and the result is still terrible. I think this is not a color cast. The bright and pale color on it has nothing to do with the original environment of the picture, but is an acquired contamination that pollutes the inherent color balance of the picture.
Step One: Color Levels
1. Reduce the output color level to 187 (it doesn’t matter if the amplitude is smaller)
Goal: Reduce the influence of the "Matthew Effect" in image adjustment. Some people may ask: What is the "Matthew Effect"? In short: what you want, it takes away, what you don’t want, it forces it on you. Reducing the brightness or contrast of the image can effectively reduce the impact of the "Matthew Effect".
2. Increase red and weaken cyan and blue.
3. The tone of the green channel is normal and is listed as a key protection object. Do not move.
The second step is to create color levels with a mask. After completing this step, I feel that ADOBE should add a tool, which is called smart color levels. This step only adjusts the composite channel.
Goal: Using the green channel as a benchmark, the red and blue channels are shifted toward the green channel to generate normal tones. Here are the details of fixing the damage to the red and blue channels.
