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Lab colour in CS3

jaapv

Subscriber Member
Following the advice somebody gave me, I found I could get very nice colours applying lab colour (soft light) There often seems to be a channel that improves. But I have no idea. What am I actually doing then?
 
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TRSmith

Subscriber Member
My impression is that LAB color mode holds some exciting and creative possibilities. I haven't explored it too deeply, but plan to. One avenue for that exploration will be to follow the newest tutorial on the "Chromasia" site. Some very good online training there for specific photoshop effects and techniques.

With all due respect to the authors of this forum, the site can be found here: http://www.chromasia.com/ It is fee-based instruction, but the charge is quite reasonable considering the depth of the information.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Not exactly sure what you're asking but...

1) Changing the mode from RGB to Lab color should theoretically have no effect on the color of an image, though in practice it can have minute effects if you go back and forth between Lab and RGB several times due to accumulated conversion error.

2) When you say "soft light" that is a layer blend mode.

If you make a copy layer of your image, then change the blend mode for that new layer to "soft light" you will at the the same time increase both color and saturation on that layer. You can then dial opacity down to moderate the effect. Some folks like to place a color layer in soft light blend mode over a B&W version of the image, then dial down opacity to get a sort of edgy look to the file. However, this result will appear identical whether you are working Lab or RGB...

FYI for our Moab participants, this is a subject we will be covering in detail during the color management session :)

Cheers,
 

jaapv

Subscriber Member
What I do is set in mode: lab colour, then go to: apply image, set the blend mode to soft light and look at the channels offered (lab, a,b) select the one I like best and set the opacity to regulate the effect.
I don't know what it does, but it does change the coulour quite dramatically, and often I like the way it turns out. I really need one of your workshops...:(
 
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Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, you are basically cutting back the saturation and contrast gains from the soft-light blend mode on a per-channel basis. You ultimately get an effect you like, but it's tough to duplicate using that method --- there are better ways to do that in CS...
 

fordfanjpn

Member
Dan Margulis has a whole book on working in the LAB color space. The book is called "Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace". Might be worth looking into if you really want to get into working with LAB color.

Bill
 
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