I've got two different color balance problems.
the first is where I have two photos that I want to match the lighting in each.
The second is where I have a 'control' and I want another photo or print to 'match' it.
Currently I'm having the second problem. A customer brought in an original painting for us to scan and make holiday cards from. But they also brought in a photo print from a local chain and they have asked me to match the color representation from that print.
It is duller, the blues are purple and it is over all darker. Personally, I think the photo is a horrible representation of the painting. BUT IT IS WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTS. GRRRR.
I've scanned in both the photo and the original drawing. If I print the photo it matches the color of the scan. (but is the wrong crop size and can't be used for the card.) How do I draw color out of that and get my original to 'match' other than just using my eyes? (which is about impossible for me today) I normally use 'sample/target balance' in corel PhotoPaint, but you can't do that between two layers OR between two files. This would be a great change to make in x7 or an update.
Open both images in PP, and then try using Image>Calculations. You will need to play with the settings to copy the properties you want from one image to the other.
NOTE: By default Calculations will create a new image. I would leave this alone, because you cannot use Undo if you overwrite one of the open images. Probably a good reason to work on duplicates of your images to begin with!
Patti
pranderson said:then try using Image>Calculations.
That seems to only work on 1 channel or gray at a time. I need to fully adjust the full RGB mode at once.
Did you try checking the box for "Use all channels" in the Calculations dialog?
pranderson said: "Use all channels" in the Calculations
Alright, I did that and it would be right, but because one is cropped differently than the other, the images don't 'line up' and the smaller crop is the colors I need to match, but I need the full area of the larger scan. :(
I ended up using 'hue/saturation/lightness' and setting the master first, then picking on other colors like green and red.
Had to adjust contrast to get the white point right.
I just hate eyeballing this kind of thing and wish that we had a 'balance' option that allowed you to select color from another file.
I was able to eventually load the target image as an object in the source file so I could use the source/target balance, but it just wasn't able to make the corrections needed and it came out all blochy. I'm still looking for input as I have to do this a few times a year and every time it is a waste of my time. Took 5+ hours between two days. Job retails for $59.