color-correcting a photo for output as postcard

[nicrose]

hi, i'm making a postcard for a client that will be output in cmyk. I'm using a photo of a swim instructor and a boy that was taken in an indoor pool.

1. I had to take it at 800 speed film because it was indoors and they were moving (swimming, of course). That caused a lot of grain and blue color cast, most of which I have removed. But, being a low-light photo, it looks a bit grayish, not very rich in color. Is there a way to deal with this? Originally, this was going to be a B/W ad, so color was not an issue.

2. Most importantly, what setting should I use in in the levels adjustment (if any) to deal with final output issues? For example, it will be printed on waterproof glossy postcard stock, so how is that going to affect the output? Do I need to make a levels adjustment for the glossiness?

3. I am quite worried about how the photo will come out because the instructor is wearing a black wetsuit and if I adjust the levels , the shadows in the suit start to look unnaturally black. But the midtones look so washed out and grainy, even with a levels adjustment. Is there any way to be sure the wetsuit won't come out either over or underexposed in the final print output?

thanks for any suggestions

nicrose

 

[GoCubsGo]

I think it would be easier if we saw the photo. Also before you start, is your monitor calibrated?

 

[Mydriasis]

1. If the image looks destaturated then crank up the saturation. Or there are a couple of channel tricks to boost color, but jessica is right we need to see this image to help you.

2. Under the View Menu go to Proof Setup < Custom < Device to be simulated and then choose the paper you will be printing on. Make your image adjustment with color proof turn on and you'll be fine.

3. Image adjustments do not have to be applyed to an entire image, you can mask out areas that you do not want affected. You can also use Curves as an adjustment an only alter your midtones and leave the blacks where they were.

 

[ChrisA]

First off, nothing you do will be productive if your monitor is uncalibrated. You have to be 100% certain that your monitor's color matches the printer's color. Once you have this then you cn make adjustments by eye to saturation, exposure and white balance

 

[mkrishnan]

Agree with the others... calibration is the key. Once you're there, we can help you get something that will look good on glossy stock, but you will mostly be able to make do by eye.

 

[dogbone]

@nicrose

Professional Photoshop by Dan Margulis ($22 from Amazon, used) is exactly what you need to help you to understand the real cmyk printing issues. A lot can go wrong between a calibrated monitor and laying down the ink.

 

[nicrose]

Problem with color-correction

Hi, I wrote in a couple of days ago regarding my image. See previous comments by Nicrose.

1.Basically, I want to know what I should do to deal with this image. It looks really grainy and grayish in the wetsuit area and in the boy's hair. How do I eliminate that issue.
Final output will be on a glossy postcard.

2. Also, I don't really get some of the concepts of calibration. Do I calibrate my monitor to my printer?? Or the other way around? What difference does printing it on my home printer make if the final output will not be on an inkjet printer, but on 4-color press? Thanks for your help.

3. Another issue: I'm printing black text on a colored background (the background is a photograph). I should use rich black in that situation, right? I'm using both Helvetica Bold and Trade Gothic Bold Condensed at both 14 and 12pt.

4. For reversed out text (white text, black background), will I need to do anything that has to do with trapping? My fonts are pretty thick (see above for font names). Also using Abadi Bold Condensed as a title font. Thanks again.

Nicrose

 

[dogbone]

Really, just calibrate your monitor using the apple software calibrator, I'm sure it will be more than adequate for you. Use the profiles that come with the printer, they're pretty good these days.

In this particular case you main problem is that the original is crap. To understand how to fix the image to print a good in cmyk you need to read and understand Dan Margulis' book I recommended earlier.

You need to rebuild the cmyk plates if you want a good quality result.

 

[Mydriasis]

watch this

its a video tutorial on basic image adjustments in photoshop. The guys from this site really know their stuff and are awesome at explaining it.