Auto tone, auto contrast, automatic color correction. Setting automatic adjustment options

With this lesson you can significantly improve your team's performance. Automatic color correction (Auto Color). Once you do this once, you will have a much more effective tool at your disposal. In addition, you will learn new things about tools such as Eyedropper And Curves(Curves).

Let's start the lesson.

Step 1. Open the image

Let's say you open an image that needs color correction. But time for fine adjustments using Curves (Curves) you do not have. Here you can see that the shooting was carried out under artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps, which gave the image a green tint.

Step 2. Make auto-correction

Select from menu Image - Auto Color Correction or click Shift+ Ctrl+ B.

Using this command is not accompanied by the appearance of dialog boxes; the program itself tries to balance the colors of the image. Sometimes the result is quite acceptable, sometimes the image becomes even worse than the original one. Next, we'll look at two ways to improve the performance of this tool.

Step 3. Improving the result

One way to improve the result is to immediately go to the menu after applying the command Editing - Reduce: Automatic color correction (Edit- Fade: Auto Color) or click Shift+ Ctrl+ F.

In the dialog box that appears, shown in the figure below. Drag the slider to the left until you get an acceptable result. You can also change the blending mode, for example the mode Multiplication will help darken the image, mode Lightening (Screen) lighten, and so on.

Step 4. Set up auto-correction

There is another, in my opinion, better technique that allows you to change the parameters of this command before you use it. It turns out that Photoshop has options for setting up automatic color correction, but these settings are located where most of us don’t even look. To access them you need to open the command dialog box Curves(Curves) or Levels (Levels) . You can do this by clicking CTRL+M or CTRL+L.

Then click the button Options. A dialog box for setting correction parameters will appear on the screen.

Select options Find dark and light colors And Snap to Neutral Midtones. You also need to check the box next to the parameter Save as defaults. Click OK. Now the settings you made are saved.

But that is not all. Now you need to specify the values of the black, white and gray points and configure the tool parameters Eyedropper, which is used in many commands and tools Curves (Curves), Levels (Levels), Selection - Color Range (Select- ColorRange) and so on. This is what we will do in the next steps.

Step 5. Adjust the values of black, white and gray points

Adjust the values of black, white and gray points. Double-click on the black eyedropper. In the dialog box that opens, enter the values R = 20, G = 20, B = 20.

Press Enter. Similarly, double-click on the eyedropper corresponding to the white point and enter R = 240, G = 240, B = 240.

For the eyedropper corresponding to the gray point, the values of all three colors will be equal to 128.

Now let's press the button again Options and keep the default values.

Step 6: Setting up the Eyedropper Tool

Setting up the tool Eyedropper. Let's select it on the toolbar. This tool is not as simple as it seems. It is used to sample color, or to analyze a specific area of the image, depending on which command it is used in. By default, the pipette sample size is 1 pixel.

But at the same time, for example, the color of a piece of skin or white snow is actually determined not by one, but by several pixels of different colors. If you zoom in a lot on the image, you'll see what I'm talking about. From this it follows that if, when selecting a color, the color of only one pixel in an area is taken into account, then the probability of an error is high. To make such errors less likely, you need to set the sample size to 3x3 pixels.

Then all commands using the tool Pipette(Eyedropper), will receive averaged data from already nine pixels of the area. This significantly improves accuracy and efficiency.

Operations for adjusting black, white and gray, called target colors, can also be performed in the settings dialog box. The setup is done in exactly the same way.

I have intentionally given you two methods, try both and choose the one you like best.

Step 7: Complete setup

So, we are done setting up the command. Now we have a much more convenient and effective tool for work. In addition, when you press the button Auto in the command dialog Curves or Levels will also be applied to the image Automatic color correction. You also now know how to manage the settings of these tools. And here is the image that came out after correction.

I wish you creative success!

About a third of all road accidents occur. And imperfections or malfunctions of optics play an important role in this. After all, if you use only low beam headlights, the visibility distance is very small, and high beams blind oncoming drivers. To solve this problem, various devices and devices were used, with the help of which relay and electronic control of lamps was carried out, their smooth switching on, headlight washers were used, and then illumination range correctors appeared. An automatic headlight leveler has appeared - a more advanced system for coordinating the position of the cut-off line.

Video about headlights NOT on at night

What is headlight range control?

Correct adjustment of headlights is not enough to ensure safe driving at night. After all, as soon as the height of any car suspension changes (due to passengers or cargo transported in the trunk), the trajectory of the light beam changes. Oncoming drivers will be dazzled or the level of road illumination will decrease. In order not to manually adjust the headlight angle every time the vehicle load changed, a special automatic system was invented.

A device designed to maintain a given position of the headlight axis in one vertical plane relative to the angle formed between the axes of the suspension and the floor (and not the road surface) is called a headlight leveler. Regulation occurs based on data from floor level sensors located on the suspensions and the underbody.

There are the following types of headlight correctors:

Quasi-static;
Dynamic.

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Quasi-static headlight range control

Quasi-static correctors have a simpler operating principle. Automation reacts to changes in body tilt due to load or at significant speeds due to air resistance forces. Such changes occur infrequently, so this system is not required to have a high response rate.

Quasi-static headlight range control device:

Two body position sensors connected to the car axles using special levers;
Actuators;
Electronic control unit;
Duplicate manual light control on the dashboard

Based on position and speed data obtained respectively from floor level sensors and ABS (anti-lock braking system) sensors, the required tilt is set and the headlights are adjusted. The adjustment is carried out by an actuator based on commands from the electronic control unit.

Dynamic headlight range control

After light beams with greater energy of the light beam and therefore more dangerous for oncoming drivers began to become more widespread, more modern and expensive dynamic systems began to be introduced. They differ from quasi-static ones in the speed of response to changes in body tilt. With the help of these systems, the light flux adjusts its direction and is kept at the same level in a fraction of a second. This is very important when driving, braking, accelerating, etc.

The luminous flux is always directed towards the road surface and provides ideal visibility for safe driving. The driver does not even notice the correction; the system instantly reacts to any body sway and corrects the position of the headlights.

As a rule, automatic headlight leveling is a standard system, but you can install it yourself. There is a wide selection on the market from various manufacturers. On cars with active suspension there is no need to install automatic headlight leveling. The auto-correcting cut-off system can be installed on any type and make of car. The automatic system is duplicated by a conventional electromechanical corrector, and you can adjust the required angle directly from the cabin using the control panel.

In order to make automatic headlight levelers more reliable and increase their service life, non-contact sensors for changes in body position are being developed, which will be installed to replace the currently common potentiometers. Changing potentiometers is required by increasingly increasing demands when driving in extreme conditions - weather or road.

Headlight range control in practice

Correct headlight adjustment

Precise adjustment of headlights has a huge impact on driving safety at night, because... The traffic flow on modern roads is quite large. Every car enthusiast should know the basic principles of this process.

The adjustment is made as follows. A screen is installed perpendicular to the floor plane, with special markings, on which the main reference point is the broken line for adjusting the light of car headlights.

Certain requirements must be met in order for the final result to be correct, we list them below:

All cars must be the same. The pressure should also be checked and adjusted if necessary. At the final stage, the load on the driver’s seat should be taken into account so that it corresponds to its weight category.
The manual range controls should be in the zero position corresponding to an unloaded vehicle.
The car should be placed in such a way that the axis of the rear wheels is parallel to the screen, in other words, the axis of symmetry of the car should coincide with the plane bisecting the distance between the headlights. The accuracy and correctness of the adjustment will directly depend on how the car is installed.

In general, with the help of lighting angle correctors, the convenience and safety of driving at night significantly increases. This wonderful device has already saved thousands of human lives, and will prove its benefits more than once.

Video about headlight adjusters

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Automatic Color Correction Options automatically select tone and color settings using Levels and Curves adjustments. They also control the Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color Correction commands. Here you can specify the clipping percentage for shadows and highlights and assign color values to shadows, midtones, and highlights.

These settings can be applied once in Levels or Curves adjustments, or saved as defaults for the Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, Auto Color Correction commands, and Auto button in the Levels and Curves dialog boxes "

Automatic Color Correction Options Dialog Box

A. Auto Contrast option B. Automatic Tone Correction option IN. Automatic color correction option G. Setting target colors, black point and white point

Click the Levels or Curves icon in the Adjustments panel.
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Auto button in the Adjustments panel.
Specify which algorithm should be used to adjust the overall tonal range of the image. Enhancing monochromatic contrast Cuts off values in all channels equally. Maintains the overall relationship between colors, but makes highlights lighter and shadows darker. This algorithm is used by the Auto Contrast command. Enhancing Contrast in Channels Maximizes the tonal range in each channel for deeper correction. Since all channels are adjusted individually, the Enhance Contrast by Channel algorithm can remove or create new color casts. This algorithm is used by the Autotone command. Finding dark and light colors Finds those with average values among the lightest and darkest pixels in an image and uses them to maximize contrast while minimizing clipping. This algorithm is used by the Automatic Color Correction command.
Turn on the Snap to Neutral Midtones option to have the command search for the middle neutral color in the image and adjust the gamma (midtone) value to make that color a neutral. This algorithm is used by the Automatic Color Correction command.
To specify how much black and white pixels should be clipped, enter percentage values in the Clip text boxes. It is recommended to use values between 0.0% and 1%.
By default, Photoshop commands clip white and black pixels at 0.1%, meaning they ignore 0.1% from each end of the range when identifying the lightest and darkest pixels in an image. Because the image quality produced by modern scanners and digital cameras is so high, these default cutoff values may be too high.
To determine (target) color values for the darkest, neutral, and lightest areas of the image, click a color swatch.
Do one of the following.
Note. If you keep the automatic color adjustment settings as default for the Auto Color Correction, Auto Tone, and Auto Contrast commands, it does not matter which algorithm you selected in step 2. These three automatic adjustment commands use only the values set for target colors and clipping . The only exception is the Auto Color Correction command, which also uses the Snap to Neutral Midtones option.

Table 1 - Instructions for automatic correction of tool parameters

During machining, the cutting edge of the tool must follow exactly along the programmed path. Due to the differences in the instruments used, their dimensions must be taken into account and entered into the control system before starting to play the program. Only in this case can the trajectory be calculated regardless of the parameters of the tools used. Once the tool is installed in the spindle and the corresponding compensation is activated (compensation for its dimensions), the CNC automatically takes this correction into account.

Figure 1 – Instrumental complex

Address H performs length compensation, and address D performs radius compensation.

Length compensation is possible in two ways: in relation to the front plane of the spindle and in relation to the “zero tool”.

Figure 2 – Tool length compensation in relation to the spindle rake plane and to the zero tool

In the first case, the compensation value can only be positive (for the figure Figure 2 Н1=70.832, Н2=81.712, Н3=100.003), in the second case, choose a “zero tool”, which has a zero compensation value, and the remaining compensation values can be both positive and negative (for the figure Figure 2 Н1=-20.813, Н2=0, Н3=25.821). In both cases, the compensation values are stored in the corresponding table.

The center of the cutter moves along an equidistant path parallel to the contour of the part, spaced from it by an amount equal to the radius of the cutter. The equidistant path is also called the path of the cutter center. The compensation values for various instruments are entered into the table; for example: D1=14 (with a cutter diameter of 28 mm); D2=22 (with a cutter diameter of 44 mm). The direction of displacement is determined by looking at the trajectory from top to bottom, that is, from the “+Z” side towards the “-Z” direction.

Figure 3 – Principle of equidistant correction

Along the contour and those frame mates for which the angle of inclination of the tangent remains unchanged, the equidistance is uniquely determined by the parameters of the contour. In other irregular cases of external frame mates, the CNC system calculates the mates of equidistant segments in accordance with instructions G68 or G69.

Figure 4 – Unambiguous definition of an equidistant contour and calculation of external connections of equidistant segments

In the case of irregular mates of internal contours, the CNC system calculates the intersections of equidistant lines to determine the desired trajectory. In some cases, this can lead to complete distortion of the contour. To avoid this, some CNC systems have a “collision control” function.

Figure 5 – Calculation of internal connections of equidistant segments

In order for the CNC system to have time to perform an offset relative to the programmed contour, it is necessary to add an approach section to the original trajectory. In this section, automatic tool radius correction is activated. Most systems require a distance of at least the tool radius to travel to activate correction. A prerequisite for activating the correction is the presence of a linear movement at the working feed.

Left tool radius compensation – G41. The G41 instruction initiates a positive equidistant offset to the left of the workpiece as viewed in the feed direction. To implement the correction, the cutter radius is programmed in the D-word, and the tool number in the T-word. Together with the G41 instruction, linear movements can be programmed; then activation of equidistant correction will occur “along the path” of movement to the end point of the frame.

N60 G41 X... Y... Z... D...

N65 G41 X... Y... Z...

Tool radius compensation right - G42. The G42 instruction initiates an equidistant offset to the right of the workpiece as viewed in the feed direction. Everything else is identical to instructions G41.

Tool length compensation - G43. Tool length compensation is accomplished by programming the G43 command and the H data word. Typically, length compensation is activated in conjunction with idle movement in the Z axis.

Cancels tool radius and length compensations – G40, G49. Tool length compensation is canceled by programming the G49 or H00 command. Tool radius compensation is canceled by programming G40 or D00 commands. Cancellation of the G40 compensation may be accompanied by straight-line movement in the active plane. In this case, the exit from the equidistant trajectory is carried out “along the path” to the end point of the frame. If circular interpolation functions are active, the action of the G40 instruction must not be accompanied by movement.

Pairing equidistant lines at the junction of frames (along an arc) – G68; along the trajectory of intersection of equidistant lines – G69. The instructions are modal and work with active equidistant correction. Their action comes down to the automatic generation of an arc (G68) or a trajectory of intersection of equidistant lines at the junction of “not smoothly” mating frames. The G68 instruction initiates automatic connection of an equidistant gap using an arc of radius r.

Figure 6 – Automatic connection of equidistant gap along an arc

Instruction G69 initiates automatic connection of the equidistant gap along the intersection path of the equidistant lines.

Figure 7 – Automatic connection of an equidistant gap along the trajectory of the intersection of equidistant lines

Automatic image correction

Probably each of us would like to be able to perform image correction in one step, rather than spending a huge amount of time and effort on correcting defects. Fortunately, such a tool exists. While you obviously shouldn't rely on it for everything, it won't eliminate the need for manual image correction, but in some cases it will be enough to "correct" the image properly. Therefore, you should not completely ignore the capabilities of automatic tone correction. In any case, before you start image correction, it makes sense to first try using automatic tools.

To automatically correct an image:

1. Open an image.
2. Run the command Adjust > Auto Adjust(Setup > Autotune).

This command does not bring up any dialog boxes and has no settings. The correction occurs automatically and you immediately receive the correction result.
Filter Auto Adjust(Auto Adjust) evens out the shadows, midtones, and highlights of an image by automatically redistributing pixel values within the tonal range. This adjustment is made in each color channel of the image, causing changes in the color and tone of the image. Usage example Auto settings shown in Fig. 1.

Image Tuning Lab

Corel Photo-Paint includes a tool to correct common image problems found in digital photographs taken with a camera or camera. In earlier versions of Photo-Paint, you had to use several filters to correct certain defects. Starting with Corel Photo-Paint X3, the program included Image Adjustment Lab(Image Correction Laboratory). The idea of creating this laboratory was to combine all the filters most commonly used in correction into one tool. This allowed us to save effort, time and nerves when color and tonal correction of photographs. To access laboratory tools, run the command Adjust > Image Adjustment Lab(Setup > Image Adjustment Lab). When you first open the resizable dialog box (Figure 2), you'll notice that it includes a preview workspace on the left, adjustment sliders on the right, and a row of buttons in a bar at the top.

If you have experience with other filter dialog boxes in Photo-Paint, using the preview elements and top-of-the-window bar buttons (Figure 3) in the Image Adjustments Lab will be familiar to you.

1. Button Rotates image 90 degrees counterclockwise(Rotate image 90 degrees counterclockwise)—rotates the image 90 degrees counterclockwise in the preview window.
2. Button Rotates image 90 degrees clockwise(Rotate image 90 degrees clockwise) – rotates the image 90 degrees counterclockwise in the preview window.
3. Button Pan tool(Panorama) – activates the Panorama tool to scroll and zoom the image in the preview window. Left-click to zoom in and right-click to zoom out. Hold down the left mouse button while dragging to pan directly into the preview area.
4. Button Zoom in(Larger) – activates the Larger tool, essentially the same Scale tool. When you click with the left mouse button, the scale increases, when you click with the right mouse button, it decreases.
5. Button Zoom out(Smaller) – activates the Smaller tool, which is the opposite of the Larger tool. When you click with the left mouse button, the scale decreases, when you click with the right button, it increases.
6. Button Displays an image to fit in the window(Display image according to window size) – scales the image according to the size of the viewing area so that it fits entirely in this area.
7. Button Displays an image at normal size(Regular Size Image Display) – Displays the image at 1:1 scale in the viewing area.
8. Button Full Preview(Full screen viewing) – “switches” the viewing area to “single-window” mode. In this mode, you can see the changes you make to the image, but you won't be able to see the original image as it was before you made the changes.
9. Button (Full-screen viewing “Before and After”) – “switches” the viewing area to the “Before and After” viewing mode, in which the viewing area is divided into two parts, as in Fig. 2. The original image is displayed on the left, the adjusted image is displayed on the right, which allows you to simultaneously see both the original image and the results of the changes.
10. Button (Split view “Before and after”) – similar to the button Before and after full preview(Full screen "Before and After" view), but allows you to resize areas Original(Original) and Working Preview(Working view). In addition, the image on the right side is, as it were, a “continuation” of the image on the left side of the viewing area.

Below the preview area you can use the buttons Reverses the last operation(Cancel last operation), Redoes the last undo operation(Restoring an operation that was previously undone) or Reset to original(Reset to original state) to change recent changes you made.
For quick correction, use the button Auto Adjust(Auto-tuning) in combination with tools - buttons in the form of eyedroppers, Select White Point(White point selection) and Select Black Point(Black Point Selection).

Sliders allow you to change the color and tone of the image. Use sliders Temperature(Temperature), Tint(Hue) and Saturation(Saturation) for tonal and color correction. Use sliders Brightness(Brightness) and Contrast(Contrast) to achieve the desired brightness and contrast. Or, use the sliders Highlights(Bright hues), Shadows(Shadows) and/or Midtones(Intermediate Tones), to adjust the brightness of certain tonal ranges. Position your mouse pointer on each slider to view information in the area Hints(Tips) located below the sliders.

When you're done experimenting with the tools, click the button Create Snapshot(Take Snapshot) to save your current settings. Numbered thumbnails of your current settings are added below the viewing area whenever you take a new photo. Click directly on the thumbnail to load the image into the viewing area and adjust the parameters applied to the image (position of the sliders). You can try many different parameter settings to evaluate the results, without having to remember them. In Fig. Figure 4 shows several images using different parameters.

During color and tone correction, noticing subtle differences in filter settings is often a difficult task that requires experience. In addition, it is often necessary to save copies of the image with various trial and error results. When working with Image Adjustment Lab(Image Correction Lab), you don't need to do this, as mentioned above, just take the pictures.

Now, let's look at an example of using the Image Adjustment Laboratory to improve photographs.
In Fig. Figure 5 shows a photograph of a typical rural view taken on a hot summer day.

Despite the absence of visible defects or color distortions, the photograph itself leaves the impression that it has been “faded by the sun.” Colors in the image are dull, contrast and color saturation also leave much to be desired. To improve this photo, you need to do the following:

1. Open an image.
2. Run the command Adjust > Image Adjustment Lab(Setup > Image Adjustment Lab).
3. In the window Image Adjustment Lab(Image Adjustment Lab) switch to one of the viewing modes, e.g. Before and after full preview(Full screen "Before and After" view) (Fig. 6).

As can be seen in the figure, the window Image Adjustment Lab(Image Adjustment Lab) on the right side, below the sliders, has a histogram. When you first look at it, it becomes noticeable that it has a peak in the midtones, but practically no pixels in the highlights and shadows.

Note that the viewing area is divided by a dotted line, which you can move left or right to make the area larger or smaller Before And After making changes. Compare also Fig. 2 and 7, which show different viewing modes, Before and after split preview(Split View "Before and After") and Before and after full preview(Full screen "Before and After" view).

4. To give the image a more colorful and attractive look, I installed in the window Image Adjustment Lab(Image Correction Lab) the following parameter values: Tint(Shade) – 10; Saturation(Saturation) – 47; Contrast(Contrast) – 31; Highlights(Light colors) - (- 47); Midtones(Intermediate tones) – 12 (Fig. 7).

The choice of these parameters is quite obvious. Since there is a lot of greenery in the foreground, I made a small “shift” of the slider Tint(Hue) to the area of green colors, and to obtain richer colors, increased the value Saturation(Saturation) and Contrast(Contrast). Next, based on the intermediate results obtained, I adjusted the brightness in light and dark areas. In midtones, no brightness adjustment was needed.

In Fig. 8 original image on the left and adjusted on the right.

Notice the histogram in the window Image Adjustment Lab(Image Correction Lab) after making changes. It stretched out a little, peaks appeared closer to the light and dark areas. To apply changes, click in the dialog box OK.

When making any image correction, you should take into account the fact that each person performs color and tone correction in his own way. The concept of beauty is very subjective. Different people will like completely different correction results. Therefore, if you perform retouching or correction of photographs to order, you will have to take into account the tastes of the customer, which may not at all coincide with yours. I will mention this more than once in the book. Likewise, the result obtained in this example may seem to someone not an improvement, but a deterioration of the original. It's a matter of taste. My main task is to show how to use certain features and tools of Photo-Paint.

Now let's look at an example of using two tools located in the Image Correction Laboratory - Select White Point(White point selection) and Select Black Point(Black Point Selection). These two tools are used to increase the contrast of the image. There are no settings provided for their use; these are, so to speak, “intelligent” tools that perform automatic contrast correction. For example, I took a copy of my old Soviet passport. As can be seen from Fig. 9, the passport image lacks at least some contrast. The goal of achieving 100% compliance with the original was not set in this example.

To increase the contrast, you need to click on the button Select White Point(Select a white point) and with the pointer, which has taken the form of an eyedropper, click in the lightest place of the coat of arms. Then click on the button Select Black Point(Select Black Point) and click the pointer in the viewing area, at the darkest point of the cover, this is a small “pattern” of dark red color. As you can see, Photo-Paint has automatically adjusted the contrast of the image. The passport, even after automatic correction, began to look much better.