Chromatic Abberation: In reviewing all the helpful data, I was unable to fix what I believe is chromatic aberration in this photo. I did find the chromatic aberration sliders in...

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

In reviewing all the helpful data, I was unable to fix what I believe is chromatic aberration in this photo. I did find the chromatic aberration sliders in PS>Filters>Lens Correction>Custom, but when I tried moving the blue slider there was no result. I know this image has lots of problems, but I'm just learning, so I'll tackle one demon at a time. This image also suffers from a beginner's error....I forgot to set my Canon SX60HS to JPEG+RAW. Oops. But according to the literature, I should be able to adjust the CA on the JPEG to get rid of the blue line under the left wing. Any ideas?

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rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Not to beat a dead horse, but I will. Your efforts would be more greatly rewarded if you shot in RAW instead of JPEG. And, for something like removing chromatic aberration, you should really use Lightroom, not Photoshop.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

What blue line?
The left wing has a blue line extending to across the tail. If that is what you meant, I dont think that is CA imho.

I am not an expert but CA in my experience shows up in sharp transitions from dark to light where the lens has difficulty seperating all the colors of the rainbow.

If the blue line extends across the tail of the bird...its not CA...

There are others who are experts who can weigh in here....

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

... if you shot in RAW instead of JPEG. And, for something like removing chromatic aberration, you should really use Lightroom, not Photoshop.[/quote]

I know, dumb error. I won’t make that mistake again.
I just downloaded Lightroom CC, so I’ll poke around to see what I can do.
Thank you.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

crazydaddio wrote:

What blue line?
The left wing has a blue line extending to across the tail. If that is what you meant, I dont think that is CA imho.

Yes, that blue line. That and the tail should be white. I’ve exhausted my Newbie abilities and don’t know how to fix it.

blackest Loc: Ireland

rdrechsler wrote:

Yes, that blue line. That and the tail should be white. I’ve exhausted my Newbie abilities and don’t know how to fix it.

do you have an unadjusted version? I'm leaning towards it being a white balance problem, I don't think its fixable in jpeg.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

blackest wrote:

do you have an unadjusted version? I'm leaning towards it being a white balance problem, I don't think its fixable in jpeg.

I don't, but the good news is, there are no shortages of seagulls to shoot around here....right off my back porch. I'll get better at this, I'm sure. Practice, study, practice, study some more ;-) White balance is a whole new topic. I tried adjusting it in PS, but not with much success. You're right, I needed a raw image and I goofed that up. Live and learn! I'll be back...LOL.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

rdrechsler wrote:

In reviewing all the helpful data, I was unable to... (show quote)

HI, rdrechsler, since it looks like you really do want to improve and are seeking out information from others I might add that it is usually more pleasing to see the face of an animal than its hindquarters. Study the birds next time and see where they are flying, then place yourself in front of them so that you can be ready to shoot as they come near you. Choose a bird and then shoot that bird all the way through until the body is turned sideways toward you, then pick out your best shot. You can check out some of my bird shots on my web pages.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

via the lens wrote:

HI, rdrechsler, since it looks like you really do want to improve and are seeking out information from others I might add that it is usually more pleasing to see the face of an animal than its hindquarters. .

Yep, no question about it. Plenty of opportunities to catch them flying every which way around here. That was my first outing with this new Canon SX60HS and I was being opportunistic, catching what I could. That's far, far from the perfect shot. Yesterday's exercise was to shoot in the direction of the reflected the sun and try all kinds of settings and filters. I do want to improve, so all these tips are really helpful. Thanks for responding, Dick

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

via the lens wrote:

Choose a bird and then shoot that bird all the way through until the body is turned sideways toward you, then pick out your best shot.

P.S. I shot this picture a decade ago, doing exactly as you suggested. It's still one of my favorites. I'm pretty rusty, but I'll get my skills back and continue to improve with work and practice. Thank you again, I really appreciate it. Dick

Eagle in Alaska
Eagle in Alaska...

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rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

How would the structure of a 'raw' file enable you to 'fix' this problem {I'm thinking the blue may be a combination of reflection off the sky and being in shade - i.e., it actually did look that color at that moment}

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

rehess wrote:

How would the structure of a 'raw' file enable you to 'fix' this problem {I'm thinking the blue may be a combination of reflection off the sky and being in shade - i.e., it actually did look that color at that moment}

No telling, but the seagull definitely was not in the shade. I'm excited to see how similar pictures turn out once I receive my new Nikon D7200 tomorrow!

Thank you for responding,
Dick

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

rdrechsler wrote:

No telling, but the seagull definitely was not in the shade. I'm excited to see how similar pictures turn out once I receive my new Nikon D7200 tomorrow!

Thank you for responding,
Dick

It looks to me that the sun is low in the sky to the right of the bird. It is shining on the left shoulder, the underside of the right wing, and the underside of the tail, which would put the upper side of the tail in shadow {'shade' was a poor choice of words} - the bird is tilted slightly to the left.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

rehess wrote:

It looks to me that the sun is low in the sky to the right of the bird. It is shining on the left shoulder, the underside of the right wing, and the underside of the tail, which would put the upper side of the tail in shadow {'shade' was a poor choice of words} - the bird is tilted slightly to the left.

Ahh, that makes sense. You're probably right. Next time I'll be shooting in JPEG+RAW, so I'll have much more opportunities to adjust the image. Thanks, that helped.

blackest Loc: Ireland

rehess wrote:

How would the structure of a 'raw' file enable you to 'fix' this problem {I'm thinking the blue may be a combination of reflection off the sky and being in shade - i.e., it actually did look that color at that moment}

I think the camera was probably set in awb and the bulk of the water probably shifted the balance towards cooler than it should have been. The camera raised the balance of the blue and probably shifted red and green too. With raw you have the original values recorded the jpeg has the "amped" values and a curve adjustment has been applied. With a jpeg its not really possible to neutralise that curve correct the balance and reapply it.

It's generally a good idea to fix a white balance for a series of photos in order to make them belong. e.g pick a balance such as daylight or a measured white balance (even better) and then the camera won't be working out a new white balance for every shot. SLR Lounge did a good series of tutorial videos which talk about this.

It's possible in raw to do a local white balance. e.g mask the bird and correct the balance for the bird while leaving the water as is.