Lightening a photo

[dawnrogers]

Hi, I took a photo of my son receiving a certificate but the hall was all clad in wood and the lighting was awful so it has resulted in a very orangy photo. wondered if someone could tell me the best way to lighten it up ???? My photoshop skills are very limited but I do have Elements 3 !
Thanks..

[Giselle]

Try this: Go to Image Adjustments, then Curves. You'll see a graph. Put your cursor on the centre of the curve and move it diagonally up or down the line of the curve. The photo will get lighter/darker accordingly. Be careful not to 'bleach' out the parts of your photo that are already light enough. When you're happy with it go back to Image Adjustments and then to Brightness/Contrast. Increase both a little bit. That's avery basic fix for dark pix but it may work for you!

You can try Levels as well, also in Adjustments - sometimes Auto Levels works out the prob and fixes it automatically. Or you can fiddle with it and move the sliders up/down until you're happy with the changes.
HTH? :)

[dawnrogers]

Thanks Giselle, does Elements have curves? I'll go have a look and see if I can find it.....

[Giselle]

Hmmm...not sure, I have the full blown version, sorry! But it should have Levels/Auto Levels :)

[dawnrogers]

Umm it does have auto levels which makes it a bit better but gives it a blue ish tint to the whiter bits.....the lighting was totally awful...

[Giselle]

Ok - go to Adjustments/Colour Balance and reduce the blue, increase the yellow and red slightly...see what happens then! But also try doing the Levels adjustments yourself - sometimes the Auto Levels Adjust doesn't quite get it right!

[dawnrogers]

Giselle, there isn't an adjustments heading it says Enhance-adjust lightening- adjust colour....so not sure which one to tackle...I did warn you I didn't know much about photoshop !!