Correct color in Quick Fix

Quick Fix conveniently assembles many of the basic photo-fixing tools in Photoshop Elements. As you work in Quick Fix, you should limit the number of color and lighting controls that you apply to a photo. Generally, you use only one of the Auto controls on a photo. If that control doesn’t achieve what you want, click the Reset button and try another one. You can also adjust your image using the slider controls, whether you’ve used an Auto control or not. Sharpening is the last fix you should perform on an image.

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Using the Auto Contrast adjustment in Quick Fix to instantly fix the photo

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Select one or more photos in the Photo Browser or Date view, and then click the Editor button in the shortcuts bar and choose Quick Fix.

    • With a photo open in the Editor, click the Quick Fix button in the Edit tab of the Palette Bin.

      Any photos that you have stored in the Photo Bin are accessible while you are in Quick Fix.

  2. (Optional) Set preview options by making a selection from the View menu (located under the image preview). You can set the preview to show how the photo looks before and after you make a fix, or to show both previews side by side.
  3. (Optional) Use the Quick Fix tools to zoom, move, and crop the image, to make a selection, or to fix red eye.
  4. To rotate the image in 90° increments, click either the Rotate Left  or Rotate Right  button at the bottom of the window.
  5. Set any of the image fixing options on the right side of the window. Click the Reset button if you don’t get the result you are looking for, and then try the other controls.
    Smart Fix
    Adjusts lighting and color. Smart Fix corrects overall color balance and improves shadow and highlight detail, if necessary. The Smart Fix slider allows you to vary the amount of the adjustment. Click the Auto button to apply this command.

    Red Eye Fix
    Automatically finds and fixes red eyes in the image.

    Levels
    Adjusts the overall contrast of an image and may affect its color. If your image needs more contrast and it has a color cast, try this command, which works by individually mapping the lightest and darkest pixels in each color channel to black and white. Click the Auto button to apply this command. (See About Levels adjustments.)

    Contrast
    Adjusts the overall contrast of an image without affecting its color. Use Auto Contrast when your image needs more contrast but the colors look right. Auto Contrast maps the lightest and darkest pixels in the image to white and black, which makes highlights appear lighter and shadows appear darker. Click the Auto button to apply this command.

    Lighten Shadows
    Drag the slider to lighten the darkest areas of your photo without affecting the highlights. Pure black areas are not affected.

    Darken Highlights
    Drag the slider to darken the lightest areas of your photo without affecting the shadows. Pure white areas are not affected.

    Midtone Contrast
    Adjusts the contrast within the middle tonal values (those that are about half way between pure white and pure black) without affecting the extreme highlights and shadows.

    Color
    Adjusts the contrast and color by identifying shadows, midtones, and highlights in the image rather than in individual color channels. It neutralizes the midtones and clips the white and black pixels using a default set of values. Click the Auto button to apply this command.
    Adjusting color values in Quick Fix


    Saturation
    Makes colors more vivid or more muted.

    Hue
    Shifts all colors in an image. This control is best used in small amounts or with selected objects whose color you want to change.

    Temperature
    Makes colors warmer (red) or cooler (blue). Use this control to enhance sunsets or skin tones, or when the color balance set by your camera is off.

    Tint
    Makes color more green or magenta. Use this control to fine-tune the colors after using the Temperature control.

    Sharpen
    Sharpens your photo. Click Auto Sharpen to use the default amount of sharpening. Drag the slider to vary the amount of sharpening. Zoom your preview at 100% to get a more accurate view of the amount of sharpening you are applying.

Quick Fix and Editor options

These tools work the same way in Quick Fix and the Editor.

Zoom tool
Sets the magnification of the preview image. Controls and options work like the Zoom tool in the toolbox. (See Zoom in or out.)

Hand tool
Moves the image around in the preview window if the entire image is not visible. Press the spacebar to access the Hand tool when another tool is selected. (See Viewing images in Full Edit or Quick Fix.)

Quick Selection tool
Selects portions of the image based on where you click or drag the tool. (See Use the Quick Selection tool.)

Crop tool
Removes part of an image. Drag the tool within the preview image to select the portion you want to keep, and then press Enter. (See Crop an image.)

Red Eye Removal tool
Removes red eye in flash photos of people and green or white eye in pets. Drag the tool within the preview image around an eye you want to fix, or click the Auto button in the options bar. (See Precisely remove red eye.)

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