How to White Balance Adjust in CS5

[Wasabi Bob]

I'd like to reach out to any CS5 users for assistance with what is probably a very easy procedure.

In an earlier version of Photoshop and and also in Elements there was an eye dropper tool that could be used to quickly do a white balance adjustment. Select the tool, click on the object that was suppose to be "white" and you were done. Elements also had a feature where you could do a global adjustment based on the selected color temperature.

Lightroom has the color temperature adjustment, but how can you do this (as easily) in CS5?

Thanks!

 

[Hikari]

Yup. Open the Levels dialog box: image menu > adjustments> levels. Under the OK and Cancel buttons there are three eye droppers. Select the middle (gray) one. Click on a neutral tone in the image to set color balance.

You can also use Auto Color in the Image Menu.

 

[Wasabi Bob]

Not really a WB adjustment

Levels sets up the overall brightness curve. I tried this and it's not really adjusting the color balance. I'm looking for the change that would occur as if you changed WB setting on your camera from daylight to cloudy, and so on.

 

[Hikari]

The only place I know you can specify a color temperature in in the RAW converter.

However, levels does change color. Are you using this dropper tool? (You can also color balance by selecting a specific color channel.)

 

[MichaelShea]

A levels adjustment layer will work perfectly well, but you need to select a neutral colour for accurate grey. It is quite easy to choose such an area if you have the 'info' panel open as you run the grey dropper tool across the screen. A lot of colours appear neutral when in reality they're just bland. Hikari is correct in that you are far better off making this kind of adjustment in a raw converter, if you've got one.