In order to show a possible RAW workflow, I did all the shooting in RAW.  Using Camera RAW 4.6 in Adobe Photoshop CS3, I simply relied on the Auto function with some minor tweaking to the Exposure and Brightness to establish an fairly good baseline image from which to start.  I prefer the tool set within iCorrect EditLab Pro Plug-in and iCorrect EditLab ProApp for making further refinements.

Whereas Camera Raw allows you to preserve the maximum amount of data and image detail during the raw conversion and sets a good baseline from which to work as you optimize your photos, it does not offer an entirely intuitive toolset for making additional color corrections.  This is especially evident with colors like blue sky and green foliage.  Take, for example the following image of the magnificent 9th hole.  Although the initial Camera Raw image looks O. K., and it provides a great starting point, the EditLab ProApp image, with just single click on the grass and one on the sky, looks absolutely stunning.  The built-in Memory Color definitions take care of everything.

ProcessQ Streamlines Color Workflow

At the heart of iCorrect EditLab ProApp is ProcessQ, the completely redesigned image queue that allows you to easily view, sort and manage your color corrections for efficient, time-saving workflows.   After adding images to ProcessQ, they are displayed as thumbnails in the filmstrip at the bottom of the main panel.  With ProcessQ, you can correct and save any number of images – either one at a time or as an entire group.  You can even Synchronize adjustments across multiple images.  

Step 1-Setting iCorrect EditLab ProApp Workflow Preferences
The first step is to customize EditLab ProApp’s preference settings for the specific job or your desired workflow.  You can access the Preferences selection window by clicking on File Menu/Preferences or the Preferences button located under the color tool panel. Detailed instructions for each preference category can be found in the User Guide. Click Here Each preference has a “recommended” default setting, however, each preference can be optimized to maximize your efficiency and workflow.

In our example job we used the default settings in each category except for the Save Image File Folder

Step 3-Color Correct Test Image

Next we select an image from the set that represents the average color of the batch and color correct it using the EditLab ProApp tool set.

Step 4-Apply Color Correction to Selected Images-Sync
Next we select the images to apply the color correction parameters and click on the Sync button and the color correction settings are applied to all of the selected images. At this point the color correction is only applied to the proxy (thumbnail) image and can be still be changed.
 
 

Total Time: 2minutes, 4 Seconds!!

Every so often, we receive an inquiry wondering which of our products would be best suited for their application.   As a response, we have put together a synopsis of our iCorrect color correction software to briefly describe how each one works.  Hopefully this will help you decide which will work the best for you.

Which iCorrect is best for me?

iCorrect OneClick	iCorrect Portrait	iCorrect EditLab Pro

iCorrect OneClick, our newest and simplest color correction plug-in, reduces the  color correction task to a single click for most digital photos. Click on a neutral (black, white, or grey) area of the image iCorrect’s SmartColor technology will automaticallyHere is what a customer has to say about iCorrect OneClick. Rick Straub – www.yearsofwonder.com

• Remove any color cast by correcting the white balance.

• Correct the tonal range by making the darkest colors black and the lightest colors white.

• Correct the exposure by adjusting the overall brightness

• Adjust the saturation

If required, tools are provided to fine-tune the exposure and recover extra detail by independently adjusting:

• Overall Brightness

• Shadows

• Highlights

• Contrast

• Saturation

• Auto Black & White Conversion

• Auto Sepia Conversion

If you want the easy way to make your photos “pop”, you need to get iCorrect OneClick. I typically use Pictocolor’s iCorrect EditLab and iCorrect Portrait plug-ins for all my digital photo editing in Photoshop. What I realized is that 99% of the time, I was using the Smart Color button in each of the first 3 tabs. With OneClick, now all I have to do is “one click” and it turns out exactly the way I would have tweaked the colors with a lot less effort and time. Even if there aren’t any neutrals, you can check a box and OneClick still manages to make the color right. Pictocolor has done it again by reducing my post processing time and really making my client’s say “WOW!”
 

iCorrect Portrait is a quick and easy color correction plug-in with outstanding skin tone technology designed primarily for color correcting pictures of people. A few more clicks are required to color correction a picture. First click on the Auto White/Auto Black buttons to automatically set the the white and black points. Next adjust brightness and contrast,. And finally, click on the skin to fix the skin tones.

Point-and-Click Color Correction

• Automatically set black point and white point

• Easily adjust brightness and contrast

• Automatically correct color balance, skin tones, and other colors with just a click!

• Time saving workflow options and custom settings

Time-Saving Features

• User-definable custom settings

• Save corrections as Custom Settings and apply the same correction to multiple images.

• Launch iCorrect Portrait to start with Custom Settings or Previous Settings as a starting point for large jobs.

• Add your own custom Memory Colors to suit you preferences or add backgrounds, team colors, and other items.

• Record iCorrect Portrait into an Action for automated workflows.
   

iCorrect Portrait Plug-in–Fast and accurate color correction plug-in for Photoshop  by Jay Nelson, Macworld Magazine Click Here to read review         “For me, the perfect photo correction tool would take just a few seconds to use, require minimal tinkering, and vastly improve my photos. PictoColor’s iCorrect Portrait 1.0.1, a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop (versions 4.0 through CS2) and Photoshop Elements (versions 1.0 through 3.0) reaches for this ideal and succeeds. As its name implies, iCorrect Portrait was designed for portraits, and is targeted to commercial photographers and advanced hobbyists. (PictoColor offers another product, iCorrect EditLab Pro, for advanced color correction.) Read Macworld Review

iCorrect EditLab Pro is a color correction AND color editing program and is available as both a Photoshop plug-in or stand alone application. iCorrect EditLab Pro has a more extensive tool set than OneClick and Portrait and is ideal for pictures requiring more correction. For example, iCorrect EditLab Pro SmartColor technology makes it easy to remove color cast, individually adjust white/black points, correct mid-tones, boost saturation, adjust highlight and shadows, boost saturation, and selectively edit hues. Color correction and editing with iCorrect EditLab is much faster and easier than the complex tools in Photoshop. EditLab Pro also offers noise removal and sharpening and Auto Black and White and Sepia Tone Conversion.

Many of our customers, particularly wedding, portrait, and school photographers, have both iCorrect Portrait and EditLab and we offer a bundle discount when purchasing both at the same time. Below you will find links to a couple of reviews in MacWorld and tutorials on our website that will help you decide which iCorrect product or combination is best for you.

Our line of iCorrect color correction and color editing plug-ins take the guesswork out of making the color right and simplify the process from start to finish.  Our engineers have created several software programs that utilize fairly complex digital color technology yet offer a simple, straight-forward and intuitive approach to the otherwise often difficult task of getting the color right.  Even though there are countless other color correction and color editing programs available for all levels of users. However, few offer the combination of speed, simplicity, and accuracy of iCorrect.

With iCorrect Color Blog we will try to show that color correction and color editing doesn’t have to be the most difficult, challenging or time-consuming aspect of your digital workflow.  Whether you prefer the automated approach of iCorrect OneClick, the point and click approach of iCorrect Portrait with its unique skin tone technology, or the more comprehensive tool set in iCorrect EditLab Pro for fine tuning and tweaking your images, iCorrect should minimize the frustration of your color correction workflow and improve the quality of your finished product.