Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:30 pm
Here's my Holiday Wreath. Example 4
JoAnn H
JoAnn H
OK...well let's start at the beginning with CMYK ...
I like to think of CMYK as Negative RGB. You are really using "inks" to make a print at this point.. so to speak...CMYK is a more subtle adjustment space, you might find it to have the feather lite touch instead of the hammer like approach LAB can have.
Remember that in CMYK the GCR is like a volume lever. The heavier the GCR the less adjustment for the same effect. Heavy GCR is the easiest to see on the monitor. The printed results...well actual mileage may vary....
You can color correct in CMYK without the K, if you add more CMY without changing the K you get the same values but the shadows look incomplete, muddy, or somehow lacking in POP. If you had to you could make an adjustment without the K but it would take a great deal of CMY. I'm trying to think of a better analogy....how about this...
If you are making a color print in the darkroom, you always use only 2 colors on the enlarger. You use Y and M, if you add C you have to zero out one of the other two because otherwise you make neutral gray and the prints look muddy / flat. The same is true here, you are adjusting "inks" to print a subtractive image on paper. The inks subtract light from the reflected white of the paper. Every place that should be black or dark gray would need some K to complete the "blackness" otherwise too much light is allowed to reflect through the inks as they are semi transparent.
RGB on the other hand is additive. The colors combine together to create white. 255,255,255 = white and 0,0,0 = Black. I always think of RGB as theater lighting you can add Magenta and Green lights and get a neutral light that appears white to the eye.
In your image you have a serious red problem...but your curve shows you adjusting the Cyan so this is natural...try this one again and start by setting a neutral. Then go after subtle color casts with small adjustments...Lastly add just enough K to make the image look full and rich without locking up the shadows.
Greg