Quick links to procedures on this page:

Using the Image Adjustment Lab

The Image Adjustment Lab lets you correct the color and tone of most photos quickly and easily.

The Image Adjustment Lab consists of automatic and manual controls, which are organized in a logical order for image correction. By starting in the upper-right corner and working your way down, you can select the controls you need to correct the problems specific to your image. It is best to crop or retouch any areas of the image before beginning the color and tone corrections. For information about cropping and retouching images, see Cropping images and Retouching.

While you work in the Image Adjustment Lab, you can take advantage of the following features:

 

1. Rotation tools

5. Select white point

9. Sliders

2. Pan tool

6. Select black point

10. Hint for current tool

3. Zoom tools

7. Undo, Redo, and Reset

11. Histogram

4. Preview Modes

8. Snapshots

 

Using automatic controls

You can begin by using the automatic correction controls:

Using color correction controls

After using the automatic controls, you can correct color casts in your image. Color casts are typically caused by the lighting conditions when a photo is taken, and they can be influenced by the processor in your digital camera or scanner.

Correction of a color cast depends on the type of light that caused the cast. The image on the left was taken indoors in incandescent light. The image on the right is the corrected version.

Adjusting brightness and contrast across the entire image

You can brighten, darken, or improve the contrast in an image by using the following controls:

Adjusting the brightness and contrast of an image can reveal more image detail.

Adjusting highlights, shadows, and midtones

You can brighten or darken specific areas of an image. In many cases, the position or strength of the lighting at the time a photo is taken causes some areas to appear too dark and other areas to appear too light.

The Highlights and Shadows sliders can lighten or darken specific areas of an image.

Using the histogram

The histogram lets you view the tonal range of an image to help you evaluate and adjust the color and tone. For more information about the histogram, see Using histograms.

Viewing images in the Image Adjustment Lab

The tools in the Image Adjustment Lab let you view images in various ways, so that you can evaluate the color and tone adjustments you make. For example, you can rotate images, pan to a new area, zoom in or out, and choose how to display the corrected image in the preview window.

Using other adjustment filters

Although the Image Adjustment Lab lets you correct the color and tone of most images, a specialized adjustment filter is sometimes required. Using the powerful adjustment filters in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you can make precise adjustments to images. For example, you can adjust images by using a histogram or a tone curve. For more information about adjustment filters, see Using individual color-adjustment effects and tools.

To use the Image Adjustment Lab Back to Top

 

Adjust the Temperature slider to warm or cool the colors, and then fine-tune the color correction by adjusting the Tint slider.
Move the Saturation slider to the right to increase the amount of color in the image; move the slider to the left to decrease the amount of color in the image.
Move the Brightness slider to the right to lighten the image; move the slider to the left to darken the image.
Move the Contrast slider to the right to make the light areas lighter and the dark areas darker.
Adjust the Highlights slider to brighten or darken the lightest areas of the image. Then, adjust the Shadows slider to lighten or darken the darkest areas of the image. Finally, adjust the Midtones slider to fine-tune the midrange tones in the image.

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The Image Adjustment Lab is not available for CMYK images. For CMYK images, you can access the Auto Adjust filter and other adjustment filters from the Adjust menu.

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You can capture the current version of your image by clicking the Create snapshot button. Thumbnails of the snapshots appear in a window below your image. Each snapshot is numbered sequentially and can be deleted by clicking the close button in the upper right corner of the snapshot title bar.

You can undo or redo the last correction you made by clicking the Undo button or Redo button . To undo all corrections, click the Reset to original button.

To view images in the Image Adjustment Lab Back to Top

 

Click the Rotate left button or Rotate right button .
Using the Pan tool , drag the image until the area you want to see is visible.
Using the Zoom in tool or Zoom out tool , click in the preview window.
Click the Zoom to fit button.
Click the 100% button.
Click the Full preview button .
Click the Before and after full preview button .
Click the Before and after split preview button . Move your pointer over the dashed divider line, and drag to move the divider to another area of the image.

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