Remove ANY Color Cast FAST & EASY In Photoshop
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The fastest way to remove color cast in Photoshop is one click with the White Balance Tool inside the Camera Raw Filter.
This 90-Second Tip is for anyone whose photos come out too orange, too blue, or too green, and who wants a fix that needs no color theory.
By the end, you will be able to neutralize a color cast with a single click, finish the photo with a few sliders, and change any of it later.
The video was recorded in Photoshop 2020, and the technique works the same way in Photoshop 2020 or the latest version.
Key Takeaways
- The White Balance Tool in the Camera Raw Filter removes a color cast when you click on something that should be a neutral gray.
- Photoshop moves the Temperature and Tint sliders for you. You never have to guess the values.
- White balance corrects the light source. Removing a color cast fixes an unwanted tint, whatever caused it.
- Convert the layer to a Smart Object first, so you can reopen the filter and change the fix at any time.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- What Is a Color Cast?
- Step 1: Convert the Layer to a Smart Object
- Step 2: Open the Camera Raw Filter
- Step 3: Remove Color Cast in Photoshop
- Step 4: Fine-Tune the Photo in Camera Raw
- Step 5: Edit the Color Cast Fix Later
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Remove Any Color Cast in Seconds
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to neutralize a color cast with one click of the White Balance Tool
- How to pick a spot in the photo that gives the tool a true neutral gray
- How to fix a flat photo with the Exposure, Contrast, Clarity, and Vibrance sliders
- How to reopen the Camera Raw Filter and change the fix at any time
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2020 or the latest version of Photoshop
- Any image that has a color cast
What Is a Color Cast?
A color cast is an unwanted color tint that appears over your photo. Color casts can arise for several reasons, including incorrect camera settings or shooting in the wrong type of light.
A color cast is not the same thing as a white balance problem, even though the fix uses the White Balance Tool. White balance corrects for the color of the light source, such as tungsten bulbs or open shade. A color cast is any unwanted tint, whatever caused it.
If your only problem is the light source, see how to white balance a photo in Photoshop with one click. This tutorial covers the broader fix, and it works on any tint from any source.
Step 1: Convert the Layer to a Smart Object
Right-click on the image layer in the Layers panel and select Convert to Smart Object.
A Smart Object gives you the flexibility to work nondestructively. That means you can always come back and edit the adjustments at any time.
Note: A Smart Object is a container that can hold one or more layers. It allows you to apply editable adjustments, distortions, filters, and transformations.
Step 2: Open the Camera Raw Filter
Go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
Note: The video shows the 2020 layout, with the tools across the top of the dialog box. In current versions, the tools sit in a column along the right edge. The White Balance Tool works the same way in both.
Step 3: Remove Color Cast in Photoshop
From the toolbar, select the White Balance Tool, often referred to as the Eyedropper Tool.
The tool is very easy to use. Find an area that should be a neutral gray and click on it. A neutral gray is simply a gray without a tint.
In this image, you have several options: her backpack strap, the gray brick path she is walking on, and even her sweater. None of them should carry a color cast, so any of them can be the click point.
Photoshop moves the Temperature and Tint sliders to a position that white balances the gray you clicked. If the result looks off, click a different area, and use the before and after icon to compare against the original.
Tip: The click point needs to be something that had no color of its own. Clicking a spot that was slightly warm to begin with, like a cream wall, pushes the whole photo toward blue.
Step 4: Fine-Tune the Photo in Camera Raw
After you white balance your image, you may see other issues. In the video, the image looks a bit flat, so the sliders below add the contrast and color back.
| Slider | What it controls | How it was used in the video |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Overall brightness | Reduced to darken the image, then raised a little at the end |
| Contrast | The gap between light and dark tones | Increased |
| Highlights | The brightest areas | Darkened |
| Shadows | The darker areas | Darkened |
| Blacks | The darkest tones | Reduced |
| Clarity | Contrast in the midtones | Increased |
| Vibrance | Saturation, while protecting skin tones and pixels that are already saturated | Increased |
Your image may need different adjustments. Make the changes that look good to your eye, then press OK.
Step 5: Edit the Color Cast Fix Later
And just like that, you have removed the color cast and neutralized the image. The Camera Raw Filter now sits under the layer in the Layers panel as a Smart Filter.
To make any edits to your adjustment, double-click on the Camera Raw Filter label in the Layers panel. The dialog box opens with every slider where you left it.
If your photo has nothing in it that should be gray, try the Curves method in Hidden Algorithms for Easy Color Correction in Photoshop instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fastest way to remove color cast in Photoshop is the White Balance Tool inside the Camera Raw Filter. Click something in the photo that should be neutral gray, and Photoshop sets the Temperature and Tint sliders for you.
White balance corrects for the color of the light source, such as tungsten bulbs or open shade. A color cast is any unwanted tint over the photo, whatever caused it. The White Balance Tool fixes both, because it neutralizes whatever you click on.
The whole image. The tool reads the color of the spot you click and shifts the Temperature and Tint sliders for every pixel, so that spot becomes neutral. That is why the click point has to be something that was truly gray.
Double-click on the Camera Raw Filter label under the layer in the Layers panel. This only works if the layer was a Smart Object when you applied the filter.
Remove Any Color Cast in Seconds
One click with the White Balance Tool is all it takes to remove color cast in Photoshop, and a few sliders finish the photo.
Watch the full video above to see the before and after in real time, then comment on the video with the 90-Second Tip you would like to see next.
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Related Links
Final Image
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Hi Jesus
I have learnt photoshop through the Youtube tutorials available and you have the most practical way in explaining this powerful software.
Just love your 90 sec tutorials as well.
Thank you, Ron!!!
Thanks Jesus!
While I’ve been using Photoshop almost since it was first launched, there’s always something new to learn. Usually I jump straight into the manual color balance and remove “stops” from the midtones, shadows and highlights, but sometimes it’s not enough — this has been helpful thanks. I also then head to brightness/contrast, levels, saturation, vibrance, exposure, filters etc … some photos supplied by clients (especially now with smartphones) can be quite challenging.