Expert: Glen Demers - 6/12/2008

Question
Hi Glen
I am a designer and I work on a 4-color publication for a non-profit. The photos we get are not always the greatest quality. It is a gardening magazine and we are striving for really great photos. I usually have to convert lower res rgb photos to hi-res cmyk for printing. My question is do you have any great tips for getting the most out of these photos? Do you first convert to cmyk then adjust levels & curves etc.? How can I punch up a mediocre flower photo?

Thanks lots.

Answer
Hi Lauren,
I find it easier to color correct in RGB, I have all the Photoshop filters at my disposal, then convert to CMYK and do sharpening last. An easy way to enhance drab flower pictures is to duplicate your image onto a second layer (Command/Control A, Command/Control J) and set the blending mode to overlay or soft light then reduce the new layers opacity until you get a color you like. You can even try the hard light or color burn blending modes but these tend to make colors too intense. After the color is boosted try sharpening the Black channel only to punch up the contrast.
Hope this helps, for a discussion of converting RGB to CMYK that includes a visual of how the colors change visit this site: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/cmyk-color.htm
Let me know if I can be of further assistance
Glen