Remove a color cast using Auto Color

Auto Color adjusts the contrast and color of an image by searching the image to identify shadows, midtones, and highlights. By default, Auto Color neutralizes the midtones using a target color of RGB 128 gray and clips the shadows and highlight pixels by 0.5%. You can change these defaults in the Auto Color Correction Options dialog box.

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Click the Levels or Curves icon in the Adjustments panel.

    • Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer and choose either Levels or Curves. Click OK in the New Layer dialog box.

    Note: You can also choose Image > Auto Color to apply the adjustment directly to the image layer. Keep in mind that this method discards image information and is automatic. You cannot adjust any of the options in the following steps.
  2. In the Adjustments panel, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Auto button.
  3. Under Algorithms in the Auto Color Correction Options dialog box, select the Find Dark & Light colors option.
  4. Select the Snap Neutral Midtones option.
  5. Specify the shadows and highlights that are clipped, and adjust the target color for the midtones.
  6. Click OK to apply Auto Color.