Apply the Color Balance adjustment

The Color Balance command changes the overall mixture of colors in an image for generalized color correction.

  1. Make sure that the composite channel is selected in the Channels panel. This command is available only when you’re viewing the composite channel.
  2. Do one of the following:

    • Click the Color Balance icon  in the Adjustments panel.

    • Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance. Click OK in the New Layer dialog box.

    Note: You can also choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. But keep in mind that this method makes direct adjustments to the image layer and discards image information.
  3. In the Adjustments panel, select Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights to select the tonal range in which you want to focus the changes.
  4. (Optional) Select Preserve Luminosity to prevent changing the luminosity values in the image while changing the color. This option maintains the tonal balance in the image.
  5. Drag a slider toward a color that you want to increase in the image; drag a slider away from a color that you want to decrease in the image.

    The values above the color bars show the color changes for the red, green, and blue channels. (For Lab images, the values are for the A and B channels.) Values can range from ‑100 to +100.