11 Replies Latest reply: Apr 19, 2009 6:55 PM by hrh gracie RSS

    Color sampler onto curve layer?

    hrh gracie Community Member
      I believe I knew how to do this but the brain cell that had the information must have died......

      I BELIEVE I used to take the color sampler and put a sample on my image. Then I created a curves layer. AND, by holding some combination of shift/ctrl/alt and clicking the color sample, the values would transfer to the red,green, and blue layers of my curves layer. From there I could make adjustments...

      In CS4 I'm trying to do this, and I can't get it to work... It isn't the same as using the eyedroppers on the curve OR the hand above the eyedroppers. It actually copied the color sample values onto the individual color channels..... How do I do this in CS4?
        • 1. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
          hrh gracie Community Member
          Silly question? One that's been explained a dozen times? Does the question make sense? Or, am I the only one out there that tries to do this?
          • 2. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
            Community Member
            Does not matter whether or not the hand above the eyedroppers is active, in the RGB composite channel, simply Ctrl+Shift click on your colour sampler point in the image and this places a point on each of the R, G and B individual curves.
            • 3. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
              hrh gracie Community Member
              Yeah, that's what I thought I've always done. NOT working in CS4. I have an image, put a curve adjustment layer on, add a color sampler point to the image, then hold down shift/ctrl and click on the color sampler point. I get a history entry "drag color sampler" but no points on the red, green, or blue channels of the curves layer.....

              Do I have a preference set wrong somewhere? Some other setting? Or is this another unfortunate change in CS4? This is making color matching using the curves layer REALLY painful...
              • 4. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                Zeno Bokor CommunityMVP
                it's Ctrl+Shift+click in the image now, you have to click in the image
                • 5. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                  Community Member
                  http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?128@@.59b6c0a2

                  http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?128@@.59b81c1d
                  • 6. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                    hrh gracie Community Member

                    OK, I may just be having an extraordinarily stupid day, so bear with me..........

                     

                    The url's in the previous reply don't work any more - I presume this is because the forums have been reorganized?

                     

                    But, beyond that - here's what I RECALL doing in the past.......................

                     

                    In my image, create a color sampler point using the color sampler tool.

                     

                    Create curve adjustment layer and make that layer the current layer.

                     

                    Go back to my image and press ctrl+shift and click on the color sample.

                     

                    This would put the rgb values (puts a point on the curve) from the color sample on the red, green, and blue channels of the curves layer.

                     

                    After reading the last couple replies, I did the same thing.  And I went "back to my image" and clicked on

                    the color sample.  I'm STILL not getting the values on my curve layer......

                     

                    What am I missing 'cause this can't be as difficult as I'm making it.........?

                    • 7. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                      Zeno Bokor CommunityMVP

                      that functionality has been removed, now you have to select the On-Image Adjustment Tool(the hand with the double arrow) and Ctrl+Shift click with it in the image to set points in all the channels

                      • 8. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                        Reynolds (Mark) Community Member

                        Yes it was Control Shift clicking in the image -it would place points on all three channels. Its not gone as the last poster so abruptly said- you just need to know how to bring up the old modal adjsutemmet layer dialog. It still works if you use that. This has been removed for no good reason. With the eyedropper selected, in the panel -  it should be possible, it just isn't.

                         

                        Unfortunately as far as I can see, adjustment layers -  worked on, and worked on, over the last 6 versions or so, have in many respects been ruined in this version. The people involved in this work don't seem to have been properly informed about what the existing functionality was, and more importantly what a GOOD workflow was.So they have needlessly tampered with many things, and made it more difficult, and for professionals slower to use. Certainly color correction as a profession is easier in CS3 than CS4

                        • 9. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                          Wolf Eilers Community Member

                          I'm baffled by some of the comments in this thread. The non-modal adjustment dialog requires a few moments to get familiar with but overall is a welcome change to CS4. And what functionality is missing in the Curves dialog? Indeed, the On-image adjustment tool has offered more capability.

                           

                          Some tips (assumes curves adjustment layer is active):

                           

                          • hit I to activate the Eyedropper tool, then Shift+click to place a colour sample on the image.
                          • Ctrl+click to set a point on the composite curve; Ctrl+Shift+click to set points on each colour channel curve.
                          • click the On-image adjustment tool on the curve dialog and let the eyedropper wander across the image to show where points fall on the curve. Click to set a composite curve point; Shift+click to drop a colour sample on the image; Ctrl+Shift+click to set a point on each colour channel curve.
                          • with the On-image adjustment tool active click and drag on the image to adjust the curve.

                           

                          What's not to like?

                          • 10. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                            D Fosse-QDEaQ1 Community Member

                            Wolf Eilers wrote:

                             

                            I'm baffled by some of the comments

                            Don't be. Change is like a modal dialog for most people. We just need to deal with it and click OK before the rest will work.

                             

                            But some get stuck there.

                             

                            The title of the first link here says it all: http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2009/04/remaindered_links_1.html

                            • 11. Re: Color sampler onto curve layer?
                              hrh gracie Community Member

                              Wolf, I don't know that anything is missing, it's just different.  And I'm STILL unable to find anything in the CS4 documentation that says something to the effect of "The process you've used in the last 3 major releases of Photoshop to put a color sample onto a curves layer has changed" and goes through the explanation you provided - doesn't mean it's not there, just that I haven't found it.....

                               

                              Anyhow, the process has definitely changed - used to just select any color sample on the image and transfer the RGB values to the curve by ctrl+shift+click.  But, now that I know how the new process has to be done, I can get points on the curves layer again, so thanks.