Photoshop: Creative Lab Color

Course details

Explore the tools, techniques, and creative possibilities of Lab Color in Adobe Photoshop. Lab opens new opportunities for photo enhancement and creative image making, enabling you to apply contrast, sharpening, inversion, and equalization adjustments to individual LAB channels. If you want more exciting images, it's time to explore Lab Color. In this course, Harold Davis explains how Lab compares to other color spaces and how it is implemented in Photoshop. He walks through his own professional post-production workflow for enhancing and transforming images with Lab Color. Then learn how to use Lab for more creative fun and image-making prowess with Harold's custom Photoshop Lab action, color channels, and blending modes. Plus, learn how to leverage images in Lab for pattern making and surface design.

Learning objectives
Converting images to Lab Color space
Applying Curves to Lab channels
Selective sharpening
Inverting channels
Making per-channel equalizations
Using the Lab action
Combining Lab Color with blending modes
Making patterns with Lab images

Concepts

Introduction

The creative power of Lab
Color spaces and gamuts
The properties of Lab in Photoshop
Converting to Lab
Exercise files and software download

Fine-Tuning an Image with LAB and Curves

Using a Lab all-channel equalization
Applying a curve to the L-channel
Applying a curve to the A and B channels
Selective application of a curve
Selective sharpening with the L-channel

Using the Inversion Adjustment

Lab inversions and L-channel inversions
Inverting the A channel
Inverting the B channel and AB-channels
Adjusting contrast with a curve
Working with the exclusion blending mode

Working with Equalizations

Per-channel equalizations
The power of opacity
Selective equalizations
Clouds in landscapes and seascapes
Faces - Eyes and lips

A Palette of Lab Possibilities

Installing Harold's Lab action
Using Harold's Lab action
Lab meets Andy Warhol
Lab adjustments and blending modes
Making Lab patterns

Conclusion

Creative Lab in your workflow