Can somebody recommend a Photoshop plug-in that will automatically batch correct density, color balance school yearbook photos? At work we use many brands of digital cameras to photograph yearbooks and each camera model has a unique color bias. The density is usually not consistent due to dark skin/dark gowns vs. light skin/light gowns. (50% under, 10% over, 40% normal) Also, candid images for school events (proms/sports) are either way overexposed or underexposed. The outdoor events are fine and usually in balance.

It’s very time-consuming manually batch correcting thousands of pictures with various action routines that sometimes work for some jobs/images.

I’m trying to locate a plug-in that will do a reasonable job in automatically batch correcting density and color correction. I've tried several with no success.

Thanks,
VidKid

I've tried several with no success.Which ones have you tried so far? (I'm curious... this is new ground for me.)

Personally, I use a basic action with levels, color balance and saturation. I usually just open a representative image, start recording a color balance and levels to get a basic correction. I check the menu popup to be able to fine-tune the levels, but you have to manually adjust each image, mostly the density corrections. Sometimes the highlights are so blown-out that levels will not work, and then I have to redo that image either with a Multiply layer or with a Shadow/Highlight adjustment.

The problem is that the owner wants to be able to run an action or plug-in that will automatically color/density correct by himself and he knows nothing about basic color balancing techniques. I have a basic action for him to run, but with all the cameras we have in the field and differing lighting conditions, a basic action will not work. He will not meter or use white balancing, so the problem is compounded. Mostly we just send JPGs to the lab and let them deal with it. They prefer underexposed images to prevent blowing out the highlights. Sometimes the owner needs files only on a CD to give to the schools, thus the need to balance on-site at the school and I’m not there to help out.

Things that we have tried
The auto adjustments in Photoshop will not correct 100% even with proper eyedrop target settings.
The Match Color in CS works well for some images, but some adjustments are way off and look worse than the original.
For unders-I use Screen and overs-I use Multiply, but you have to manually separate the images into differing folders, then run your actions.
I’ve tried Digital ROC-Kodak. It works well, but no automatic adjustment.
AutoEye is great, but again I don’t think there’s an automatic adjustment
I really like AKVIS for overexposed images, but no color balance.
The Shawdow/Highlight in CS works really well for Prom/Basketball flash candids, but there’s no automatic setting. As you know, it’s manual.

Over the years, I've experimented with many color/density correcting plug-ins. I’m hoping there’s plug-in on the market today that performs a reasonable color/density automatically within a 5-10% normal balance range.

Thanks again,
VidKid

Take a look at iCorrect Editlab Pro (http://www.pictocolor.com/editlabpro.htm) . It may or may not be what you're looking for, but a load of pro photographers use it, and I've been fairly impressed with the results (for a tweakable automated program, that is!)

Sounds like a candidate for Match Color, particularly if there's a background or anything else that will be the same in all photos.

Victoria - Yea, I like the ICorrect. It does have lots of controls. A Custom Setting is a good start, then tweak. It does have an auto batch which is great, but the the SmartColor Mode will blow out the highlights on some images and you have to use the Reset Mode. Overall, It's a great manual correction tool. Just wish it had some hot keys for faster navigation!!!

Doug - I'll give Match Color another try. So far, the results are mixed in a typical job for overs and unders. (Same batching image problems as ICorrect.)

A feasible solution may be to sort hi-key and low-key images, then run a batch correction tool like ICorrect on each folder of images.

I'll post with more thoughts on batch corrections results/procedures later.

Thanks again,
VidKid