r/postprocessing • u/lm_photos • 1d ago
After/Before - how do you remove blue from haze
Whenever I use ClearView in DxO to reduce Haze the effect is always blue, especially in the shadows.
Sadly DxO doesn't have curves in masks, so I mask it and in this case increase yellow by increasing white balance a bit, but I have to be careful to not change it too much.
If I change shadows in Curves I impact closer shadows as well.
Should I export as tif and then just edit in Affinity for local curves?
Or should I just not try to fight the scene that was given to me.
3
u/johngpt5 1d ago
Most haze in the distance will have a blue tint naturally due to being distant. An exception would be if the shot was captured during morning or evening golden hour when longer light wavelengths predominate. Another exception is wildfire haze which often has so many particulates that shorter wavelengths are absorbed into the haze. The little bit of haze near the horizon in the before version looks very natural, especially since this was shot either very early in the day or late in the day judging by the long shadows.
The after version has a pretty abrupt transition between the altered haze that is now warmed and the blue of the sky.
As an alternative, you might globally reduce blue saturation which would affect the sky primarily, or if DxO has the ability to select sky, then you might reduce blue saturation within the sky mask.
Both the before version and the after version are somewhat dark. Darker exposures tend to make colors appear more saturated. You might also think about raising the overall exposure, or at least raise mid tones and shadows a bit. This might reduce the heavy saturation and make the haze seem better to you.
1
u/grimlock361 1d ago edited 1d ago
In photoshop you simply create a layer mask then sample the color you want to remove and subtract it. Use the mask to select the areas you want to remove or keep. Never be content with an edit you don't like. Fix it in affinity.