What is a color cast?

A color cast is an overall wash of color caused by the lighting in which a photo was shot. If a color cast makes your photo look unnatural, try correcting it with this quick technique.

Add a Levels adjustment layer

Go to the Layers panel, click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon, and choose Levels. This adds a Levels adjustment layer that you can use to make this adjustment without permanently changing the photo.

Choose Levels settings

With the Levels adjustment layer selected in the Layers panel, go to the Properties panel to access controls for this adjustment.

• Click the Gray Eyedropper (the middle Eyedropper icon) in the Properties panel.
• Click on something in the image that should be gray. If there isn’t anything that should be gray, click on something that should be white or black. That color will change to neutral gray and the other colors will shift too.
• If you don’t get a result you like, repeat the previous step somewhere else in the photo.

Save the photo

Save the image in a PSD or TIFF format to retain layers. If you want to change the adjustment at any time, double-click the adjustment icon on the far left of the Levels adjustment layer to reopen the Levels controls in the Properties panel.