Assembling Panoramic Photos: A Designer's Notebook

1.5. Stage 5

1.5.1. Optimization and color adjustment

To refine the picture's density and color, I first selected the sky with the Magic Wand tool. Then I selected the Magnetic Lasso and pressed the Shift key to add to the earlier selection. To refine the selection further and precisely select the ice windows, I pressed the Alt key to subtract parts of the selection with the Magnetic Lasso. I then applied a 3-pixel feather, and saved the selection under the name Windows.

To eliminate the cyan cast on the background landscape, I created an adjustment layer with the Curves tool (Layer→ New Adjustment Layer→Curves) and set the white for the snow at the base of the mountain. I then pulled the curve down a little to increase the picture's density.

I retrieved the selection, inverted it, and created a curves adjustment level to lighten the curtains of ice. I then selected the blue color and intensified it very slightly.

I duplicated the Background copy layer, and chose the Dodge tool set for Highlights and 8% exposure. Working like a painter and using small strokes with the Brush tool, I lightened the stalactites and frozen grass on the left, some of the lightest parts of the ice curtains, and a small area on the right.

By turning Background copy 2 alternately on and off, I could see the effect of my adjustments.

Each time I finished adjusting a layer or a layer mask, I checked the picture's intensity and color balance correction by turning the layer on and off.