Unwanted Blue colouring

[Siobhán]

Hi,

I am relatively new to photography and photo processing (Im currently using ps elements 10).

Recently I have started encountering an issues with the 'blacks' slider when I edit .nef files. Where it is black it starts to turn blue, and even before I use the slider some black areas appear to be blue.

Once I finish doing the initial edit and open the file up in the main area the blue disappears and is black as it should be.

Can anyone help me fix this issue?

Thanks Siobhan

[Cally]

The issue is that it is showing where the black highlights have been "clipped" meaning you have lost detail in them. On the histogram in the top right there are 2 arrows. If you click on the left one, the blue should go away.

[Teresa (pocketmouse)]

I've never used this particular program, but in my experience, the blue bits are simply areas of pure 'black' that the program detects as under-exposed. Similarly, if you had a very bright/white image, you'll probably see areas of red where the whites should be, indicating that those bits are over-exposed. The red or blue colouring is for your information only - it doesn't actually affect the final output of the image.

[Jake]

This is the program telling you that you are clipping your blacks, which means that you are losing all detail in those black areas, if you don't want this information you should be able to click on the triangle on the top left of the histogram

[Siobhán]

@cally @soren @cally Thank you for your input. It makes sense - I just wasnt sure if I had somehow changed a setting in my camera or if I had broken something in my lense :) Glad it didnt turn out to be an issue with any of my equipment !

[John Lynn]

Just in case no one has mentioned it, this is the program telling you that the blacks have been clipped in this area! If you had whites that had been blown out, it would show as red. You can turn this off if you want. Of course this is only if no one else has told you this! ;-)