Please define "neautral color"

[RichardC]

Can someone please define what is meant by the term "neutral color"? I would guess that it is any shade between and including black & white on the grey scale?

Question 2..........can the middle eyedropper in CURVES be used on any "neutral color"?

Thanks in advance,
RC [doh]

 

[ronmatt]

. Neutral colors include black, white, gray, and sometimes brown and beige.

if you make the color neutral why would you use curves? anyway, I don't think the 'middle' eyedropper
is active on a 'true' neutral color. If the color is neutral, it's neither warm nor cool and will work with
either warm hues or cool hues. if you change them in curves, you're bound to make them either on the warm side or the cool side... ERGO; they're no longer 'neutral...

 

[RichardC]

if you make the color neutral why would you use curves?

Thanks ronmatt
I'm trying to make neutral colors neutral
\:/

I use curves to get rid of unwanted color casts. You select the middle eyedropper and click on a part of your image that is SUPPOSED to be neutral and then "pop"... everything looks more like it should (without the color cast). It works as long as you click on a neutral color (or what is supposed to be neutral).

I printed out an old curves tut by Steve Nelson and he included a part where you can correct a color cast "by the numbers", Here you take a color sample on an area that is (once again) SUPPOSED to be neutral. Then you take note of the RGB color numbers in the info palate. They should all be close to the same values. Then type in the number you want in the appropriate place in the curves boxes to make them the same. This will change the offending color curves and then........ "pop" the color cast is gone.
Anyway that's what prompted my question..........This has been bothering me for years..Ha ha....but after re reading the tut this morning it it seems more clear.........brain damage I guess
Thanks again for your input.......RC