Step 5: Click On The Black Area With The Color Sampler Tool

Select Photoshop's Color Sampler Tool from the Tools panel. By default, it's nested behind the Eyedropper Tool, so click and hold on the Eyedropper Tool for a second or two until a fly-out menu appears, then select the Color Sampler Tool from the list:

With the Color Sampler Tool selected, click on an area of black in the image to add a marker. Zoom in on the area first if it makes it easier to select your black area, as I've done here:

Step 6: Delete The 50% Gray and Theshold Layers

Our layer filled with 50% gray and our Theshold adjustment layer have served their purpose and are no longer needed, so with the Threshold adjustment layer currently selected in the Layers panel, hold down your Shift key and click on Layer 1 below it to select both layers at once. Then drag them down on to the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to delete them:

Step 7: Add A Levels Or Curves Adjustment Layer

Click once again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and this time, select either Levels or Curves, you're choice. Either one will do. I'll use Levels:

Step 8: Select The 'Set Gray Point' Eyedropper

As with the Threshold adjustment layer, Photoshop CS5 users will find the controls for Levels or Curves in the Adjustments Panel, while CS4 and earlier users will see the Levels or Curves dialog box appear. Click on the Set Gray Point eyedropper to select it (it's the middle of the three eyedropper icons):

Step 9: Click With The Eyedropper On The Marker In The Image

With the Set Gray Point eyedropper selected, simply click directly on the small marker in the image (the one we added a moment ago with the Color Sampler Tool) and Photoshop will neutralize the colors in that spot, effectively removing any color cast from the midtones.

Personally, I don't find the eyedropper icon to be very helpful when trying to click on a marker, so you may want to press the Caps Lock key on your keyboard which will change the icon from an eyedropper to a target symbol, identical to the marker's icon, making it easy to line them up over top of each other and then click. I'll leave mine set to the eyedropper icon here just to make it easier to see in the screenshot:

And with that one click, any color cast in the image's midtones has been neutralized:

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Step 10: Remove The Marker

To remove the color sampler marker from the image when you're done, with the Color Sampler Tool selected, simply click on the Clear button in the Options Bar at the top of the screen (don't worry if you forget to remove the marker since it won't print anyway):

And there we have it! Our midtones are now color corrected without any guess work thanks to Photoshop's often overlooked Difference blend mode.

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