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[ 79 ]The aurora itself can range in color from greens through
reds and purples, so that element of creative control
comes into play. In general, the aurora tends to be green
with fringes of purple, and a color temperature of 4000K
will reflect this true color quite well, while maintaining an
accurate night sky. The best way to apply this first correc-
tion may seem a little counterintuitive, but stick with me!
First, slide both the Vibrance and Saturation sliders all the
way to 100. I’m well aware that this now looks ridiculous, as
you can see here, but what we’re doing is giving the maxi-
mum global enhancement to the actual colors present in the
aurora so that we can see the difference.
With these settings applied, and knowing that we can
see all the colors present to assist us in our decisions, let’s go
ahead and adjust the white balance. Using the Temperature
and Tint sliders, we can make the adjustments to the aurora,
ensuring the accuracy of the color and tone. We can cre-
ate a deep green aurora, or something with a feel of mint,
so long as we keep within the limitations of realism, while
maintaining a foreground and night sky that are convincing.
Once this is done, we can bring the Vibrance and Saturation
sliders back to 0 and double-check our adjustments at this
more realistic level.START WITH THE WHITE BALANCE
When retouching aurora images, the place to start is with
the white balance, so let’s go over that. The reality of the
northern lights is that the white balance we apply is deter-
mined by the resultant color of the sky and the foreground.